Doc updates

README.md

@@ -102,11 +102,11 @@ Instructions for implementing each feature follow.
 
 - Searchable command history
     - Readline history using `<Ctrl>+r`, arrow keys, and other [Readline Shortcut keys](http://readline.kablamo.org/emacs.html)
-        - Readline history can be persistent between application runs via optional argument to `cmd2.Cmd` initializer
     - `cmd2` `history` command provides flexible and powerful search
-        - By design, this history does NOT persist between application runs
         - If you wish to exclude some of your custom commands from the history, append their names to the list at `Cmd.exclude_from_history`.
         - Do `help history` in any `cmd2` application for more information
+    - Both of the above types of history can be optionally persistent between application runs
+        - Via optional `persistent_history_file` argument to `cmd2.Cmd` initializer
 
 - Simple scripting using text files with one command + arguments per line
     - See the [Command Scripts](https://cmd2.readthedocs.io/en/latest/features/scripting.html#command-scripts) section of the `cmd2` docs for more info

docs/features/argument_processing.rst

@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-.. _decorators:
-
 Argument Processing
 ===================
 
@@ -33,19 +31,20 @@ applications.
 .. _argprint: https://github.com/python-cmd2/cmd2/blob/master/examples/arg_print.py
 .. _decorator: https://github.com/python-cmd2/cmd2/blob/master/examples/decorator_example.py
 
+.. _decorators:
 
 Decorators provided by cmd2 for argument processing
 ---------------------------------------------------
 
 ``cmd2`` provides the following decorators for assisting with parsing arguments
 passed to commands:
 
-.. automethod:: cmd2.decorators.with_argument_list
-   :noindex:
 .. automethod:: cmd2.decorators.with_argparser
    :noindex:
 .. automethod:: cmd2.decorators.with_argparser_and_unknown_args
    :noindex:
+.. automethod:: cmd2.decorators.with_argument_list
+   :noindex:
 
 All of these decorators accept an optional **preserve_quotes** argument which
 defaults to ``False``. Setting this argument to ``True`` is useful for cases
@@ -342,3 +341,20 @@ use subcommands in your ``cmd2`` application.
 
 .. _subcommands: https://github.com/python-cmd2/cmd2/blob/master/examples/subcommands.py
 .. _tab_autocompletion: https://github.com/python-cmd2/cmd2/blob/master/examples/tab_autocompletion.py
+
+
+Argparse Extensions
+-------------------
+
+``cmd2`` augments the standard ``argparse.nargs`` with range tuple capability:
+
+- ``nargs=(5,)`` - accept 5 or more items
+- ``nargs=(8, 12)`` - accept 8 to 12 items
+
+``cmd2`` also provides the ``Cmd2ArgumentParser`` class which inherits from
+``argparse.ArgumentParser`` and improves error and help output:
+
+.. autoclass:: cmd2.argparse_custom.Cmd2ArgumentParser
+    :members:
+
+

docs/features/completion.rst

@@ -31,3 +31,50 @@ similar to the following to your class which inherits from ``cmd2.Cmd``::
 
     # Make sure you have an "import functools" somewhere at the top
     complete_bar = functools.partialmethod(cmd2.Cmd.path_complete, path_filter=os.path.isdir)
+
+
+Tab Completion Using Argparse Decorators
+----------------------------------------
+
+When using one the Argparse-based :ref:`decorators`, ``cmd2`` provides
+automatic tab-completion of flag names.
+
+Tab-completion of argument values can be configured by using one of five
+parameters to ``argparse.ArgumentParser.add_argument()``
+
+- ``choices``
+- ``choices_function`` / ``choices_method``
+- ``completer_function`` / ``completer_method``
+
+See the arg_decorators_ or colors_ example for a demonstration of how to
+use the ``choices`` parameter. See the tab_autocompletion_ example for a
+demonstration of how to use the ``choices_function`` and ``choices_method``
+parameters. See the arg_decorators_ or tab_autocompletion_ example for a
+demonstration of how to use the ``completer_method`` parameter.
+
+When tab-completing flags and/or argument values for a ``cmd2`` command using
+one of these decorators, ``cmd2`` keeps track of state so that once a flag has
+already previously been provided, it won't attempt to tab-complete it again.
+When no completion results exists, a hint for the current argument will be
+displayed to help the user.
+
+.. _arg_decorators: https://github.com/python-cmd2/cmd2/blob/master/examples/arg_decorators.py
+.. _colors: https://github.com/python-cmd2/cmd2/blob/master/examples/colors.py
+.. _tab_autocompletion: https://github.com/python-cmd2/cmd2/blob/master/examples/tab_autocompletion..py
+
+
+CompletionItem For Providing Extra Context
+------------------------------------------
+
+When tab-completing things like a unique ID from a database, it can often be
+beneficial to provide the user with some extra context about the item being
+completed, such as a description.  To facilitate this, ``cmd2`` defines the
+``CompletionItem`` class which can be returned from any of the 4 completion
+functions: ``choices_function``, ``choices_method``, ``completion_function``,
+or ``completion_method``.
+
+.. autoclass:: cmd2.argparse_custom.CompletionItem
+    :members:
+
+See the tab_autocompletion_ example or the implementation of the built-in
+**set** command for demonstration of how this is used.

docs/features/embedded_python_shells.rst

@@ -126,10 +126,12 @@ IPython_ provides many advantages, including:
     * Get help on objects with ``?``
     * Extensible tab completion, with support by default for completion of
       python variables and keywords
+    * Good built-in ipdb_ debugger
 
 The object introspection and tab completion make IPython particularly efficient
 for debugging as well as for interactive experimentation and data analysis.
 
