fix: add ansi_buffer example

Importing the `WidgetExt` trait allows users to easily get a string
representation of a widget with ANSI escape sequences for the terminal.
This is useful for debugging and testing widgets.

```rust
use ratatui::{prelude::*, widgets::widget_ext::WidgetExt};

fn main() {
    let greeting = Text::from(vec![
        Line::styled("Hello", Color::Blue),
        Line::styled("World ", Color::Green),
    ]);
    println!("{}", greeting.to_ansi_string(5, 2));
}
```

Fixes: https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/issues/1045

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -2,7 +2,457 @@
 
 All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 
-## [0.26.1](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/releases/tag/0.26.1) - 2024-02-12
+## [0.26.2](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/releases/tag/v0.26.2) - 2024-04-15
+
+This is a patch release that fixes bugs and adds enhancements, including new iterator constructors, List scroll padding, and various rendering improvements. ✨
+
+✨ **Release highlights**: <https://ratatui.rs/highlights/v0262/>
+
+### Features
+
+- [11b452d](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/11b452d56fe590188ee7a53fa2dde95513b1a4c7)
+  *(layout)* Mark various functions as const by @EdJoPaTo in [#951](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/951)
+
+- [1cff511](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/1cff51193466f5a94d202b6233d56889eccf6d7b)
+  *(line)* Impl Styled for Line by @joshka in [#968](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/968)
+
+  ````text
+  This adds `FromIterator` impls for `Line` and `Text` that allow creating
+  `Line` and `Text` instances from iterators of `Span` and `Line`
+  instances, respectively.
+
+  ```rust
+  let line = Line::from_iter(vec!["Hello".blue(), " world!".green()]);
+  let line: Line = iter::once("Hello".blue())
+      .chain(iter::once(" world!".green()))
+      .collect();
+  let text = Text::from_iter(vec!["The first line", "The second line"]);
+  let text: Text = iter::once("The first line")
+      .chain(iter::once("The second line"))
+      .collect();
+  ```
+  ````
+
+- [654949b](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/654949bb00b4522130642f9ad50ab4d9095d921b)
+  *(list)* Add Scroll Padding to Lists by @CameronBarnes in [#958](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/958)
+
+  ````text
+  Introduces scroll padding, which allows the api user to request that a certain number of ListItems be kept visible above and below the currently selected item while scrolling.
+
+  ```rust
+  let list = List::new(items).scroll_padding(1);
+  ```
+  ````
+
+  Fixes:https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/955
+
+- [26af650](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/26af65043ee9f165459dec228d12eaeed9997d92)
+  *(text)* Add push methods for text and line by @joshka in [#998](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/998)
+
+  ````text
+  Adds the following methods to the `Text` and `Line` structs:
+  - Text::push_line
+  - Text::push_span
+  - Line::push_span
+
+  This allows for adding lines and spans to a text object without having
+  to call methods on the fields directly, which is useful for incremental
+  construction of text objects.
+  ````
+
+- [b5bdde0](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/b5bdde079e0e1eda98b9b1bbbba011b770e5b167)
+  *(text)* Add `FromIterator` impls for `Line` and `Text` by @joshka in [#967](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/967)
+
+  ````text
+  This adds `FromIterator` impls for `Line` and `Text` that allow creating
+  `Line` and `Text` instances from iterators of `Span` and `Line`
+  instances, respectively.
+
+  ```rust
+  let line = Line::from_iter(vec!["Hello".blue(), " world!".green()]);
+  let line: Line = iter::once("Hello".blue())
+      .chain(iter::once(" world!".green()))
+      .collect();
+  let text = Text::from_iter(vec!["The first line", "The second line"]);
+  let text: Text = iter::once("The first line")
+      .chain(iter::once("The second line"))
+      .collect();
+  ```
+  ````
+
+- [12f67e8](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/12f67e810fad0f907546408192a2380b590ff7bd)
+  *(uncategorized)* Impl Widget for `&str` and `String` by @kdheepak in [#952](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/952)
+
+  ````text
+  Currently, `f.render_widget("hello world".bold(), area)` works but
+  `f.render_widget("hello world", area)` doesn't. This PR changes that my
+  implementing `Widget` for `&str` and `String`. This makes it easier to
+  render strings with no styles as widgets.
+
+  Example usage:
+
+  ```rust
+  terminal.draw(|f| f.render_widget("Hello World!", f.size()))?;
+  ```
+
+  ---------
+  ````
+
+### Bug Fixes
+
+- [0207160](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/02071607848c51250b4663722c52e19c8ce1c5e2)
+  *(line)* Line truncation respects alignment by @TadoTheMiner in [#987](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/987)
+
+  ````text
+  When rendering a `Line`, the line will be truncated:
+  - on the right for left aligned lines
+  - on the left for right aligned lines
+  - on bot sides for centered lines
+
+  E.g. "Hello World" will be rendered as "Hello", "World", "lo wo" for
+  left, right, centered lines respectively.
+  ````
+
+  Fixes:https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/issues/932
+
+- [c56f49b](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/c56f49b9fb1c7f1c8c97749119e85f81882ca9a9)
+  *(list)* Saturating_sub to fix highlight_symbol overflow by @mrjackwills in [#949](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/949)
+
+  ````text
+  An overflow (pedantically an underflow) can occur if the
+  highlight_symbol is a multi-byte char, and area is reduced to a size
+  less than that char length.
+  ````
+
+- [b7778e5](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/b7778e5cd15d0d4b28f7bbb8b3c62950748e333a)
+  *(paragraph)* Unit test typo by @joshka in [#1022](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/1022)
+
+- [943c043](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/943c0431d968a82b23a2f31527f32e57f86f8a7c)
+  *(scrollbar)* Dont render on 0 length track by @EdJoPaTo in [#964](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/964)
+
+  ````text
+  Fixes a panic when `track_length - 1` is used. (clamp panics on `-1.0`
+  being smaller than `0.0`)
+  ````
+
+- [742a5ea](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/742a5ead066bec14047f6ab7ffa3ac8307eea715)
+  *(text)* Fix panic when rendering out of bounds by @joshka in [#997](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/997)
+
+  ````text
+  Previously it was possible to cause a panic when rendering to an area
+  outside of the buffer bounds. Instead this now correctly renders nothing
+  to the buffer.
+  ````
+
+- [f6c4e44](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/f6c4e447e65fe10f4fc7fcc9e9c4312acad41096)
+  *(uncategorized)* Ensure that paragraph correctly renders styled text by @joshka in [#992](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/992)
+
+  ````text
+  Paragraph was ignoring the new `Text::style` field added in 0.26.0
+  ````
+
+  Fixes:https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/issues/990
+
+- [35e971f](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/35e971f7ebb0deadc613b561b15511abd48bdb54)
+  *(uncategorized)* Scrollbar thumb not visible on long lists by @ThomasMiz in [#959](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/959)
+
+  ````text
+  When displaying somewhat-long lists, the `Scrollbar` widget sometimes did not display a thumb character, and only the track will be visible.
