Todo CLI

A command-line todo application written in modern C++ using CMake.

This project was built as a practical exercise in C++ software design, focusing on object-oriented programming, separation of concerns, STL containers, file I/O, persistence, JSON serialization, and CMake-based project organization.

Features

Add tasks
List tasks
Mark tasks as completed
Remove tasks
Automatic task ID generation
Persistent task storage
JSON-based data storage
Interactive command-line menu
Input validation

Project Structure

todo-cli/
├── CMakeLists.txt
├── include/
│   ├── nlohmann/
│   │   └── ...                 # nlohmann/json headers
│   └── todo/
│       ├── FileStorage.h
│       ├── Task.h
│       └── TodoManager.h
├── src/
│   ├── FileStorage.cpp
│   ├── Task.cpp
│   ├── TodoManager.cpp
│   └── main.cpp
└── build/

Architecture

The project separates responsibilities between the main components:

Task

Represents an individual todo item.

A task contains:

ID
Title
Completion status

TodoManager

Responsible for todo-related business logic, including:

Adding tasks
Removing tasks
Completing tasks
Managing the collection of tasks

FileStorage

Responsible for persistence.

It handles:

Saving tasks to disk
Loading tasks from disk
JSON serialization and deserialization
File I/O

The application uses std::fstream for file operations and nlohmann/json for JSON serialization.

Data Persistence

Tasks are stored in:

tasks.json

Example:

[
    {
        "id": 1,
        "title": "Learn C++",
        "completed": false
    },
    {
        "id": 2,
        "title": "Build Todo CLI",
        "completed": true
    }
]

The persistence flow is:

Save:

std::vector<Task>
       ↓
JSON objects
       ↓
JSON array
       ↓
tasks.json


Load:

tasks.json
       ↓
JSON
       ↓
Task objects
       ↓
std::vector<Task>

Technologies

C++20
CMake
Ninja
nlohmann/json
STL
std::ifstream
std::ofstream

Building

Configure

From the project root:

cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja

Build

cmake --build build

Run

On Windows:

.\build\todo-cli.exe

Example

===== Todo CLI =====
1. Add task
2. List tasks
3. Complete task
4. Remove task
5. Exit

Choose an option:

Tasks are automatically saved to tasks.json, allowing them to persist between program executions.

Learning Goals

This project was built to practice:

Modern C++ fundamentals
Classes and object-oriented design
Header/source separation
Encapsulation
References and const correctness
STL containers
C++ file I/O
JSON serialization and deserialization
Error handling
CMake project configuration
Separation of responsibilities
Basic persistence architecture

Future Improvements

Possible future improvements include:

Automated unit tests
More robust JSON validation
Better error handling and recovery
Command-line arguments
Task priorities and due dates
Filtering and searching
Improved project architecture

License

This project is for educational and portfolio purposes.

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README.md

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