Adding global timestamp as an option

[scr267]

I would like to add an accurate timestamp to both prompts and messages in ssh-chat. I've created a tentative proof of concept in pull request #242 but we closed it as it was not the most appropriate technique.

[scr267]

Here is a screenshot of the change I propose. The timestamps would be enabled or disabled globally on the host as a command line option. For example: --timestamps

[shazow]

To recap some feedback: This is largely considered out of scope for this repo of ssh-chat, but if it's implemented in a nice unobtrusive way then we may consider it for merging. :)

1. Easiest way to do it quick & hacky (will not be merged, but fine for your own fork): Prepend time.Now() to each line that gets sent to the user's screen:

   ssh-chat/chat/message/user.go

   Line 170 in 50001bf

   _, err := u.screen.Write([]byte(r))

2. A more comprehensive way to do it (not likely to be merged, but open for debate): Use message.Message.Timestamp() as a timestamp for each message, and render it as part of a theme. Would need to add a theme.ColorTimestamp(...) function to properly colorize the message segment. Then we could add a theme option whether to render timestamps at all, this would be configured per-user. If disabled, then theme.ColorTimestamp(...) would simply return an empty string. Optional: Also change the user Prompt every minute to keep self-sent messages timestamped. Would need to rewrite where the prompt is set which might be a fair bit of work.
3. A more ergonomic approach that is fairly likely to be merged: Anytime a message is sent after some amount of inactivity (e.g. 30min or 1hr), emit the current timestamp as a system message just before relaying the message. This can be done in a very unobtrusive way, and give people a general idea of when messages were sent without polluting the chat too much. It would be configured server-side.

[scr267]

I'm going to try a shot at the third option...

[MaddSauer]

+1 for timestamp per default

[shazow]

@MaddSauer Please provide constructive content in comments. You can use emoji reactions to +1 things if there's nothing to add to the conversation.

[Atheatos]

I currently have a combination of options 1 and 2 implemented in a local fork.

Optional: Also change the user Prompt every minute to keep self-sent messages timestamped. Would need to rewrite where the prompt is set which might be a fair bit of work.

I had to modify ./vendor/golang.org/x/crypto/ssh/terminal/terminal.go to export clearAndRepaintLinePlusNPrevious to make this work. The prompt can be updated without this function, but the update will not be visible on the client side. For example, if one begins typing at 15:00 and then hits enter at 15:01, the message would be still be stamped with 15:00. Since it's updated on the server side, however, it appears correctly as 15:01 to all other users. Unless there is another way to update the client prompt, an implementation of Option 2 is probably not reasonable for the main repo.

[shazow]

@Atheatos Cool! Unfortunate that just doing SetPrompt is not sufficient.

[Atheatos]

After commenting, I decided to take another look and actually discovered an alternative. Calling term.Write will cause the prompt to update on the client side. I now have it implemented this way in my local fork.

I got a bit of tunnel vision after finding that clearAndRepaintLinePlusNPrevious suited my needs, and did not look too deeply into its implementation. The function needed to send information back to the client is t.c.Write in golang's terminal.go, which is indirectly accessible from SetSize, Write, and ReadLine.

Edit: The hacky implementation is now available at https://github.com/Atheatos/ssh-chat/tree/timestamps.

[shazow]

Ah that is handy to know indeed!