node-clapi v2.0.0

node-clapi

This is an experiment using Proxy in nodejs as well as trying out typescript.

This module, known as clapi generates node api wrappers around command line programs much like shelljs, but is much less useful :D.

const clapi = require('clapi');

For any given command line string such as eslint lib src controllers (4 args), you can wrap as much of the beginning of it in clapi as you want.

Method calls then dispatch the constructed CLI string and return a promise resolving to the stdout of the command.

As such, the following are equivalent:

const eslint = new clapi('eslint');

// 1.
eslint('lib src controllers'); // -> Promise<stdout>

// 2.
eslint('lib', 'src', 'controllers'); // -> Promise<stdout>

// 3.
eslint.lib('src', 'controllers'); // -> Promise<stdout>
                                  // any method call is treated equivalently as the first argument (!)

The Proxy implementation intercepts the property access to lib which is undefined, and instead returns a Function<Promise<stdout>> method that will forward its arguments to the command line via child_process.exec.

In shelljs this would be something like shelljs.exec(eslint lib src controllers).stdout;.

@todo: how do you maintain an open process with child_process.spawn?

Well... what can you even do with it?

I don't know! You can pretend to have node APIs for command line programs.

// Commit something?
const git = new clapi('git');
git.commit('-am work in progress').then(() => {

    return git.push();

});

// Compile and execute hello.cpp?

const gpp = new clapi('g++');

gpp['hello.cpp']('-o', 'hello').then(() => {

    const hello = new clapi('./hello');
    return hello();

}).then(output => {

    assert(output[0] === 'Hello, world!');
    const rm = new clapi('rm');

    return rm.hello();

});


// ???

const npm = new clapi('npm');

npm.ls('typescript'); // check a dependency
npm.test(); // run your tests