+  ````
+
+### Refactor
+
+- [6fd5f63](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/6fd5f631bbd58156d9fcae196040bb0248097819)
+  *(lint)* Prefer idiomatic for loops by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [37b957c](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/37b957c7e167a7ecda07b8a60cee5de71efcc55e)
+  *(lints)* Add lints to scrollbar by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [c12bcfe](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/c12bcfefa26529610886040bd96f2b6762436b15)
+  *(non-src)* Apply pedantic lints by @EdJoPaTo in [#976](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/976)
+
+  ````text
+  Fixes many not yet enabled lints (mostly pedantic) on everything that is
+  not the lib (examples, benches, tests). Therefore, this is not containing
+  anything that can be a breaking change.
+
+  Lints are not enabled as that should be the job of #974. I created this
+  as a separate PR as its mostly independent and would only clutter up the
+  diff of #974 even more.
+
+  Also see
+  https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/974#discussion_r1506458743
+
+  ---------
+  ````
+
+- [8719608](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/8719608bdaf32ba92bdfdd60569cf73f7070a618)
+  *(span)* Rename to_aligned_line into into_aligned_line by @EdJoPaTo in [#993](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/993)
+
+  ````text
+  With the Rust method naming conventions these methods are into methods
+  consuming the Span. Therefore, it's more consistent to use `into_`
+  instead of `to_`.
+
+  ```rust
+  Span::to_centered_line
+  Span::to_left_aligned_line
+  Span::to_right_aligned_line
+  ```
+
+  Are marked deprecated and replaced with the following
+
+  ```rust
+  Span::into_centered_line
+  Span::into_left_aligned_line
+  Span::into_right_aligned_line
+  ```
+  ````
+
+- [b831c56](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/b831c5688c6f1fbfa6ae2bcd70d803a54fcf0196)
+  *(widget-ref)* Clippy::needless_pass_by_value by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [359204c](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/359204c9298cc26ea21807d886d596de0329bacc)
+  *(uncategorized)* Simplify to io::Result by @EdJoPaTo in [#1016](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/1016)
+
+  ````text
+  Simplifies the code, logic stays exactly the same.
+  ````
+
+- [8e68db9](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/8e68db9e2f57fcbf7cb5140006bbbd4dd80bf907)
+  *(uncategorized)* Remove pointless default on internal structs by @EdJoPaTo in [#980](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/980)
+
+  See #978
+
+Also remove other derives. They are unused and just slow down
+compilation.
+
+- [3be189e](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/3be189e3c6ebd418d13138ff32bc4a749dc840cf)
+  *(uncategorized)* Clippy::thread_local_initializer_can_be_made_const by @EdJoPaTo
+
+  ````text
+  enabled by default on nightly
+  ````
+
+- [5c4efac](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/5c4efacd1d70bb295d90ffaa73853dc206c187fb)
+  *(uncategorized)* Clippy::map_err_ignore by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [bbb6d65](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/bbb6d65e063df9a74ab6487b2216183c1fdd7230)
+  *(uncategorized)* Clippy::else_if_without_else by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [fdb14dc](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/fdb14dc7cd69788e2ed20709e767f7631b11ffa2)
+  *(uncategorized)* Clippy::redundant_type_annotations by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [9b3b23a](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/9b3b23ac14518a1ef23065d4a5da0fb047b18213)
+  *(uncategorized)* Remove literal suffix by @EdJoPaTo
+
+  ````text
+  its not needed and can just be assumed
+  ````
+
+  related:clippy::(un)separated_literal_suffix
+
+- [58b6e0b](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/58b6e0be0f4db3d90005e130e4b84cd865179785)
+  *(uncategorized)* Clippy::should_panic_without_expect by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [c870a41](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/c870a41057ac0c14c2e72e762b37689dc32e7b23)
+  *(uncategorized)* Clippy::many_single_char_names by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [a6036ad](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/a6036ad78911653407f607f5efa556a055d3dce9)
+  *(uncategorized)* Clippy::similar_names by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [060d26b](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/060d26b6dc6e1027dbf46ae98b0ebba83701f941)
+  *(uncategorized)* Clippy::match_same_arms by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [fcbea9e](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/fcbea9ee68591344a29a7b2e83f1c8c878857aeb)
+  *(uncategorized)* Clippy::uninlined_format_args by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [14b24e7](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/14b24e75858af48f39d5880e7f6c9adeac1b1da9)
+  *(uncategorized)* Clippy::if_not_else by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [5ed1f43](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/5ed1f43c627053f25d9ee711677ebec6cb8fcd85)
+  *(uncategorized)* Clippy::redundant_closure_for_method_calls by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [c8c7924](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/c8c7924e0ca84351f5ed5c54e79611ce16d4dc37)
+  *(uncategorized)* Clippy::too_many_lines by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [e3afe7c](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/e3afe7c8a14c1cffd7de50782a7acf0f95f41673)
+  *(uncategorized)* Clippy::unreadable_literal by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [a1f54de](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/a1f54de7d60fa6c57be29bf8f02a675e58b7b9c2)
+  *(uncategorized)* Clippy::bool_to_int_with_if by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [b8ea190](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/b8ea190bf2cde8c18e2ac8276d2eb57d219db263)
+  *(uncategorized)* Clippy::cast_lossless by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [0de5238](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/0de5238ed3613f2d663f5e9628ca7b2aa205ed02)
+  *(uncategorized)* Dead_code by @EdJoPaTo
+
+  ````text
+  enabled by default, only detected by nightly yet
+  ````
+
+- [df5dddf](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/df5dddfbc9c679d15a5a90ea79bb1f8946d5cb9c)
+  *(uncategorized)* Unused_imports by @EdJoPaTo
+
+  ````text
+  enabled by default, only detected on nightly yet
+  ````
+
+- [f1398ae](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/f1398ae6cb1abd32106923d64844b482c7ba6f82)
+  *(uncategorized)* Clippy::useless_vec by @EdJoPaTo
+
+  ````text
+  Lint enabled by default but only nightly finds this yet
+  ````
+
+- [525848f](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/525848ff4e066526d402fecf1d5b9c63cff1f22a)
+  *(uncategorized)* Manually apply clippy::use_self for impl with lifetimes by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [660c718](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/660c7183c7a10dc453d80dfb651d9534536960b9)
+  *(uncategorized)* Clippy::empty_line_after_doc_comments by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [ab951fa](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/ab951fae8166c9321728ba942b48552dfe4d9c55)
+  *(uncategorized)* Clippy::return_self_not_must_use by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [3cd4369](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/3cd436917649a93b4b80d0c4a0343284e0585522)
