Console Skeleton Project Overview

Console Skeleton is an OpenGL-based interactive console application that combines a command-line interface with real-time visual effects. Built on the MX2 framework, it provides terminal-style workflows, MXCMD script execution, and cross-platform support including Windows WSL.

Core Components

Interactive Console: Full-featured terminal with scrolling, history, and scripting language
MXCMD Integration: Execute MXCMD scripts with and execute commands
Shader System: Real-time visual effects with customizable fragment shaders
Cross-Platform: Native support for Linux/macOS with Windows WSL integration
Thread-Safe Operations: Multi-threaded command execution with main thread task queuing

Architecture

The application follows a modular architecture with clear separation between the console interface (GLConsole), the command execution engine (AstExecutor), and the rendering system (Game class). The main components include:

Game Class: Handles OpenGL rendering, shader management, and input processing
MainWindow: SDL2/OpenGL window management with console integration
Console System: Text rendering, scrolling, input handling, and command history
Command Processor: MXCMD script parsing and execution with interrupt support

Key Features

Console Features

Scrollable text output with mouse wheel and page up/down support
Command history navigation (up/down arrows)
Real-time text rendering with custom font support
Thread-safe message queuing for command output
Configurable prompt and console appearance

Visual Effects

Dynamic shader switching with 10+ built-in effects
Real-time time-based animations
Custom GLSL fragment shader support
Keyboard shortcuts for quick shader changes

Command System

Built-in console commands (clear, about, help, exit)
MXCMD script execution with full language support
Windows WSL integration for cross-platform commands
Command echo control and debugging features

Built-in Commands

Command	Description
`random_shader`	Apply a random visual shader effect
`default_shader`	Reset to the default shader
`set_shader "path"`	Load a custom shader from file path
`wsl_on/wsl_off`	Enable/disable WSL command execution (Windows only)
`clear`	Clear the console output
`about`	Display application information
`help`	Show available commands
`@echo_on/@echo_off`	Control command echoing

Keyboard Shortcuts

Key Combination	Action
`Ctrl+R`	Apply random shader effect
`Ctrl+C`	Apply Command Interrupt
`Page Up/Down`	Scroll console output
`Up/Down Arrows`	Navigate command history
`Escape`	Close application

Usage Example


# Basic console interaction
$ random_shader                    # Apply random visual effect
$ clear                            # Clear console
$ @echo_on                         # Enable command echoing

# MXCMD script execution
$ cmd "script.mxcmd"              # Execute MXCMD script file

# WSL integration (Windows)
$ wsl_on                          # Enable WSL for commands
$ exec "ls -la"                   # Execute Linux commands via WSL

# Shader customization
$ set_shader "data/shaders/custom.glsl"  # Load custom shader
$ default_shader                         # Reset to default

Building and Running


# clone the repository
# have libmx2 and other dependencies installed
# Build the project
cd cmd/build
cmake .. -DCMD=ON -DSHARED=ON -DCONSOLE=ON
cmake --build .

# Run the console
./cmd-console

# With custom parameters
./cmd-console -p /path/to/assets -r 1920x1080

Technical Details

Graphics: OpenGL 3.3+ with SDL2
Language: C++20 with modern STL features
Threading: Multi-threaded with mutex-protected console operations
Platforms: Linux, macOS, Windows (with WSL support)
Dependencies: SDL2, SDL2_TTF, OpenGL, libmx2 framework