Are console apps still worth it for end users?

pxoqxo

I’m making some cool tools, but I’ve noticed that building a GUI often takes a lot of extra time. So, for my personal projects, I usually use console apps instead.

I created a FOSS library called ConsolePlus that makes it easier to read and parse user input directly from the console. It has built-in parsing for common data types, for example:

ReadInt()
ReadBool()
ReadString()

I also used ConsolePlus to build another FOSS project called 2faConsole.

I don’t have much experience with this kind of project yet, and I haven’t received much feedback. So I’d really appreciate your opinion:

Do you think I should continue developing ConsolePlus?

I have plans to make it more advanced in the future, but I’d like to know if you think it’s actually useful before I invest more time into it.

Both projects are available on GitHub.

7 Replies

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Sam Hobbs6d ago
Back in the 1980s I used IBM's ISPF Dialog Manager to develop simple applications. The ISPF Dialog Manager uses text-only screens and console screens are generally text-only. The formatted screens were called panels.
I think panels (forms) are a worthwhile possibility. You will need to learn how to use terminal emulators. Terminal emulators support ANSI Escape sequences for formatting console screens. You could develop a system that supports forms that can be created in a text editor, something similar to XAML for GUI applications.
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- pxoqxo5d ago
  You’re probably talking about TUI. If you mean that, then I don’t think TUI is a good approach right now because it requires almost the same effort as building a GUI.
  I’m making a simple interface that still feels like text, but lets you quickly fill in every field, similar to textboxes in a GUI.
  I’m not supporting mouse clicks right now. It’s completely keyboard-driven. You can use the arrow keys to move up and down between fields in the terminal.
  In short, my purpose is to improve the UX, not the UI. Let’s see if people like ConsolePlus in the future or not.
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- Sam Hobbs4d ago
  I cannot find something called TUI except as a general concept. A text interface can be most anything, including what you have done.
  As for the mouse, the ISPF Dialog Manager were developed for dumb terminals that did not have mice. We could only use the keyboard to navigate panels.
  Your ConsolePlus currently does not handle the keyboard; it uses the Console API for the keyboard. The user experience can be improved with a form-oriented utility but that would be much work.
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Sam Hobbs14d ago
Console applications can be very useful when there is little or no user interface required. At the other extreme, a UI might be best when there are multiple data items that depend on each other. It might be difficult to decide what requirements to satisfy. The console API provides extensive formatting features that are seldom used, at least in Windows. It would be possible to implement the equivalent of forms in a console application but that would be much more complicated.
I think an important decision is whether you want to support an interactive application.
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- pxoqxo8d ago
  Yes, that’s exactly why I’m building ConsolePlus. It’s about UX, not TUI in the console. I’m trying to create an easy and intuitive experience for end users.
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Lucas Blake15d ago
Yes, console apps are definitely still worth developing, especially for developers, power users, automation, and command-line workflows. A GUI is not always necessary, and a well-designed console tool can often be faster and easier to maintain.
ConsolePlus sounds useful because handling and validating user input is something many developers repeatedly need. I think you should continue developing it and focus on making the API simple, adding strong validation and error handling, and providing good documentation with practical examples. The 2faConsole project is also a good real-world example of how the library can be used.
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- pxoqxo8d ago
  Thanks for the valuable feedback. After receiving much feedback, I now have a much clearer goal for ConsolePlus.
  It’s all about UX, not TUI or command-line interfaces. In the next version of ConsolePlus, I’m planning some major changes, such as using the arrow keys to navigate and control fields, along with built-in validation for various types of fields.
  For example:
  Enter First Name:
  Enter Last Name:
  If the user presses the Up Arrow key, the cursor will move back to the First Name field.
  I also want to provide advanced, built-in validation methods such as:
  ReadMobileNumber()
  ReadZip()
  ReadEmail()
  ReadUrl()
  Along with support for 💖 C#’s built-in data types.
  The goal is to make console-based applications much easier for end users.
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