Initial commit

Signed-off-by: Robert Allan James <robert.allan.james@gmail.com>

src/starkernel/hal/console.c

@@ -176,6 +176,7 @@ static int serial_transmit_empty(void) {
 static char        g_active_vm_name_buf[CONSOLE_VM_NAME_BUF];
 static const char *g_active_vm_name = (void *)0;
 static int         g_line_start     = 1;
+static uint64_t g_console_tx_count; /* monotonic console_putc() counter (BSS) */
 
 void console_set_vm_name(const char *name) {
     /* Empty string treated the same as NULL: console_save_vm_name()
@@ -258,8 +259,23 @@ static void emit_prefix(void) {
  * Emits "[VMName] " at the start of each new line when a VM name is set.
  * Also mirrors output to the framebuffer VT100 terminal when available.
  * Serial output is ALWAYS active regardless of framebuffer state.
+ *
+ * console_putc_inner(): the same body minus the tx-counter increment.
+ * console_ensure_line_start() uses the inner form so its format-only
+ * newline does not read as "real output" to the REPL's prompt re-anchor
+ * (repl.c) -- a silent idle beat that merely closes a dangling prompt line
+ * must not be mistaken for chatter and trigger a prompt repaint. The
+ * counter counts characters the caller actually intended to emit.
  */
+static void console_putc_inner(char c);
+
 void console_putc(char c) {
+    g_console_tx_count++;
+    console_putc_inner(c);
+}
+
+static void console_putc_inner(char c)
+{
     /* --- serial UART path (always on) --- */
     if (g_active_vm_name && g_line_start && c != '\n') {
         emit_prefix();
@@ -288,6 +304,19 @@ void console_puts(const char *s) {
     }
 }
 
+uint64_t console_tx_count(void)
+{
+    return g_console_tx_count;
+}
+
+void console_ensure_line_start(void)
+{
+    if (!g_line_start)
+    {
+        console_putc_inner('\n');
+    }
+}
+
 /**
  * Write a string with newline to serial console
  */