+  *(uncategorized)* Clippy::doc_markdown by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [9bc014d](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/9bc014d7f16efdb70fcd6b6b786fe74eac7b9bdf)
+  *(uncategorized)* Clippy::items_after_statements by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [36a0cd5](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/36a0cd56e5645533a1d6c2720536fa10a56b0d40)
+  *(uncategorized)* Clippy::deref_by_slicing by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [f7f6692](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/f7f66928a8833532a3bc97292665640285e7aafa)
+  *(uncategorized)* Clippy::equatable_if_let by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [01418eb](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/01418eb7c2e1874cb4070828c485d81ea171b18d)
+  *(uncategorized)* Clippy::default_trait_access by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [8536760](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/8536760e7802a498f7c6d9fe8fb4c7920a1c6e71)
+  *(uncategorized)* Clippy::inefficient_to_string by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [a558b19](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/a558b19c9a7b90a1ed3f309301f49f0b483e02ec)
+  *(uncategorized)* Clippy::implicit_clone by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [5b00e3a](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/5b00e3aae98cb5c20c10bec944948a75ac83f956)
+  *(uncategorized)* Clippy::use_self by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [27680c0](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/27680c05ce1670f026ad23c446ada321c1c755f0)
+  *(uncategorized)* Clippy::semicolon_if_nothing_returned by @EdJoPaTo
+
+### Documentation
+
+- [14461c3](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/14461c3a3554c95905ebca433fc3d4dae1e1acda)
+  *(breaking-changes)* Typos and markdownlint by @EdJoPaTo in [#1009](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/1009)
+
+- [d0067c8](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/d0067c8815d5244d319934d58a9366c8ad36b3e5)
+  *(license)* Update copyright years by @orhun in [#962](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/962)
+
+- [88bfb5a](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/88bfb5a43027cf3410ad560772c5bfdbaa3d58b7)
+  *(text)* Update Text and Line docs by @joshka in [#969](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/969)
+
+- [3b002fd](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/3b002fdcab964ce3f65f55dc8053d9678ae247a3)
+  *(uncategorized)* Update incompatible code warning in examples readme by @joshka in [#1013](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/1013)
+
+### Performance
+
+- [e02f476](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/e02f4768ce2ee30473200fe98e2687e42acb9c33)
+  *(borders)* Allow border!() in const by @EdJoPaTo in [#977](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/977)
+
+  ````text
+  This allows more compiler optimizations when the macro is used.
+  ````
+
+- [541f0f9](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/541f0f99538762a07d68a71b2989ecc6ff6f71ef)
+  *(cell)* Use const CompactString::new_inline by @EdJoPaTo in [#979](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/979)
+
+  ````text
+  Some minor find when messing around trying to `const` all the things.
+
+  While `reset()` and `default()` can not be `const` it's still a benefit
+  when their contents are.
+  ````
+
+- [65e7923](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/65e792375396c3160d76964ef0dfc4fb1e53be41)
+  *(scrollbar)* Const creation by @EdJoPaTo in [#963](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/963)
+
+  ````text
+  A bunch of `const fn` allow for more performance and `Default` now uses the `const` new implementations.
+  ````
+
+- [8195f52](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/8195f526cb4b321f337dcbe9e689cc7f6eb84065)
+  *(uncategorized)* Clippy::needless_pass_by_value by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [183c07e](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/183c07ef436cbb8fb0bec418042b44b4fedd836f)
+  *(uncategorized)* Clippy::trivially_copy_pass_by_ref by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [a13867f](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/a13867ffceb2f8f57f4540049754c2f916fd3efc)
+  *(uncategorized)* Clippy::cloned_instead_of_copied by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [3834374](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/3834374652b46c5ddbfedcf8dea2086fd762f884)
+  *(uncategorized)* Clippy::missing_const_for_fn by @EdJoPaTo
+
+### Miscellaneous Tasks
+
+- [125ee92](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/125ee929ee9009b97a270e2e105a3f1167ab13d7)
+  *(docs)* Fix: fix typos in crate documentation by @orhun in [#1002](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/1002)
+
+- [38c17e0](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/38c17e091cf3f4de2d196ecdd6a40129019eafc4)
+  *(editorconfig)* Set and apply some defaults by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [07da90a](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/07da90a7182035b24f870bcbf0a0ffaad75eb48b)
+  *(funding)* Add eth address for receiving funds from drips.network by @BenJam in [#994](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/994)
+
+- [078e97e](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/078e97e4ff65c02afa7c884914ecd38a6e959b58)
+  *(github)* Add EdJoPaTo as a maintainer by @orhun in [#986](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/986)
+
+- [b0314c5](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/b0314c5731b32f51f5b6ca71a5194c6d7f265972)
+  *(uncategorized)* Remove conventional commit check for PR by @Valentin271 in [#950](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/950)
+
+  ````text
+  This removes conventional commit check for PRs.
+
+  Since we use the PR title and description this is useless. It fails a
+  lot of time and we ignore it.
+
+  IMPORTANT NOTE: This does **not** mean Ratatui abandons conventional
+  commits. This only relates to commits in PRs.
+  ````
+
+### Build
+
+- [6e6ba27](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/6e6ba27a122560bcf47b0efd20b7095f1bfd8714)
+  *(lint)* Warn on pedantic and allow the rest by @EdJoPaTo
+
+- [c4ce7e8](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/c4ce7e8ff6f00875e1ead5b68052f0db737bd44d)
+  *(uncategorized)* Enable more satisfied lints by @EdJoPaTo
+
+  ````text
+  These lints dont generate warnings and therefore dont need refactoring.
+  I think they are useful in the future.
+  ````
+
+- [a4e84a6](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/a4e84a6a7f6f5b80903799028f30e2a4438f2807)
+  *(uncategorized)* Increase msrv to 1.74.0 by @EdJoPaTo [**breaking**]
+
+  ````text
+  configure lints in Cargo.toml requires 1.74.0
+  ````
+
+  BREAKING CHANGE:rust 1.74 is required now
+
+### New Contributors
+
+* @TadoTheMiner made their first contribution in [#987](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/987)
+* @BenJam made their first contribution in [#994](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/994)
+* @CameronBarnes made their first contribution in [#958](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/958)
+* @ThomasMiz made their first contribution in [#959](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/pull/959)
+
+**Full Changelog**: https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/compare/v0.26.1...0.26.2
+
+## [0.26.1](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/releases/tag/v0.26.1) - 2024-02-12
 
