Pros of termbox-go

• Simpler API, easier to get started for beginners
• Lightweight with minimal dependencies
• Good performance for basic terminal applications

Cons of termbox-go

• Limited color support (16 colors)
• Lacks advanced features like mouse support and true color
• Less actively maintained compared to tcell

Code Comparison

termbox-go:

err := termbox.Init()
defer termbox.Close()

termbox.SetCell(x, y, ch, fg, bg)
termbox.Flush()

tcell:

screen, err := tcell.NewScreen()
screen.Init()
defer screen.Fini()

screen.SetContent(x, y, ch, nil, tcell.StyleDefault)
screen.Show()

Both libraries provide similar basic functionality for terminal manipulation, but tcell offers more advanced features and better maintainability. termbox-go is simpler to use and may be sufficient for basic terminal applications, while tcell is more suitable for complex projects requiring advanced terminal capabilities.

tcell has better color support, including true color, and offers additional features like mouse input handling. It also has more active development and a larger community. However, termbox-go's simplicity can be advantageous for smaller projects or developers new to terminal programming in Go.

Pros of tview

• Higher-level abstraction, providing ready-to-use UI components
• Easier to create complex terminal user interfaces quickly
• Built-in support for themes and styles

Cons of tview

• Less flexible for custom low-level terminal manipulations
• Potentially higher memory footprint due to additional abstractions
• May have a steeper learning curve for developers familiar with lower-level APIs

Code Comparison

tview example:

app := tview.NewApplication()
box := tview.NewBox().SetBorder(true).SetTitle("Hello, world!")
if err := app.SetRoot(box, true).Run(); err != nil {
    panic(err)
}

tcell example:

s, _ := tcell.NewScreen()
s.Init()
s.SetContent(10, 10, 'H', nil, tcell.StyleDefault)
s.Show()
for {
    ev := s.PollEvent()
    // Handle events
}

tview builds on top of tcell, providing a higher-level API for creating terminal user interfaces. While tcell offers more fine-grained control over terminal operations, tview simplifies the process of building complex UIs with pre-built components. The choice between the two depends on the specific requirements of your project and the level of abstraction you prefer.

Pros of termui

• Higher-level abstraction for building terminal UIs
• Provides pre-built widgets and components
• Easier to create complex layouts and dashboards

Cons of termui

• Less flexible for custom terminal manipulation
• Potentially higher resource usage due to abstraction layer
• May have limitations for certain advanced use cases

Code Comparison

termui example:

ui.Init()
p := widgets.NewParagraph()
p.Text = "Hello World!"
ui.Render(p)

tcell example:

s, _ := tcell.NewScreen()
s.Init()
s.SetContent(0, 0, 'H', nil, tcell.StyleDefault)
s.Show()

Summary

termui is better suited for quickly building terminal-based user interfaces with pre-built components, while tcell provides lower-level control over terminal operations. termui offers a more straightforward approach for creating dashboards and complex layouts, but may be less flexible for custom terminal manipulations. tcell, on the other hand, gives developers finer control over terminal interactions but requires more code to achieve similar results to termui's built-in widgets.

Pros of gocui

• Higher-level abstraction for creating text-based user interfaces
• Built-in support for widgets like views and keybindings
• Easier to create complex layouts and manage multiple views

Cons of gocui

• Less flexible for low-level terminal manipulation
• May have higher overhead for simpler applications
• Smaller community and fewer updates compared to tcell

Code Comparison

gocui example:

g, err := gocui.NewGui(gocui.OutputNormal)
if err != nil {
    log.Panicln(err)
}
defer g.Close()

g.SetManagerFunc(layout)

tcell example:

s, err := tcell.NewScreen()
if err != nil {
    log.Fatalf("%+v", err)
}
if err := s.Init(); err != nil {
    log.Fatalf("%+v", err)
}

gocui provides a higher-level API for creating and managing views, while tcell offers more direct control over the terminal screen. gocui is better suited for complex TUI applications, whereas tcell is more appropriate for applications requiring fine-grained control over terminal output and input handling.

Pros of tui-go

• Higher-level abstraction for building TUIs, with built-in widgets and layouts
• Easier to create complex user interfaces with less code
• Better suited for developers who want a quick start in building TUIs

Cons of tui-go

• Less flexible and customizable compared to tcell's lower-level approach
• Smaller community and fewer resources available
• Not actively maintained (last commit in 2019)

Code Comparison

tui-go example:

box := tui.NewVBox(
    tui.NewLabel("Hello, world!"),
    tui.NewLabel("Press q to quit."),
)
ui, err := tui.New(box)
if err != nil {
    log.Fatal(err)
}

tcell example:

s, err := tcell.NewScreen()
if err != nil {
    log.Fatal(err)
}
s.Init()
s.SetContent(0, 0, 'H', nil, tcell.StyleDefault)
s.SetContent(1, 0, 'i', nil, tcell.StyleDefault)

tui-go provides a higher-level API with pre-built widgets, making it easier to create complex UIs quickly. tcell offers a lower-level API, giving more control over individual cells and allowing for more customization. tcell is actively maintained and has a larger community, while tui-go hasn't been updated since 2019. Developers should choose based on their specific needs and desired level of control over the TUI.

Pros of termdash

• Higher-level abstraction for building terminal dashboards
• Rich set of pre-built widgets (charts, gauges, sparklines, etc.)
• Built-in layout management system

Cons of termdash

• More opinionated and less flexible than tcell
• Steeper learning curve for simple use cases
• Potentially higher resource usage due to abstraction layers

Code Comparison

termdash:

container, err := container.New(t, container.Border(linestyle.Light))
if err != nil {
    panic(err)
}
text, err := newTextWidget()
container.Update("textWidget", text)

tcell:

s, err := tcell.NewScreen()
if err != nil {
    log.Fatal(err)
}
s.Init()
s.SetStyle(tcell.StyleDefault.
    Foreground(tcell.ColorBlack).
    Background(tcell.ColorWhite))

termdash is built on top of tcell and provides a higher-level API for creating terminal user interfaces. It offers pre-built widgets and layout management, making it easier to create complex dashboards. However, this comes at the cost of flexibility and a steeper learning curve.

tcell, on the other hand, is a lower-level library that provides direct control over the terminal. It's more flexible and lightweight but requires more code to create complex interfaces. tcell is better suited for simpler applications or when you need fine-grained control over the terminal output.