EGAText

A retro display system with a modern API; powered by Grid.

Emulates EGA text mode through a selection of live view interfaces:

• Grid: all the power of Grid
• Modern: write with Pen objects, render to canvas, string or HTML
• Pascal/CRT: independent contexts with an API based on Pascal's CRT unit

General use

npm install egatext-alpha

import { EGAText, vgaFont, lineSets } from "egatext-alpha";

const screen = EGAText.init(80, 25);

const render = screen.getRenderer(vgaFont, /* palette */);

// grid interface
screen.grid.paste(someOtherScreen, 10, 10);
screen.grid.on("change", () => render(myCanvas));

// pen interface
screen.pen(14, 0).write(0, 0, "Yellow text!");
screen.pen(11, 0).write(0, 1, "Cyan text!");

// live region view
const region = screen.region(0, 5, 80, 5); // EGAText instance (live)
region.pen(0, 7).drawBorder(lineSets.singleHoriz.doubleVert);

// Pascal-like interface
const crt = region.getCRT({ lockScroll: true });
crt.gotoXY(3, 3);
crt.write("Hello Pascal");

Tips

// import .BMF fonts
import { loadBmfFont } from "egatext-alpha";
const font = await loadBmfFont("url/to.bmf");
const renderer = screen.getRenderer(font);

// render to string
screen.grid.on("change", () => console.log(screen.toString()));
// or to HTML
document.body.innerHTML = screen.toHTML(/* palette */);