 This is a patch release that fixes bugs and adds enhancements, including new iterators, title options for blocks, and various rendering improvements. ✨
 
@@ -161,7 +611,7 @@ Here is the list of contributors who have contributed to `ratatui` for the first
 * @mo8it
 * @m4rch3n1ng
 
-## [0.26.0](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/releases/tag/0.26.0) - 2024-02-02
+## [0.26.0](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/releases/tag/v0.26.0) - 2024-02-02
 
 We are excited to announce the new version of `ratatui` - a Rust library that's all about cooking up TUIs 🐭
 
@@ -1818,7 +2268,7 @@ Shout out to our new sponsors!
 * @atuinsh
 * @JeftavanderHorst!
 
-## [0.25.0](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/releases/tag/0.25.0) - 2023-12-18
+## [0.25.0](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/releases/tag/v0.25.0) - 2023-12-18
 
 We are thrilled to announce the new version of `ratatui` - a Rust library that's all about cooking up TUIs 🐭
 
@@ -2303,7 +2753,7 @@ Here is the list of contributors who have contributed to `ratatui` for the first
 * @YeungKC
 * @lyuha
 
-## [0.24.0](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/releases/tag/0.24.0) - 2023-10-23
+## [0.24.0](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/releases/tag/v0.24.0) - 2023-10-23
 
 We are excited to announce the new version of `ratatui` - a Rust library that's all about cooking up TUIs 🐭
 

Cargo.toml

@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 [package]
 name = "ratatui"
-version = "0.26.1" # crate version
+version = "0.26.2" # crate version
 authors = ["Florian Dehau <work@fdehau.com>", "The Ratatui Developers"]
 description = "A library that's all about cooking up terminal user interfaces"
 documentation = "https://docs.rs/ratatui/latest/ratatui/"
 keywords = ["tui", "terminal", "dashboard"]
+categories = ["command-line-interface"]
 repository = "https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui"
 readme = "README.md"
 license = "MIT"
@@ -39,7 +40,7 @@ unicode-segmentation = "1.10"
 unicode-width = "0.1"
 document-features = { version = "0.2.7", optional = true }
 lru = "0.12.0"
-stability = "0.1.1"
+stability = "0.2.0"
 compact_str = "0.7.1"
 
 [dev-dependencies]
@@ -58,12 +59,14 @@ palette = "0.7.3"
 pretty_assertions = "1.4.0"
 rand = "0.8.5"
 rand_chacha = "0.3.1"
-rstest = "0.18.2"
+rstest = "0.19.0"
 serde_json = "1.0.109"
 
 [lints.rust]
 unsafe_code = "forbid"
+
 [lints.clippy]
+cargo = { level = "warn", priority = -1 }
 pedantic = { level = "warn", priority = -1 }
 cast_possible_truncation = "allow"
 cast_possible_wrap = "allow"
@@ -145,6 +148,9 @@ unstable-rendered-line-info = []
 ## the future.
 unstable-widget-ref = []
 
+## Enables the `WidgetExt` trait which is experimental and may change in the future.
+unstable-widget-ext = []
+
 [package.metadata.docs.rs]
 all-features = true
 # see https://doc.rust-lang.org/nightly/rustdoc/scraped-examples.html
@@ -176,8 +182,8 @@ harness = false
 
 
 [[example]]
-name = "barchart"
-required-features = ["crossterm"]
+name = "ansi_buffer"
+required-features = ["unstable-widget-ext", "unstable-widget-ref"]
 doc-scrape-examples = true
 
 [[example]]
@@ -322,6 +328,11 @@ name = "inline"
 required-features = ["crossterm"]
 doc-scrape-examples = true
 
+[[example]]
+name = "widget_ext"
+required-features = ["unstable-widget-ext"]
+doc-scrape-examples = true
+
 [[test]]
 name = "state_serde"
 required-features = ["serde"]

benches/block.rs

@@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
-use criterion::{criterion_group, criterion_main, BatchSize, Bencher, BenchmarkId, Criterion};
+use criterion::{criterion_group, criterion_main, BatchSize, Bencher, Criterion};
 use ratatui::{
     buffer::Buffer,
-    layout::Rect,
-    prelude::Alignment,
+    layout::{Alignment, Rect},
     widgets::{
         block::{Position, Title},
         Block, Borders, Padding, Widget,
@@ -13,23 +12,23 @@ use ratatui::{
 fn block(c: &mut Criterion) {
     let mut group = c.benchmark_group("block");
 
-    for buffer_size in [
-        Rect::new(0, 0, 100, 50),  // vertically split screen
-        Rect::new(0, 0, 200, 50),  // 1080p fullscreen with medium font
-        Rect::new(0, 0, 256, 256), // Max sized area
+    for (width, height) in [
+        (100, 50),  // vertically split screen
+        (200, 50),  // 1080p fullscreen with medium font
+        (256, 256), // Max sized area
     ] {
-        let buffer_area = buffer_size.area();
+        let buffer_size = Rect::new(0, 0, width, height);
 
         // Render an empty block
         group.bench_with_input(
-            BenchmarkId::new("render_empty", buffer_area),
+            format!("render_empty/{width}x{height}"),
             &Block::new(),
             |b, block| render(b, block, buffer_size),
         );
 
         // Render with all features
         group.bench_with_input(
-            BenchmarkId::new("render_all_feature", buffer_area),
+            format!("render_all_feature/{width}x{height}"),
             &Block::new()
                 .borders(Borders::ALL)
                 .title("test title")

cliff.toml

@@ -1,4 +1,9 @@
-# configuration for https://github.com/orhun/git-cliff
+# git-cliff ~ configuration file
+# https://git-cliff.org/docs/configuration
+
+[remote.github]
+owner = "ratatui-org"
+repo = "ratatui"
 
 [changelog]
 # changelog header
@@ -22,7 +27,9 @@ body = """
 
 {% macro commit(commit) -%}
 - [{{ commit.id | truncate(length=7, end="") }}]({{ "https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/commit/" ~ commit.id }})
-  *({{commit.scope | default(value = "uncategorized") | lower }})* {{ commit.message | upper_first }}
+  *({{commit.scope | default(value = "uncategorized") | lower }})* {{ commit.message | upper_first | trim }}\
+  {% if commit.github.username %} by @{{ commit.github.username }}{%- endif -%}\
+  {% if commit.github.pr_number %} in [#{{ commit.github.pr_number }}]({{ self::remote_url() }}/pull/{{ commit.github.pr_number }}){%- endif %}\
 {%- if commit.breaking %} [**breaking**]{% endif %}
 {%- if commit.body %}
 
