Developer Voices

Text User Interfaces in Rust (with Orhun Parmaksız)

Oct 9, 2024

Orhun Parmaksız, lead developer of the Rust TUI library Ratatui and TUI enthusiast, dives into the world of text user interfaces. He passionately explains why terminal UIs can be faster and cheaper for certain applications. The discussion covers innovations in terminal interactions, the integration of web technologies with OpenGL shaders, and practical tips for beginners looking to explore Rust-based TUIs. Orhun shares insights about live reloading in TUI applications and innovative uses, like enhancing system monitoring through text UIs.

01:06:23

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Episode guests

Orhun Parmaksız

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Quick takeaways

Text User Interfaces (TUIs) provide a cost-effective and rapid method for building user interfaces in the terminal, appealing to programming enthusiasts.

The Rust library 'ratatui' exemplifies modern TUI capabilities with immediate mode rendering, allowing for flexible and interactive user experiences.

Integration of terminal applications with web technologies highlights the potential for seamless user interaction across different platforms while maintaining TUI aesthetics.

Deep dives

The Dominance of User Interfaces

Web pages currently dominate user interfaces, as they have become the most prevalent form for interacting with digital content. Native applications, while simpler in architecture, often come with higher production costs, creating a paradox in development. Meanwhile, command line applications represent a simpler, yet often overlooked, user interface that some programming enthusiasts favor. This episode introduces a lesser-known category, text user interfaces (TUIs), which leverage the potential of modern terminal capabilities to create rich and engaging experiences.

Intro

3min

Innovations in Terminal User Interfaces

22min

Integrating Web Technologies with OpenGL Shaders

2min

Exploring Text User Interfaces in Rust

20min

Enhancing TUIs in Rust

15min

Getting Started with Text User Interfaces in Rust

2min

Navigating Structured Data with Text-Based User Interfaces

3min

For some kinds of application, there is no faster or cheaper way to build a user interface than in the terminal. Sure, it’s not going to suit every kind of user out there, but for those of us that are happy on the command line, rich Text User Interfaces (or TUIs) open all the exploration and discoverability benefits of a GUI are a fraction of the development time.

This week we’re looking at a Rust TUI library with the excellent name ‘ratatui’. We’re joined by Orhun Parmaksız, one of the lead developers and a huge TUI enthusiast on a quest to see how far Text UIs can be pushed.

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Ratatui: https://ratatui.rs/

Ratatouille Tutorials: https://ratatui.rs/tutorials/

Tui Realm: https://github.com/veeso/tui-realm

Awesome Ratatui: https://github.com/ratatui/awesome-ratatui

RTL SDR: https://www.rtl-sdr.com/about-rtl-sdr/

Rust Snake AI: https://github.com/bones-ai/rust-snake-ai-ratatui

SystemCtl-Tui: https://github.com/rgwood/systemctl-tui

GitU: https://github.com/altsem/gitu

…and GitUi: https://github.com/extrawurst/gitui

GitCliff Changelog Tool: https://git-cliff.org/

ATAC (Postman in the Terminal): https://github.com/Julien-cpsn/ATAC