Introduction to Figlet

Figlet is a program that creates text banners in a variety of typefaces composed of letters made up of conglomerations of smaller ASCII characters. It’s a great tool for adding some flair to your command line scripts, README files, or even website text.

How to Install Figlet

Before diving into the Figlet APIs, you need to have Figlet installed on your system. You can easily install it using package managers:

  sudo apt-get install figlet  # For Debian/Ubuntu systems

  brew install figlet  # For macOS

  choco install figlet  # For Windows

Basic Figlet Examples

Once Figlet is installed, you can start creating ASCII art text directly from the command line.

  figlet Hello, World!
  figlet -f slant Hello, World!

Adding Custom Fonts

Figlet comes with many fonts, and you can specify which one to use with the -f option. You can also add your own custom fonts.

  figlet -f banner Welcome

Changing Justification

You can change the justification of the output text using the -l (left), -c (center), and -r (right) options.

  figlet -l Left Justified
  figlet -c Center Justified
  figlet -r Right Justified

Advanced Examples

Here are some advanced uses of Figlet.

Using a Command within Figlet

  echo "Dynamic Text" | figlet -f bubble

Creating Vertical Text

You can use the -m option to create vertical text:

  figlet -m Welcome

Integrating Figlet with Scripts

Figlet can be integrated into shell scripts to provide decorative text.

  #!/bin/bash
  echo "Welcome to the Script"
  figlet -f slant Script Title

Application: Creating a Greeting App

Here’s an example of a small application that captures a user’s input and displays it using Figlet:

  #!/bin/bash
  read -p "Enter your name: " name
  figlet -f slant "Hello, $name!"

This simple script prompts the user for their name and uses Figlet to create a styled greeting message.

Overall, Figlet is an impressive tool that can enhance the visual appeal of textual data. By learning its various APIs and options, you can leverage its power for myriad applications from simple messages to integrated scripts.

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