@@ -49,6 +56,28 @@ body = """
 {%- endif -%}
 {%- endfor -%}
 {%- endfor %}
+
+{% if github.contributors | filter(attribute="is_first_time", value=true) | length != 0 %}
+### New Contributors
+{%- endif %}\
+{% for contributor in github.contributors | filter(attribute="is_first_time", value=true) %}
+* @{{ contributor.username }} made their first contribution
+{%- if contributor.pr_number %} in \
+[#{{ contributor.pr_number }}]({{ self::remote_url() }}/pull/{{ contributor.pr_number }}) \
+{%- endif %}
+{%- endfor -%}
+
+{% if version %}
+{% if previous.version %}
+**Full Changelog**: {{ self::remote_url() }}/compare/{{ previous.version }}...{{ version }}
+{% endif %}
+{% else -%}
+  {% raw %}\n{% endraw %}
+{% endif %}
+
+{%- macro remote_url() -%}
+https://github.com/{{ remote.github.owner }}/{{ remote.github.repo }}\
+{% endmacro %}
 """
 
 
@@ -68,7 +97,7 @@ filter_unconventional = true
 split_commits = false
 # regex for preprocessing the commit messages
 commit_preprocessors = [
-  { pattern = '\((\w+\s)?#([0-9]+)\)', replace = "([#${2}](https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/issues/${2}))" },
+  { pattern = '\((\w+\s)?#([0-9]+)\)', replace = "" },
   { pattern = '(better safe shared layout cache)', replace = "perf(layout): ${1}" },
   { pattern = '(Clarify README.md)', replace = "docs(readme): ${1}" },
   { pattern = '(Update README.md)', replace = "docs(readme): ${1}" },

clippy.toml

@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+# https://rust-lang.github.io/rust-clippy/master/index.html#/multiple_crate_versions
+# ratatui -> bitflags v2.3
+# termwiz -> wezterm-blob-leases -> mac_address -> nix -> bitflags v1.3.2
+allowed-duplicate-crates = ["bitflags"]

examples/ansi_buffer.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+use ratatui::{prelude::*, widgets::ansi_string_buffer::AnsiStringBuffer};
+
+fn main() {
+    let mut buf = AnsiStringBuffer::new(5, 2);
+    buf.render_ref(&Line::styled("Hello", Color::Blue), Rect::new(0, 0, 5, 1));
+    buf.render_ref(&Line::styled("World", Color::Green), Rect::new(0, 1, 5, 1));
+    println!("{buf}");
+}

examples/demo2/app.rs

@@ -38,14 +38,10 @@ enum Tab {
 }
 
 pub fn run(terminal: &mut Terminal<impl Backend>) -> Result<()> {
-    App::new().run(terminal)
+    App::default().run(terminal)
 }
 
 impl App {
-    pub fn new() -> Self {
-        Self::default()
-    }
-
     /// Run the app until the user quits.
     pub fn run(&mut self, terminal: &mut Terminal<impl Backend>) -> Result<()> {
         while self.is_running() {

examples/demo2/main.rs

@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ pub use theme::*;
 fn main() -> Result<()> {
     errors::init_hooks()?;
     let terminal = &mut term::init()?;
-    App::new().run(terminal)?;
+    App::default().run(terminal)?;
     term::restore()?;
     Ok(())
 }

examples/vhs/widget_ext.tape

@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+# This is a vhs script. See https://github.com/charmbracelet/vhs for more info.
+# To run this script, install vhs and run `vhs ./examples/hello_world.tape`
+Output "target/widget_ext.gif"
+Set Theme "Aardvark Blue"
+Set Width 1200
+Set Height 300
+Set TypingSpeed 10ms
+Type "cargo run --example=widget_ext --features=unstable-widget-ext"
+Enter
+Sleep 2s
+Screenshot "target/widget_ext.png"
+Sleep 1s

examples/widget_ext.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+use ratatui::{prelude::*, widgets::widget_ext::WidgetExt};
+
+fn main() {
+    let greeting = Text::from(vec![
+        Line::styled("Hello", Color::Blue),
+        Line::styled("World ", Color::Green),
+    ]);
+    println!("{}", greeting.to_ansi_string(5, 2));
+}

src/buffer/buffer.rs

@@ -55,22 +55,21 @@ pub struct Buffer {
 
 impl Buffer {
     /// Returns a Buffer with all cells set to the default one
+    #[must_use]
     pub fn empty(area: Rect) -> Self {
-        let cell = Cell::default();
-        Self::filled(area, &cell)
+        Self::filled(area, &Cell::default())
     }
 
     /// Returns a Buffer with all cells initialized with the attributes of the given Cell
+    #[must_use]
     pub fn filled(area: Rect, cell: &Cell) -> Self {
         let size = area.area() as usize;
-        let mut content = Vec::with_capacity(size);
-        for _ in 0..size {
-            content.push(cell.clone());
-        }
+        let content = vec![cell.clone(); size];
         Self { area, content }
     }
 
     /// Returns a Buffer containing the given lines
+    #[must_use]
     pub fn with_lines<'a, Iter>(lines: Iter) -> Self
     where
         Iter: IntoIterator,
@@ -97,12 +96,14 @@ impl Buffer {
     }
 
     /// Returns a reference to Cell at the given coordinates
+    #[track_caller]
     pub fn get(&self, x: u16, y: u16) -> &Cell {
         let i = self.index_of(x, y);
         &self.content[i]
     }
 
     /// Returns a mutable reference to Cell at the given coordinates
+    #[track_caller]
     pub fn get_mut(&mut self, x: u16, y: u16) -> &mut Cell {
         let i = self.index_of(x, y);
         &mut self.content[i]
@@ -134,6 +135,7 @@ impl Buffer {
     /// // starts at (200, 100).
     /// buffer.index_of(0, 0); // Panics
     /// ```
+    #[track_caller]
     pub fn index_of(&self, x: u16, y: u16) -> usize {
         debug_assert!(
             x >= self.area.left()

src/style/color.rs

@@ -66,7 +66,6 @@ use std::{
 ///
 /// [ANSI color table]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANSI_escape_code#Colors
 #[derive(Debug, Default, Clone, Copy, Eq, PartialEq, Hash)]
-#[cfg_attr(feature = "serde", derive(serde::Serialize))]
 pub enum Color {
     /// Resets the foreground or background color
     #[default]
@@ -141,14 +140,102 @@ impl Color {
     }
 }
 
