Paging -help output

[thrust26]

With the ever increasing number of features and resulting command line parameters, the output for -help has become quite large. Therefore we should page the help text, where the output stops after each page.

I tried to do this for windows, but the way Windows attaches a console to a GUI app is crazy. 😒 Also MSVS behaves different between Debug and Release mode, so I cannot even debug the problems. 😠 Whatever I tried, it always resulted into having to press Enter twice and original console command prompt cluttering the output. E.g.:

@sa666666
Maybe this can be easier added at least for Linux and MacOS?

[DirtyHairy]

Hm, that would be highly unusual behaviour on UNIX. Many, many programs have help output that exceeds a typical screen, and the usual thing to do is to just pipe the output through less (or more).

[thrust26]

Yes, Windows is special here. A GUI doesn't have any console output by default. So you have to attach a separate console. And then you can redirect stdout and stderr to that console. But for whatever reason, stdin doesn't work. From searching the web I found that Microsoft has changed (or broken?) this.

[sa666666]

I was going to say the same as @DirtyHairy. This is more properly handled by the shell/console from which Stella is launched, not by the app itself.

[thrust26]

Not with Windows and MSVS. Without attaching a separate console, there is NO console output at all in a GUI application like Stella.

[thrust26]

@sa666666 @DirtyHairy
I just committed code which should work with Linux and MacOS. It compiles but can you give it a try please?

[sa666666]

Hmm, I left a comment, and now it's gone. I originally said that this is working fine in Linux (KDE/konsole shell). And bonus points that it still works with less and more.

[thrust26]

Thanks, I was worried that I might have broken something.

For Windows the really working solution seems to require to create two programs. A prime example is MSVS, it has devenv.com and devenv.exe. From the command line, using devenv defaults to the .com version, which is a console app. If required devenv.com calls devenv.exe.

Another alternative would be use a GUI window for the console output. devenv.exe -? does that.

But I think both solutions might be overkill. @sa666666 Thoughts?

BTW: Meanwhile I added something similar for the debugger's PromptWideget (dc780d8).

[sa666666]

For Windows the really working solution seems to require to create two programs. A prime example is MSVS, it has devenv.com and devenv.exe. From the command line, using devenv defaults to the .com version, which is a console app. If required devenv.com calls devenv.exe.

This is exactly what I do with the HarmonyCart app. Two versions are included; one is GUI-based, the other is used on the commandline (automatically, as you describe). I never did find another way to do it. If you can, that would be great.

I don't know if it's worth the effort for Stella, though. For HarmonyCart, there's specific functionality at the commandline. In Stella, it's just showing the help screen.

[thrust26]

In Stella, it's just showing the help screen.

Plus listrominfo and rominfo. 😄

If we create such a 2nd app, how would one setup MSVS? Can both be combined into one solution?

[sa666666]

Not that I know of. I never did find a solution beyond just compiling two versions of the app, and naming one with .exe and the other with .com.

[thrust26]

I think its not worth the extra effort. At least not now.