C++ Progress Bar

A lightweight, customizable command-line progress bar implementation in C++. This library provides a simple way to add visual progress indicators to your command-line applications with minimal setup.

Features

• Customizable progress bar appearance
• Support for custom messages
• Configurable update intervals
• Adjustable bar width
• Error handling and input validation
• Cross-platform compatibility
• Header-only implementation

Demo

Loading... [45% ] ##################
Processing [80% ] ================================

Requirements

• C++11 or later
• Standard Template Library (STL)
• CMake 3.10 or later (for building with CMake)

Installation

Option 1: Header-only Include

Simply copy progress_bar.hpp to your project and include it:

#include "progress_bar.hpp"

Option 2: Using Git

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/cpp-progress-bar.git
cd cpp-progress-bar

Building and Running

Using G++

# Build
g++ -std=c++11 main.cpp -o progress_bar

# Run
./progress_bar

Using CMake

mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..
make
./progress_bar

Usage Examples

Basic Usage

#include <iostream>
#include "progress_bar.hpp"

int main() {
    // Simple progress bar with default settings
    show_progress_bar(std::cout, 100, "Loading...");
    return 0;
}

Custom Configuration

// Custom width and fill character
show_progress_bar(std::cout, 50, "Processing", 50, '#');

// Custom output stream
show_progress_bar(std::clog, 100, "Downloading", 70, '=');

API Reference

Function Signature

void show_progress_bar(
    std::ostream& os,              // Output stream
    int update_interval_ms,        // Update interval in milliseconds
    const std::string& message,    // Display message
    size_t bar_width = 70,         // Total bar width (optional)
    char fill_char = '*'           // Fill character (optional)
);

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description	Default
os	std::ostream&	Output stream for the progress bar	Required
update_interval_ms	int	Time between updates in milliseconds	Required
message	const std::string&	Message to display before the bar	Required
bar_width	size_t	Total width of the progress bar	70
fill_char	char	Character used to fill the bar	'*'

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request

Code Style Guidelines

• Use consistent indentation (4 spaces)
• Follow C++ best practices
• Add comments for complex logic
• Include unit tests for new features
• Update documentation as needed

Changelog

Version 1.0.0 (2025-01-16)

• Initial release
• Basic progress bar functionality
• Customizable appearance
• Error handling
• Cross-platform support