#+OPTIONS: toc:nil

* Basicterm

A minimalist Linux terminal emulator written in C, utilizing SDL2 for keyboard input handling and text rendering. This project demonstrates low-level systems programming and graphics programming concepts.

** Project Overview

Basicterm is a custom terminal emulator developed to provide hands-on experience with terminal implementation details and to deepen understanding of fundamental system tools. The project showcases C programming, SDL2 graphics programming, and POSIX terminal semantics.

** Technical Implementation

The terminal emulator is built using:
- *SDL2* for window management and input handling
- *SDL2_ttf* for text rendering
- Custom escape sequence parsing for color support
- Direct shell process communication via pseudoterminals

** Current Features

- Basic shell command execution
- Keyboard input processing with backspace support
- Partial ANSI color escape sequence parsing
- Support for bash and dash shells
- Cross-platform Linux compatibility

** Development Status

This project is actively under development. Recent improvements include:
- Migration from Raylib to SDL2 for better keyboard input handling
- Implementation of basic text rendering pipeline
- Foundation for ANSI escape sequence processing

** Planned Enhancements

- Complete ANSI escape sequence support
- Multi-line text rendering optimization
- Extended shell compatibility (Fish, ZSH)
- Improved terminal state management

** Build Instructions

*Prerequisites:*
- SDL2 development libraries
- SDL2_ttf development libraries

Install dependencies using your distribution's package manager, then build:

#+BEGIN_SRC bash
make build    # Build the project
make run      # Build and run
#+END_SRC

** License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.