+#[cfg(feature = "serde")]
+impl serde::Serialize for Color {
+    /// This utilises the [`Display`] implementation for serialization.
+    fn serialize<S>(&self, serializer: S) -> Result<S::Ok, S::Error>
+    where
+        S: serde::Serializer,
+    {
+        serializer.serialize_str(&self.to_string())
+    }
+}
+
 #[cfg(feature = "serde")]
 impl<'de> serde::Deserialize<'de> for Color {
+    /// This is used to deserialize a value into Color via serde.
+    ///
+    /// This implementation uses the `FromStr` trait to deserialize strings, so named colours, RGB,
+    /// and indexed values are able to be deserialized. In addition, values that were produced by
+    /// the the older serialization implementation of Color are also able to be deserialized.
+    ///
+    /// Prior to v0.26.0, Ratatui would be serialized using a map for indexed and RGB values, for
+    /// examples in json `{"Indexed": 10}` and `{"Rgb": [255, 0, 255]}` respectively. Now they are
+    /// serialized using the string representation of the index and the RGB hex value, for example
+    /// in json it would now be `"10"` and `"#FF00FF"` respectively.
+    ///
+    /// See the [`Color`] documentation for more information on color names.
+    ///
+    /// # Examples
+    ///
+    /// ```
+    /// use ratatui::prelude::*;
+    ///
+    /// #[derive(Debug, serde::Deserialize)]
+    /// struct Theme {
+    ///     color: Color,
+    /// }
+    ///
+    /// # fn get_theme() -> Result<(), serde_json::Error> {
+    /// let theme: Theme = serde_json::from_str(r#"{"color": "bright-white"}"#)?;
+    /// assert_eq!(theme.color, Color::White);
+    ///
+    /// let theme: Theme = serde_json::from_str(r##"{"color": "#00FF00"}"##)?;
+    /// assert_eq!(theme.color, Color::Rgb(0, 255, 0));
+    ///
+    /// let theme: Theme = serde_json::from_str(r#"{"color": "42"}"#)?;
+    /// assert_eq!(theme.color, Color::Indexed(42));
+    ///
+    /// let err = serde_json::from_str::<Theme>(r#"{"color": "invalid"}"#).unwrap_err();
+    /// assert!(err.is_data());
+    /// assert_eq!(
+    ///     err.to_string(),
+    ///     "Failed to parse Colors at line 1 column 20"
+    /// );
+    ///
+    /// // Deserializing from the previous serialization implementation
+    /// let theme: Theme = serde_json::from_str(r#"{"color": {"Rgb":[255,0,255]}}"#)?;
+    /// assert_eq!(theme.color, Color::Rgb(255, 0, 255));
+    ///
+    /// let theme: Theme = serde_json::from_str(r#"{"color": {"Indexed":10}}"#)?;
+    /// assert_eq!(theme.color, Color::Indexed(10));
+    /// # Ok(())
+    /// # }
+    /// ```
     fn deserialize<D>(deserializer: D) -> Result<Self, D::Error>
     where
         D: serde::Deserializer<'de>,
     {
-        let s = String::deserialize(deserializer)?;
-        FromStr::from_str(&s).map_err(serde::de::Error::custom)
+        /// Colors are currently serialized with the `Display` implementation, so
+        /// RGB values are serialized via hex, for example "#FFFFFF".
+        ///
+        /// Previously they were serialized using serde derive, which encoded
+        /// RGB values as a map, for example { "rgb": [255, 255, 255] }.
+        ///
+        /// The deserialization implementation utilises a `Helper` struct
+        /// to be able to support both formats for backwards compatibility.
+        #[derive(serde::Deserialize)]
+        enum ColorWrapper {
+            Rgb(u8, u8, u8),
+            Indexed(u8),
+        }
+
+        #[derive(serde::Deserialize)]
+        #[serde(untagged)]
+        enum ColorFormat {
+            V2(String),
+            V1(ColorWrapper),
+        }
+
+        let multi_type = ColorFormat::deserialize(deserializer)
+            .map_err(|err| serde::de::Error::custom(format!("Failed to parse Colors: {err}")))?;
+        match multi_type {
+            ColorFormat::V2(s) => FromStr::from_str(&s).map_err(serde::de::Error::custom),
+            ColorFormat::V1(color_wrapper) => match color_wrapper {
+                ColorWrapper::Rgb(red, green, blue) => Ok(Self::Rgb(red, green, blue)),
+                ColorWrapper::Indexed(index) => Ok(Self::Indexed(index)),
+            },
+        }
     }
 }
 
@@ -579,4 +666,42 @@ mod tests {
             Color::deserialize("#00000000".into_deserializer());
         assert!(color.is_err());
     }
+
+    #[cfg(feature = "serde")]
+    #[test]
+    fn serialize_then_deserialize() -> Result<(), serde_json::Error> {
+        let json_rgb = serde_json::to_string(&Color::Rgb(255, 0, 255))?;
+        assert_eq!(json_rgb, r##""#FF00FF""##);
+        assert_eq!(
+            serde_json::from_str::<Color>(&json_rgb)?,
+            Color::Rgb(255, 0, 255)
+        );
+
+        let json_white = serde_json::to_string(&Color::White)?;
+        assert_eq!(json_white, r#""White""#);
+
+        let json_indexed = serde_json::to_string(&Color::Indexed(10))?;
+        assert_eq!(json_indexed, r#""10""#);
+        assert_eq!(
+            serde_json::from_str::<Color>(&json_indexed)?,
+            Color::Indexed(10)
+        );
+
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    #[cfg(feature = "serde")]
+    #[test]
+    fn deserialize_with_previous_format() -> Result<(), serde_json::Error> {
+        assert_eq!(Color::White, serde_json::from_str::<Color>("\"White\"")?);
+        assert_eq!(
+            Color::Rgb(255, 0, 255),
+            serde_json::from_str::<Color>(r#"{"Rgb":[255,0,255]}"#)?
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            Color::Indexed(10),
+            serde_json::from_str::<Color>(r#"{"Indexed":10}"#)?
+        );
+        Ok(())
+    }
 }

src/widgets.rs

@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 //! - [`Tabs`]: displays a tab bar and allows selection.
 //!
 //! [`Canvas`]: crate::widgets::canvas::Canvas
+pub mod ansi_string_buffer;
 mod barchart;
 pub mod block;
 mod borders;
@@ -37,6 +38,7 @@ mod scrollbar;
 mod sparkline;
 mod table;
 mod tabs;
+pub mod widget_ext;
 
