The Simplest No-Nonsense Progress Bar for Python

lowbar: The Simplest No-Nonsense Progress Bar for Python

Introducing lowbar, a blazing-fast Python module that offers a straightforward and efficient solution for displaying progress bars in the terminal. Designed for simplicity and performance, lowbar provides a minimalistic codebase with key features that enhance your progress tracking experience. With automatic resizing, manual and automatic progress management, text logging, customizable bars, and low overhead, lowbar is the go-to choice for developers seeking a hassle-free progress bar solution in their Python projects.

The Need for a Simple Progress Bar Solution

Progress bars play a crucial role in providing visual feedback during time-consuming tasks or iterations within a program. They enhance user experience and create a sense of progress as tasks are completed. However, existing progress bar solutions can be complex, resource-intensive, or burdened with unnecessary features. lowbar aims to address these challenges by offering a simple, no-nonsense approach to progress bar implementation.

Key Features of lowbar

lowbar is designed to be lightweight and easy to use without sacrificing crucial functionality. Here are some notable features of lowbar:

1. Automatic Resizing: lowbar dynamically adjusts to the size of the terminal window, ensuring optimal visibility and display.

2. Manual Progress Management: With lowbar, you have complete control over the progress bar. You can easily set the completion percentage to tailor the bar’s appearance as needed.

3. Automatic Progress Management: lowbar can also function as an iterable, allowing you to automatically update the progress by specifying the length of the iterable or range. This makes it effortless to integrate lowbar within loops or iterations.

4. Text Logging: lowbar provides a convenient method to log text messages alongside the progress bar. You can add descriptive messages or additional information without interfering with the bar’s appearance.

5. Bar Customization: lowbar allows you to customize the load fill and blank fill characters, enabling you to adapt the appearance of the progress bar to suit your preferences.

6. Extremely Low Overhead: lowbar is designed with performance in mind. It introduces minimal overhead, ensuring that your program runs smoothly and efficiently even with the progress bar enabled.

7. Small Package Size: lowbar is a lightweight module with no external dependencies, making it easy to integrate into your projects without worrying about bloating your codebase.

Getting Started with lowbar

To start benefiting from lowbar’s simplicity and efficiency, follow these steps:

1. Install the latest stable release by running the command:
   python
pip install lowbar

2. Import lowbar into your Python project:
   python
import lowbar

3. Initialize the lowbar progress bar object:
   python
bar = lowbar.lowbar()

4. To display the bar at 0% completion, use:
   python
bar.new()

5. Update the completion percentage as tasks are completed:
   python
bar.update(20)

6. For a smoother but slower animation, use:
   python
bar.update_smooth(40)

7. Log additional messages without affecting the bar’s appearance:
   python
bar.log("Hello World!")

8. Clear the bar completely when tasks are finished:
   python
bar.clear()

Seamless Integration and Customization

lowbar offers various customization options to adapt the progress bar to your specific needs. You can modify the load fill and blank fill characters, add a description text for better context, and more. lowbar seamlessly integrates into your code, providing a seamless and intuitive user experience.

A Lean Solution with a Bright Future

lowbar aims to provide a lean and reliable solution for progress bar implementation in Python projects. Built with simplicity and performance in mind, lowbar empowers developers to track progress effortlessly. However, future versions may introduce additional features based on user feedback and requirements, ensuring that lowbar continues to evolve as a preferred choice for progress bar implementation.

Conclusion

With lowbar, developers can now enjoy a simple and efficient progress bar solution that doesn’t compromise performance or carry unnecessary features. Its lightweight design, automatic resizing, manual and automatic progress management, customization options, and minimal overhead make it a standout choice for progress tracking in Python projects. Whether you’re a seasoned developer or just starting, lowbar is a valuable addition to your toolkit, streamlining progress monitoring and enhancing the user experience in your projects. Get started with lowbar today and experience a hassle-free approach to progress bars in Python.