Makebox

Makebox is a command-line utility designed for creating and managing simple textual boxes or frames. It is particularly useful for visual formatting in terminal output or text-based interfaces. The primary function of makebox is to take a given string of text and enclose it within a decorative border composed of characters like asterisks, hyphens, or pipes.

Users can customize the appearance of the box by specifying different border characters, the width of the box, and padding around the text. Some versions of makebox may also offer options for aligning the text within the box, such as left, right, or center alignment. This flexibility allows for the creation of visually distinct and organized output.

The tool is typically written in scripting languages like Python or Perl and is often distributed as a standalone script or as part of a larger collection of text manipulation utilities. Its simplicity makes it easy to integrate into shell scripts or other command-line workflows where visual presentation is desired without the complexity of full-fledged GUI toolkits. Makebox finds application in logging, generating simple reports, or highlighting important messages in a terminal environment.