 pub use self::{
     barchart::{Bar, BarChart, BarGroup},

src/widgets/ansi_string_buffer.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,169 @@
+//! A buffer that allows widgets to easily be rendered to a string with ANSI escape sequences.
+
+use std::fmt::{self, Display, Formatter};
+
+use crate::prelude::*;
+
+/// A buffer that allows widgets to easily be rendered to a string with ANSI escape sequences.
+#[stability::unstable(
+    feature = "widget-ext",
+    issue = "https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/issues/1045"
+)]
+pub struct AnsiStringBuffer {
+    /// The area of the buffer.
+    pub area: Rect,
+    buf: Buffer,
+}
+
+impl AnsiStringBuffer {
+    /// Creates a new `AnsiStringBuffer` with the given width and height.
+    pub fn new(width: u16, height: u16) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            area: Rect::new(0, 0, width, height),
+            buf: Buffer::empty(Rect::new(0, 0, width, height)),
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Renders the given widget to the buffer.
+    pub fn render_ref(&mut self, widget: &impl WidgetRef, area: Rect) {
+        widget.render_ref(area, &mut self.buf);
+    }
+}
+
+impl Display for AnsiStringBuffer {
+    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut Formatter) -> fmt::Result {
+        let mut last_style = None;
+        for y in 0..self.area.height {
+            if y > 0 {
+                f.write_str("\n")?;
+            }
+            for x in 0..self.area.width {
+                let cell = self.buf.get(x, y);
+                let style = (cell.fg, cell.bg, cell.modifier);
+                if last_style.is_none() || last_style != Some(style) {
+                    write_cell_style(f, cell)?;
+                    last_style = Some(style);
+                }
+                f.write_str(cell.symbol())?;
+            }
+        }
+        f.write_str("\u{1b}[0m")
+    }
+}
+
+fn write_cell_style(f: &mut Formatter, cell: &buffer::Cell) -> fmt::Result {
+    f.write_str("\u{1b}[")?;
+    write_modifier(f, cell.modifier)?;
+    write_fg(f, cell.fg)?;
+    write_bg(f, cell.bg)?;
+    f.write_str("m")
+}
+
+fn write_modifier(f: &mut Formatter, modifier: Modifier) -> fmt::Result {
+    if modifier.contains(Modifier::BOLD) {
+        f.write_str("1;")?;
+    }
+    if modifier.contains(Modifier::DIM) {
+        f.write_str("2;")?;
+    }
+    if modifier.contains(Modifier::ITALIC) {
+        f.write_str("3;")?;
+    }
+    if modifier.contains(Modifier::UNDERLINED) {
+        f.write_str("4;")?;
+    }
+    if modifier.contains(Modifier::SLOW_BLINK) {
+        f.write_str("5;")?;
+    }
+    if modifier.contains(Modifier::RAPID_BLINK) {
+        f.write_str("6;")?;
+    }
+    if modifier.contains(Modifier::REVERSED) {
+        f.write_str("7;")?;
+    }
+    if modifier.contains(Modifier::HIDDEN) {
+        f.write_str("8;")?;
+    }
+    if modifier.contains(Modifier::CROSSED_OUT) {
+        f.write_str("9;")?;
+    }
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+fn write_fg(f: &mut Formatter, color: Color) -> fmt::Result {
+    f.write_str(match color {
+        Color::Reset => "39",
+        Color::Black => "30",
+        Color::Red => "31",
+        Color::Green => "32",
+        Color::Yellow => "33",
+        Color::Blue => "34",
+        Color::Magenta => "35",
+        Color::Cyan => "36",
+        Color::Gray => "37",
+        Color::DarkGray => "90",
+        Color::LightRed => "91",
+        Color::LightGreen => "92",
+        Color::LightYellow => "93",
+        Color::LightBlue => "94",
+        Color::LightMagenta => "95",
+        Color::LightCyan => "96",
+        Color::White => "97",
+        _ => "",
+    })?;
+    if let Color::Rgb(red, green, blue) = color {
+        f.write_fmt(format_args!("38;2;{red};{green};{blue}"))?;
+    }
+    if let Color::Indexed(i) = color {
+        f.write_fmt(format_args!("38;5;{i}"))?;
+    }
+    f.write_str(";")
+}
+
+fn write_bg(f: &mut Formatter, color: Color) -> fmt::Result {
+    f.write_str(match color {
+        Color::Reset => "49",
+        Color::Black => "40",
+        Color::Red => "41",
+        Color::Green => "42",
+        Color::Yellow => "43",
+        Color::Blue => "44",
+        Color::Magenta => "45",
+        Color::Cyan => "46",
+        Color::Gray => "47",
+        Color::DarkGray => "100",
+        Color::LightRed => "101",
+        Color::LightGreen => "102",
+        Color::LightYellow => "103",
+        Color::LightBlue => "104",
+        Color::LightMagenta => "105",
+        Color::LightCyan => "106",
+        Color::White => "107",
+        _ => "",
+    })?;
+    if let Color::Rgb(red, green, blue) = color {
+        f.write_fmt(format_args!("48;2;{red};{green};{blue}"))?;
+    }
+    if let Color::Indexed(i) = color {
+        f.write_fmt(format_args!("48;5;{i}"))?;
+    }
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn to_string() {
+        let mut buf = AnsiStringBuffer::new(5, 2);
+        buf.render_ref(&Line::styled("Hello", Color::Blue), Rect::new(0, 0, 5, 1));
+        buf.render_ref(&Line::styled("World", Color::Green), Rect::new(0, 1, 5, 1));
+        let ansi_string = buf.to_string();
+        // println!("{ansi_string}"); // uncomment to visually inspect the output
+        assert_eq!(
+            ansi_string,
+            "\u{1b}[34;49mHello\n\u{1b}[32;49mWorld\u{1b}[0m"
+        );
+    }
+}

src/widgets/calendar.rs

@@ -28,14 +28,14 @@ pub struct Monthly<'a, DS: DateStyler> {
 
 impl<'a, DS: DateStyler> Monthly<'a, DS> {
     /// Construct a calendar for the `display_date` and highlight the `events`
-    pub fn new(display_date: Date, events: DS) -> Self {
+    pub const fn new(display_date: Date, events: DS) -> Self {
         Self {
             display_date,
             events,
             show_surrounding: None,
             show_weekday: None,
             show_month: None,
-            default_style: Style::default(),
+            default_style: Style::new(),
             block: None,
         }
     }
@@ -90,10 +90,10 @@ impl<'a, DS: DateStyler> Monthly<'a, DS> {
     }
 
     /// Return a style with only the background from the default style
-    fn default_bg(&self) -> Style {
+    const fn default_bg(&self) -> Style {
         match self.default_style.bg {
-            None => Style::default(),
-            Some(c) => Style::default().bg(c),
+            None => Style::new(),
+            Some(c) => Style::new().bg(c),
         }
     }
 
