Ternimal
Version: 0.1.0 Web: https://github. com/p-e-w/ternimal
We always like to try out applications that don’t have a practical use, but are still a fun way to pass an hour or two. Case in point: Ternimal. Usually, it takes a minute or two of squinting your eyes to identify where exactly the typo is in that name, but there isn’t one. Ternimal is a cross between a terminal emulator and an animal, and you can quickly make sure that the name is a good one. The program draws an animated worm or a snake right inside your terminal window. The creature is made of rectangular Unicode symbols, and even though the picture inevitably ends up looking a little pixellish, the animation is very natural and smooth.
There’s no practical use in using Ternimal other than getting a wow out of your friends, but it’s important to note that the application is featured as an exercise for programming in Rust. Ternimal was written in Rust and because it’s a very compact app, you can learn some great best practices by examining the code.
Running the program is a piece of cake. All you need to do is to install the generic ‘rust’ package in your Linux distro. Rust comes with the rustc compiler, for which you’ll need to build an executable: $ rustc -O ternimal.rs
When launched without arguments, Ternimal draws a pale and plump horse nail, which blindly makes its way through the black surroundings (or whatever your terminal background is). The app doesn’t provide any built-in help, but its developer was kind enough to show up some custom variants that mimic anaconda, swarm of smaller fries, or even a rainbow. Try this for instance: $ ternimal length=200 thickness=0,4,19,0,0
You can also append other arguments, like ‘radius’, ‘gradient’ and ‘padding’. Explore these options and more, and have a jolly time with Ternimal.