Show HN: Perennial Task (Prn)

Like the wood lily that graces the prairies each summer, some tasks are perennial. They return, season after season, requiring steady attention. Perennial Task is a simple, command-line utility built to help you cultivate these recurring responsibilities, ensuring nothing is ever overlooked.

• Create Tasks: Quickly create normal, due-date, or recurring tasks.
• Edit Tasks: Interactively edit any detail of an existing task.
• Complete Tasks: Mark tasks as complete, which either deletes them or updates their next due/completion date.
• Describe Tasks: Get a detailed, human-readable description of any single task.
• Run Reports: Generate a report of all tasks that are due, overdue, or upcoming.
• Paginated Selection: Easily navigate and select from a large number of tasks.
• Command-Line Driven: Designed for efficient use within a terminal environment.

1. Platform & Dependencies: This utility is designed for Linux environments. Ensure you have PHP version 7.4 or higher installed, with the SimpleXML and DOM extensions enabled (these are usually included by default). You can check this by running php -v and php -m.
2. Gather Files: Place all the packaged files (prn, install.sh, uninstall.sh, prn-completions.bash, task.xsd, and all *.php scripts) into a single directory.
3. Run the Installer: From within that directory, make the installation script executable and run it with sudo:
   chmod +x install.sh sudo ./install.sh
   The installer will copy the application files to /usr/local/lib/perennial-task, create your user configuration directory at ~/.config/perennial-task/, and create a symbolic link at /usr/local/bin/prn.

To completely remove the application, run the uninstall.sh script from the directory where you originally placed the package files:

The script will remove all application files and will prompt you if you also wish to remove your personal task data.

Once installed, you can use the prn command from any directory.

General Syntax: prn [command] [argument]

prn create

• Interactively prompts you to create a new task.

prn edit [task_file]

• Interactively edit an existing task via a paginated menu, or edit [task_file] directly.

prn complete [task_file]

• Mark a task as complete via a paginated menu, or complete [task_file] directly.

prn describe [task_file]

• Shows a detailed description of a task, selected from a menu or specified by [task_file].

prn report [date]

• Generates a report of all due and upcoming tasks. Optionally run for a specific [date].

prn help

• Displays a list of available commands.

prn version

• Displays the application's version number.

This project includes a comprehensive test suite built with PHPUnit to ensure code quality and prevent regressions.

• Composer: The test suite dependencies are managed by Composer. Please follow the official instructions to install it if you haven't already.

1. Clone the repository to your local machine.

2. Navigate to the project's root directory in your terminal.

3. Run the following command to install PHPUnit:

This will download all necessary development dependencies into a vendor/ directory.

From the project's root directory, run the following command to execute the entire test suite:

A successful run will show a series of dots followed by an "OK" message, indicating that all tests have passed.

• Application Files: /usr/local/lib/perennial-task/
• User Configuration & Tasks: ~/.config/perennial-task/
• Executable: /usr/local/bin/prn