webtty

Pros of creack/pty

• Provides a low-level interface for interacting with pseudo-terminals, which can be useful for building more complex terminal-based applications.
• Supports a wide range of operating systems, including Linux, macOS, and Windows.
• Actively maintained with regular updates and bug fixes.

Cons of creack/pty

• May have a steeper learning curve compared to higher-level libraries like webtty, as it requires more manual handling of terminal-related tasks.
• Lacks some of the convenience features and abstractions provided by webtty, such as built-in support for web-based terminal emulation.

Code Comparison

webtty (maxmcd/webtty):

func (s *Server) ServeHTTP(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
    conn, err := s.upgrader.Upgrade(w, r, nil)
    if err != nil {
        log.Println(err)
        return
    }
    defer conn.Close()

    term, err := pty.Start(exec.Command("bash"))
    if err != nil {
        log.Println(err)
        return
    }
    defer term.Close()

    go io.Copy(term, conn)
    io.Copy(conn, term)
}

pty (creack/pty):

func Open() (*os.File, *os.File, error) {
    pty, tty, err := open()
    if err != nil {
        return nil, nil, err
    }
    return os.NewFile(uintptr(pty), "pty"), os.NewFile(uintptr(tty), "tty"), nil
}

func open() (int, int, error) {
    p, err := C.posix_openpt(C.O_RDWR | C.O_NOCTTY)
    if err != nil {
        return -1, -1, err
    }

    if _, err := C.grantpt(p); err != nil {
        C.close(p)
        return -1, -1, err
    }

    if _, err := C.unlockpt(p); err != nil {
        C.close(p)
        return -1, -1, err
    }

    tty := C.ptsname(p)
    if tty == nil {
        C.close(p)
        return -1, -1, errors.New("no tty device")
    }

    return int(p), int(C.open(tty, C.O_RDWR|C.O_NOCTTY, 0)), nil
}

Pros of gliderlabs/ssh

• Supports a wide range of authentication methods, including password, public key, and keyboard-interactive.
• Provides a flexible and extensible architecture, allowing for easy customization and integration with other systems.
• Includes built-in support for SSH tunneling and port forwarding.

Cons of gliderlabs/ssh

• May have a steeper learning curve compared to maxmcd/webtty, as it offers more advanced features and configuration options.
• Requires more setup and configuration to get started, especially for more complex use cases.
• May have a larger codebase and dependencies, which could impact performance or resource usage in some scenarios.

Code Comparison

Here's a brief code comparison between the two projects:

maxmcd/webtty (Go):

func main() {
    app := cli.NewApp()
    app.Name = "webtty"
    app.Usage = "Expose your terminal over the web"
    app.Action = run
    app.Flags = []cli.Flag{
        cli.StringFlag{
            Name:  "addr",
            Value: ":8080",
            Usage: "Address to listen on",
        },
        // ...
    }
    app.Run(os.Args)
}

gliderlabs/ssh (Go):

func main() {
    s := &ssh.Server{
        Addr: ":2222",
        Handler: func(s ssh.Session) {
            io.WriteString(s, "Hello from gliderlabs/ssh\n")
        },
    }

    log.Printf("Starting SSH server on %s", s.Addr)
    log.Fatal(s.ListenAndServe())
}

Pros of Chisel

• Chisel supports multiple protocols, including HTTP, HTTPS, and TCP, making it more versatile than webtty.
• Chisel has a built-in authentication system, allowing for secure connections between the client and server.
• Chisel can be used to create reverse SSH tunnels, which can be useful for accessing resources behind a firewall.

Cons of Chisel

• Chisel has a more complex configuration process compared to webtty, which may be a barrier for some users.
• Chisel's documentation is not as comprehensive as webtty's, which may make it more difficult to get started.
• Chisel is written in Go, while webtty is written in Rust, which may be a preference for some developers.

Code Comparison

webtty:

fn main() {
    let matches = App::new("webtty")
        .version("0.1.0")
        .author("Max McConnaughey <max@maxmcd.com>")
        .about("A simple terminal-based web server")
        .arg(
            Arg::with_name("port")
                .short("p")
                .long("port")
                .value_name("PORT")
                .help("Sets the port to use")
                .takes_value(true),
        )
        .get_matches();
}

Chisel:

func main() {
    app := kingpin.New("chisel", "A fast TCP tunnel, transported over HTTP")
    server := app.Command("server", "Starts a server")
    serverAuth := server.Flag("auth", "Optional basic auth username:password").String()
    client := app.Command("client", "Starts a client")
    clientRemote := client.Arg("remote", "Remote host:port").Required().String()
    clientLocal := client.Arg("local", "Local host:port").Required().String()
    kingpin.MustParse(app.Parse(os.Args[1:]))
}

Pros of gotty

• gotty supports multiple clients connecting to the same terminal session, allowing for collaborative work.
• gotty provides a web-based interface, making it accessible from any device with a web browser.
• gotty has a built-in authentication system, allowing for secure access to the terminal.

Cons of gotty

• gotty has a more limited feature set compared to webtty, with fewer customization options.
• gotty may have a steeper learning curve for users unfamiliar with the command-line interface.
• gotty's web-based interface may not be as responsive or user-friendly as a dedicated desktop application.

Code Comparison

webtty:

func (s *Server) ServeHTTP(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
    conn, err := s.upgrader.Upgrade(w, r, nil)
    if err != nil {
        log.Printf("failed to upgrade connection: %v", err)
        return
    }
    defer conn.Close()

    term, err := pty.Start(exec.Command(s.command[0], s.command[1:]...))
    if err != nil {
        log.Printf("failed to start terminal: %v", err)
        return
    }
    defer term.Close()
    // ...
}

gotty:

func (s *Server) ServeHTTP(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
    conn, err := s.upgrader.Upgrade(w, r, nil)
    if err != nil {
        s.logger.Printf("failed to upgrade connection: %v", err)
        return
    }
    defer conn.Close()

    term, err := pty.Start(exec.Command(s.command[0], s.command[1:]...))
    if err != nil {
        s.logger.Printf("failed to start terminal: %v", err)
        return
    }
    defer term.Close()
    // ...
}

The code snippets show the similarities in the way both webtty and gotty handle the WebSocket connection and the terminal session. The main difference is that gotty uses a logger instead of directly printing to the log.