 .. _IPython: http://ipython.readthedocs.io
+.. _ipdb: https://pypi.org/project/ipdb/
 
 

docs/features/generating_output.rst

@@ -42,40 +42,6 @@ messages. Users can control whether they would like to see these messages by
 changing the value of the ``quiet`` setting.
 
 
-Output Redirection
-------------------
-
-As in a Unix shell, output of a command can be redirected:
-
-  - sent to a file with ``>``, as in ``mycommand args > filename.txt``
-  - appended to a file with ``>>``, as in ``mycommand args >> filename.txt``
-  - piped (``|``) as input to operating-system commands, as in
-    ``mycommand args | wc``
-
-
-
-.. note::
-
-   If you wish to disable cmd2's output redirection and pipes features, you can
-   do so by setting the ``allow_redirection`` attribute of your ``cmd2.Cmd``
-   class instance to ``False``.  This would be useful, for example, if you want
-   to restrict the ability for an end user to write to disk or interact with
-   shell commands for security reasons::
-
-       from cmd2 import Cmd
-       class App(Cmd):
-           def __init__(self):
-               self.allow_redirection = False
-
-   cmd2's parser will still treat the ``>``, ``>>``, and `|` symbols as output
-   redirection and pipe symbols and will strip arguments after them from the
-   command line arguments accordingly.  But output from a command will not be
-   redirected to a file or piped to a shell command.
-
-If you need to include any of these redirection characters in your command, you
-can enclose them in quotation marks, ``mycommand 'with > in the argument'``.
-
-
 Colored Output
 --------------
 

docs/features/index.rst

@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ Features
    os
    plugins
    prompt
+   redirection
    scripting
    settings
    shortcuts_aliases_macros

docs/features/initialization.rst

@@ -1,5 +1,53 @@
 Initialization
 ==============
 
-Show how to properly initialize a ``cmd2`` app, showing parameters, sequencing,
-etc.
+Here is a basic example ``cmd2`` application which demonstrates many
+capabilities which you may wish to utilize while initializing the app::
+
+    #!/usr/bin/env python3
+    # coding=utf-8
+    """A simple example cmd2 appliction demonstrating the following:
+        1) Colorizing/stylizing output
+        2) Using multiline commands
+        3) Persistent history
+        4) How to run an initialization script at startup
+        5) How to group and categorize commands when displaying them in help
+        6) Opting-in to using the ipy command to run an IPython shell
+        7) Allowing access to your application in py and ipy
+        8) Displaying an intro banner upon starting your application
+        9) Using a custom prompt
+    """
+    import cmd2
+    from cmd2 import style
+
+
+    class BasicApp(cmd2.Cmd):
+        CUSTOM_CATEGORY = 'My Custom Commands'
+
+        def __init__(self):
+            super().__init__(multiline_commands=['echo'], persistent_history_file='cmd2_history.dat',
+                             startup_script='scripts/startup.txt', use_ipython=True)
+
+            self.intro = style('Welcome to cmd2!', fg='red', bg='white', bold=True)
+            self.prompt = 'myapp> '
+
+            # Allow access to your application in py and ipy via self
+            self.locals_in_py = True
+
+            # Set the default category name
+            self.default_category = 'cmd2 Built-in Commands'
+
+        @cmd2.with_category(CUSTOM_CATEGORY)
+        def do_intro(self, _):
+            """Display the intro banner"""
+            self.poutput(self.intro)
+
+        @cmd2.with_category(CUSTOM_CATEGORY)
+        def do_echo(self, arg):
+            """Example of a multiline command"""
+            self.poutput(arg)
+
+
+    if __name__ == '__main__':
+        app = BasicApp()
+        app.cmdloop()

docs/features/misc.rst

@@ -30,55 +30,6 @@ to type::
     (Cmd) !ls -al
 
 
-Commands At Invocation
-----------------------
-
-.. _Argparse: https://docs.python.org/3/library/argparse.html
-
-You can send commands to your app as you invoke it by including them as extra
-arguments to the program. ``cmd2`` interprets each argument as a separate
-command, so you should enclose each command in quotation marks if it is more
-than a one-word command.
-
-.. code-block:: shell
-
-  $ python examples/example.py "say hello" "say Gracie" quit
-  hello
-  Gracie
-
-
-.. note::
-
-   If you wish to disable cmd2's consumption of command-line arguments, you can
-   do so by setting the  ``allow_cli_args`` argument of your ``cmd2.Cmd`` class
-   instance to ``False``.  This would be useful, for example, if you wish to
-   use something like Argparse_ to parse the overall command line arguments for
-   your application::
-
-       from cmd2 import Cmd
-       class App(Cmd):
-           def __init__(self):
-               super().__init__(allow_cli_args=False)
-
-
-Initialization Script
----------------------
-
-.. _AliasStartup: https://github.com/python-cmd2/cmd2/blob/master/examples/alias_startup.py
-
-You can execute commands from an initialization script by passing a file
-path to the ``startup_script`` argument to the ``cmd2.Cmd.__init__()`` method
-like so::
-
-    class StartupApp(cmd2.Cmd):
-        def __init__(self):
-            cmd2.Cmd.__init__(self, startup_script='.cmd2rc')
-
-This text file should contain a :ref:`Command Script
-<features/scripting:Command Scripts>`. See the AliasStartup_ example for a
-demonstration.
-
-
 select
 ------