Polish your CLI app

In this chapter, you'll put the finishing touches on the command_runner package. You'll refine the HelpCommand to provide more detailed usage information and add an onOutput argument for more flexible output handling. This finalizes the CommandRunner package and prepares it for use in more complex scenarios.

Before you begin this chapter, ensure you:

• Have completed Chapter 7 and have a working Dart development environment with the dartpedia project.
• Are familiar with basic programming concepts like variables, functions, and control flow.
• Understand the concepts of packages and libraries in Dart.
• Are familiar with object-oriented programming principles like inheritance and abstract classes.

You will polish the command_runner package to make it more robust and user-friendly.

Enhance the HelpCommand to provide more detailed usage information, including options and their descriptions. This will make it easier for users to understand how to use your CLI application.

1. Open the command_runner/lib/src/help_command.dart file.

2. Add imports for console.dart and exceptions.dart at the top of the file. You need these to use the color extensions and to throw an ArgumentException.

   dart

   import 'dart:async';
   ​
   import 'package:command_runner/command_runner.dart';
   ​
   import 'console.dart';
   import 'exceptions.dart';
   

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3. Replace the existing run method with the following. This new version uses a StringBuffer to efficiently build the help string and includes logic to handle verbose output.

   dart

   @override
   FutureOr<String> run(ArgResults args) async {
     final buffer = StringBuffer();
     buffer.writeln(runner.usage.titleText);
   ​
     if (args.flag('verbose')) {
       for (var cmd in runner.commands) {
         buffer.write(_renderCommandVerbose(cmd));
       }
   ​
       return buffer.toString();
     }
   ​
     if (args.hasOption('command')) {
       var (:option, :input) = args.getOption('command');
   ​
       var cmd = runner.commands.firstWhere(
         (command) => command.name == input,
         orElse: () {
           throw ArgumentException(
             'Input ${args.commandArg} is not a known command.',
           );
         },
       );
   ​
       return _renderCommandVerbose(cmd);
     }
   ​
     // Verbose is false and no arg was passed in, so print basic usage.
     for (var command in runner.commands) {
       buffer.writeln(command.usage);
     }
   ​
     return buffer.toString();
   }
   

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   StringBuffer is a Dart class that allows you to efficiently build strings. It's more performant than using the + operator, especially when performing many concatenations inside a loop.

4. Add the _renderCommandVerbose private helper method to the HelpCommand class. This method formats the detailed output for a single command.

   dart

   String _renderCommandVerbose(Command cmd) {
     final indent = ' ' * 10;
     final buffer = StringBuffer();
     buffer.writeln(cmd.usage.instructionText); //abbr, name: description
     buffer.writeln('$indent ${cmd.help}');
     if (cmd.valueHelp != null) {
       buffer.writeln(
         '$indent [Argument] Required? ${cmd.requiresArgument}, Type: ${cmd.valueHelp}, Default: ${cmd.defaultValue ?? 'none'}',
       );
     }
     buffer.writeln('$indent Options:');
     for (var option in cmd.options) {
       buffer.writeln('$indent ${option.usage}');
     }
     return buffer.toString();
   }
   

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Next, add an onOutput argument to the CommandRunner to allow for flexible output handling.

1. Open the command_runner/lib/src/command_runner_base.dart file.

2. Add the onOutput argument to the CommandRunner constructor, and add the corresponding onOutput member to the class.

   dart

   class CommandRunner {
     CommandRunner({this.onOutput, this.onError});
   ​
     /// If not null, this method is used to handle output. Useful if you want to
     /// execute code before the output is printed to the console, or if you
     /// want to do something other than print output the console.
     /// If null, the onInput method will [print] the output.
     FutureOr<void> Function(String)? onOutput;
   ​
     FutureOr<void> Function(Object)? onError;
   ​
     // ... rest of the class
   }
   

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3. Update the run method to use the onOutput argument.

   dart

     Future<void> run(List<String> input) async {
       try {
         final ArgResults results = parse(input);
         if (results.command != null) {
           Object? output = await results.command!.run(results);
           if (onOutput != null) {
             await onOutput!(output.toString());
           } else {
             print(output.toString());
           }
         }
       } on Exception catch (e) {
         print(e);
       }
     }
   

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   This updates the run method to use the onOutput function if it is provided, otherwise it defaults to printing to the console.

Finally, update your main application to use the new onOutput feature.

1. Open the cli/bin/cli.dart file.

2. Update the main function to pass the onOutput function to the CommandRunner. You will also need to add an import for console.dart to make the write function available.

   dart

   import 'package:command_runner/command_runner.dart';
   import 'package:command_runner/src/console.dart';
   ​
   const version = '0.0.1';
   ​
   void main(List<String> arguments) {
     var commandRunner = CommandRunner<String>(
       onOutput: (String output) async {
         await write(output);
       },
       onError: (Object error) {
         if (error is Error) {
           throw error;
         }
         if (error is Exception) {
           print(error);
         }
       },
     )..addCommand(HelpCommand());
     commandRunner.run(arguments);
   }
   

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Test the improved HelpCommand and the onOutput callback.

1. Open your terminal and navigate to the cli directory.

2. Run the command dart run bin/cli.dart help --verbose.

   You should see detailed usage information for the help command, printed using the custom write function.

In the next lesson, you'll prepare for the Wikipedia portion of the application.