Notepad Command Line Base (NoteCLI)

A command-line based notepad app written in C that allows users to create, read, update, and delete textfile organized in categories. The system includes automatic versioning and comprehensive operation logging.

Features

• Create new text textfile in different categories
• Read existing textfile
• Update textfile content with automatic version backup
• Delete textfile
• Organized file structure with categories
• Version history for edited textfile
• Complete operation logging with timestamps
• Error handling and input validation
• Color-coded console output
• Clean all textfile with history preservation

Directory Structure

NoteCLI/
├── bin/               # Compiled binary
├── src/               # Source code files
├── include/           # Header files
├── data/              # textfile storage
│   ├── recipes/       # Recipe textfile 
│   ├── notes/         # Note textfile 
│   ├── logs/          # Operation logs and history
│   │   └── history.txt    # Complete operation history
│   └── versions/      # Automatically saved old versions
└── obj/               # Object files

Building

To build the project, run:

make

This will create the dms executable in the bin directory.

To clean the build files:

make clean

To clean all textfile while preserving history:

make clean-docs

This will:

1. Ask for confirmation before proceeding
2. Remove all textfile in notes, recipes, and versions directories
3. Preserve the operation history in data/logs/history.txt
4. Log the cleanup operation with timestamp

Usage Guide

Basic Commands

The DMS supports the following commands:

# Create a new textfile
./bin/dms create <category> <filename>

# Read a textfile
./bin/dms read <category> <filename>

# Update a textfile
./bin/dms update <category> <filename>

# Delete a textfile
./bin/dms delete <category> <filename>

Available Categories

The system organizes textfile into these categories:

• recipes - For storing cooking recipes
• notes - For general notes and todos
• logs - For logs and records

How to Use

1. Creating textfile

There are two ways to create textfile:

a. Interactive Mode:

./bin/dms create notes todo.txt
# Then type your content and press Ctrl+D when finished

b. Using Echo (for quick creation):

echo "My content here" | ./bin/dms create notes quick-note.txt

2. Reading textfile

To read any textfile:

./bin/dms read notes todo.txt

3. Updating textfile

When you update a textfile, the old version is automatically saved in the versions directory:

a. Interactive Mode:

./bin/dms update notes todo.txt
# Enter new content and press Ctrl+D when finished

b. Using Echo:

echo "Updated content" | ./bin/dms update notes todo.txt

The old version will be saved as: data/versions/notes_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS_todo.txt

4. Deleting textfile

To delete a textfile (will ask for confirmation):

./bin/dms delete notes todo.txt

Operation History and Logging

The system maintains a complete history of all operations in data/logs/history.txt. Each operation is logged with:

1. Timestamp: [YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS]
2. Operation Type: CREATE, READ, UPDATE, DELETE, or CLEAN-DOCS
3. File Path or Operation Details

Example log entries:

[2025-05-24 20:55:56] CREATE: notes/todo.txt
[2025-05-24 20:56:07] READ: notes/todo.txt
[2025-05-24 20:56:15] UPDATE: notes/todo.txt
[2025-05-24 20:56:19] DELETE: notes/todo.txt
[2025-05-24 21:00:00] CLEAN-DOCS: All textfiles cleared (notes, recipes, versions)

To view the operation history:

cat data/logs/history.txt

Version Control

• All textfile updates are automatically versioned
• Old versions are stored in data/versions/
• Version files are named using the format: category_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS_filename
• You can access old versions directly in the versions directory

Practical Examples

1. Creating and managing a recipe:

# Create a new recipe
echo "Pasta Recipe:
1. Boil water
2. Add pasta
3. Cook for 10 minutes" | ./bin/dms create recipes pasta.txt

# Read the recipe
./bin/dms read recipes pasta.txt

# Update the recipe (old version will be saved automatically)
echo "Improved Pasta Recipe:
1. Boil water with salt
2. Add pasta
3. Cook for 8-10 minutes
4. Add olive oil" | ./bin/dms update recipes pasta.txt

2. Managing a todo list:

# Create todo list
echo "1. Buy groceries
2. Call mom
3. Study C programming" | ./bin/dms create notes todo.txt

# Update with completed items
echo "1. Buy groceries - DONE
2. Call mom
3. Study C programming
4. Go to gym" | ./bin/dms update notes todo.txt

Input Guidelines

• Filenames can only contain:
  • Letters (a-z, A-Z)
  • Numbers (0-9)
  • Dots (.)
  • Hyphens (-)
  • Underscores (_)
• Directory traversal is not allowed in filenames
• Maximum input size for textfile content is 4KB

Error Handling

The system provides clear error messages for:

• Invalid commands
• Invalid categories
• Invalid filenames
• File operation failures
• Memory allocation failures
• Version backup failures
• Logging failures