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ impl<DS: DateStyler> Monthly<'_, DS> {
 
         let mut y = days_area.y;
         // go through all the weeks containing a day in the target month.
-        while curr_day.month() as u8 != self.display_date.month().next() as u8 {
+        while curr_day.month() != self.display_date.month().next() {
             let mut spans = Vec::with_capacity(14);
             for i in 0..7 {
                 // Draw the gutter. Do it here so we can avoid worrying about

src/widgets/canvas/map.rs

@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ pub enum MapResolution {
 }
 
 impl MapResolution {
-    fn data(self) -> &'static [(f64, f64)] {
+    const fn data(self) -> &'static [(f64, f64)] {
         match self {
             Self::Low => &WORLD_LOW_RESOLUTION,
             Self::High => &WORLD_HIGH_RESOLUTION,

src/widgets/canvas/world.rs

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /// [Source data](http://www.gnuplotting.org/plotting-the-world-revisited)
-pub static WORLD_HIGH_RESOLUTION: [(f64, f64); 5125] = [
+pub const WORLD_HIGH_RESOLUTION: [(f64, f64); 5125] = [
     (-163.7128, -78.5956),
     (-163.1058, -78.2233),
     (-161.2451, -78.3801),
@@ -5127,7 +5127,7 @@ pub static WORLD_HIGH_RESOLUTION: [(f64, f64); 5125] = [
     (180.0, -84.71338),
 ];
 
-pub static WORLD_LOW_RESOLUTION: [(f64, f64); 1166] = [
+pub const WORLD_LOW_RESOLUTION: [(f64, f64); 1166] = [
     (-92.32, 48.24),
     (-88.13, 48.92),
     (-83.11, 46.27),

src/widgets/gauge.rs

@@ -164,12 +164,12 @@ impl WidgetRef for Gauge<'_> {
         buf.set_style(area, self.style);
         self.block.render_ref(area, buf);
         let inner = self.block.inner_if_some(area);
-        self.render_gague(inner, buf);
+        self.render_gauge(inner, buf);
     }
 }
 
 impl Gauge<'_> {
-    fn render_gague(&self, gauge_area: Rect, buf: &mut Buffer) {
+    fn render_gauge(&self, gauge_area: Rect, buf: &mut Buffer) {
         if gauge_area.is_empty() {
             return;
         }

src/widgets/paragraph.rs

@@ -256,6 +256,8 @@ impl<'a> Paragraph<'a> {
     /// need in order to be fully rendered. For paragraphs that do not use wrapping, this count is
     /// simply the number of lines present in the paragraph.
     ///
+    /// Note: The design for text wrapping is not stable and might affect this API.
+    ///
     /// # Example
     ///
     /// ```ignore
@@ -267,7 +269,6 @@ impl<'a> Paragraph<'a> {
     /// ```
     #[stability::unstable(
         feature = "rendered-line-info",
-        reason = "The design for text wrapping is not stable and might affect this API.",
         issue = "https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/issues/293"
     )]
     pub fn line_count(&self, width: u16) -> usize {
@@ -297,6 +298,8 @@ impl<'a> Paragraph<'a> {
 
     /// Calculates the shortest line width needed to avoid any word being wrapped or truncated.
     ///
+    /// Note: The design for text wrapping is not stable and might affect this API.
+    ///
     /// # Example
     ///
     /// ```ignore
@@ -309,7 +312,6 @@ impl<'a> Paragraph<'a> {
     /// ```
     #[stability::unstable(
         feature = "rendered-line-info",
-        reason = "The design for text wrapping is not stable and might affect this API.",
         issue = "https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/issues/293"
     )]
     pub fn line_width(&self) -> usize {

src/widgets/table/table_state.rs

@@ -60,8 +60,11 @@ impl TableState {
     /// # use ratatui::{prelude::*, widgets::*};
     /// let state = TableState::new();
     /// ```
-    pub fn new() -> Self {
-        Self::default()
+    pub const fn new() -> Self {
+        Self {
+            offset: 0,
+            selected: None,
+        }
     }
 
     /// Sets the index of the first row to be displayed

src/widgets/widget_ext.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+//! A module that provides an extension trait for widgets that provides methods that are useful for
+//! debugging.
+
+use super::ansi_string_buffer::AnsiStringBuffer;
+use crate::prelude::*;
+
+/// An extension trait for widgets that provides methods that are useful for debugging.
+#[stability::unstable(
+    feature = "widget-ext",
+    issue = "https://github.com/ratatui-org/ratatui/issues/1045"
+)]
+pub trait WidgetExt {
+    /// Returns a string representation of the widget with ANSI escape sequences for the terminal.
+    fn to_ansi_string(&self, width: u16, height: u16) -> String;
+}
+
+impl<W: WidgetRef> WidgetExt for W {
+    fn to_ansi_string(&self, width: u16, height: u16) -> String {
+        let mut buf = AnsiStringBuffer::new(width, height);
+        buf.render_ref(self, buf.area);
+        buf.to_string()
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod widget_ext_tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    struct Greeting;
+
+    impl WidgetRef for Greeting {
+        fn render_ref(&self, area: Rect, buf: &mut Buffer) {
+            let text = Text::from(vec![
+                Line::styled("Hello", Color::Blue),
+                Line::styled("World ", Color::Green),
+            ]);
+            text.render(area, buf);
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn widget_ext_to_ansi_string() {
+        let ansi_string = Greeting.to_ansi_string(5, 2);
+        // println!("{ansi_string}"); // uncomment to visually inspect the output
+        assert_eq!(
+            ansi_string,
+            "\u{1b}[34;49mHello\n\u{1b}[32;49mWorld\u{1b}[0m"
+        );
+    }
+}

tests/widgets_paragraph.rs

@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ fn widgets_paragraph_can_wrap_with_a_trailing_nbsp() {
 #[test]
 fn widgets_paragraph_can_scroll_horizontally() {
     let text =
-        Text::from("段落现在可以水平滚动了！\nParagraph can scroll horizontally!\nShort line");
+        Text::from("段落现在可以水平滚动了！\nParagraph can scroll horizontally!\nLittle line");
     let paragraph = Paragraph::new(text).block(Block::default().borders(Borders::ALL));
 
     test_case(
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ fn widgets_paragraph_can_scroll_horizontally() {
             "┌──────────────────┐",
             "│在可以水平滚动了！│",
             "│ph can scroll hori│",
-            "│ine               │",
+            "│line              │",
             "│                  │",
             "│                  │",
             "│                  │",
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ fn widgets_paragraph_can_scroll_horizontally() {
             "┌──────────────────┐",
             "│段落现在可以水平滚│",
             "│Paragraph can scro│",
-            "│        Short line│",
+            "│       Little line│",
             "│                  │",
             "│                  │",
             "│                  │",