Use AI and Go to program a command-line predictor
Hand-Picked Commands
The main program in Listing 6 then just needs to pass the path to the ~/.myhist.log file to history() (Listing 4), which includes the commands typed so far, including the timestamps and directories. The returned entries then get passed on to the predict() predictor (Listing 5). The result is a prioritized list, which the promptui package (which I discovered on GitHub) shows us in a graphically appealing way on the command line.
The Run() package function makes the command-line user interface interact with the user, lets the user select an item with the arrow keys or with vi mappings, cleans up the menu display nicely when done, and returns the chosen command as the result variable. If everything works without error (i.e., the user did not press Ctrl+C to escape), line 25 outputs the selected command to Stderr, where the g shell function from Listing 1 picks it up, writes it, and executes it.
Conclusions
My DIY command-line predictor significantly reduces typing work during development. Of course, there are no limits to your imagination in DIY projects like this: The algorithm in predict() is still very simple and just cries out to be pimped out using AI tools like Markov chains. Let your creativity run wild.
Infos
- "Programming Snapshot – Run statistics on typed shell commands" by Mike Schilli, Linux Magazine, issue 243, February 2021, https://www.linux-magazine.com/Issues/2021/243/Making-History
- "Programming Snapshot – Go program stores directory paths" by Mike Schilli, Linux Magazine, issue 228, November 2019, https://www.linux-magazine.com/Issues/2019/228/Pathfinder/(offset)/3
- Bash preexec: https://github.com/rcaloras/bash-preexec
The Author
Mike Schilli works as a software engineer in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Each month in his column, which has been running since 1997, he researches practical applications of various programming languages. If you email him at mailto:mschilli@perlmeister.com he will gladly answer any questions.
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