Add ability to convert strings without writing to console

[BD103]

Creating a convert(string: str) global function would make certain programs easier.

I usually code Colorama into a Python package for Windows support. I find that I have to write an initialize script in __init__.py because it seems unnecessary to init() and deinit() every time. This convert function would fix that.

• It wouldn't rewrite sys.stdout / err
• It wouldn't be a part of a class, though it might implement AnsiToWin32
• It would only take one required argument, string (this leaves room for configuration)

Some examples of this used:

from colorama import convert

def cli():
  print(convert("\033[31mHello, world!\033[0m"))

if __name__ == "__main__":
  cli()

[mara004]

Surely sounds like a good idea to me, but that would of course be a completely different, compatibility-breaking approach that would mean more or less a rewrite of colorama. I'm not sure whether a completely new project wouldn't be more suitable for this.

As a design consideration, I'd rather name the method colourise, coloured or similar, since convert is too general and does not hint enough at the fact that it's about colouring/highlighting messages.

[BD103]

Yes. I just realized a few days ago that ANSI codes work on Windows 10, though I can't get them to work for the Python Repl. Do you know the escape pattern that would work?

[mara004]

ANSI codes working on the classical Windows 10 cmd is new to me. I thought that would require Windows-specific API calls? -- Does colorama work with Vistual Studio REPL?

[mara004]

I find that I have to write an initialize script in __init__.py because it seems unnecessary to init() and deinit() every time.

Yeah, putting the colorama.init() call in an __init__.py file is the right approach. Calling init() and deinit() repeatedly would be wasteful and is not how it's intended.