How do I output coloured text to a Linux terminal?

Question

How do I print coloured characters to a Linux terminal that supports it? How do I tell whether the terminal supports colour codes?

Answer 1

You can output colored text to a terminal by writing an ANSI color value. The ANSI Red value is shown below (sorry, it's C, but can be easily translated):

const char* ANSI_RED = "\x1b[31m";

You can look up other colors online (e.g., ANSI_GREEN). There is also an ANSI_RESET to undo whatever color setting you have put in place.