Option to plug in a custom scanner for dynamic syntax check
Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2005 1:28 am
I would like to be able to plug a syntax scanner into TextPad so that TP can provide complex syntax checking and text editing aids like MS Visual Studio .NET. I would like the kind of editing experience that MS Visual Studio .NET V7 provides while editing a Visual Basic file, except that I need to edit file types that MS VS does not support. I would be willing to write the scanner plug-in for the language that I have in mind. I'm sure there are plenty of geeks who would write scanners for many other languages.
A message to the TP user community: Don't discount this idea unless you have used MS VS .NET to edit source code. It practically compiles it as you type! You will seldom have Build errors, because you'll see and correct most mistakes as you type.
I would like to see TP support the following in conjunction with the scanner plugin:
1. Keyword colorization depending on syntax context. (This would discard the built-in colorization and colorize tokens based on results from the scanner.)
2. Wavy red underlines to highlight syntax errors (like MS Word spell checker). The scanner would tell TP where to put the wavy underlines and their color.
3. Pop-up text that displays function argument syntax. (e.g. type "MsgBox(" in a Visual Studio Visual Basic file).
4. Pop-up member list for quick auto-completion. (e.g. Create a TextBox on a VB .NET dialog and type "TextBox1." to see a pop-up scrolling list of Properties and Methods for that object.
5. Pop-up text describing the function where the mouse pointer is hovering.
6. Context sensiive help file displayed by the F1 key that depends on the word where the cursor is located. This is help for the language of the file being edited, not TP help.
A message to the TP user community: Don't discount this idea unless you have used MS VS .NET to edit source code. It practically compiles it as you type! You will seldom have Build errors, because you'll see and correct most mistakes as you type.
I would like to see TP support the following in conjunction with the scanner plugin:
1. Keyword colorization depending on syntax context. (This would discard the built-in colorization and colorize tokens based on results from the scanner.)
2. Wavy red underlines to highlight syntax errors (like MS Word spell checker). The scanner would tell TP where to put the wavy underlines and their color.
3. Pop-up text that displays function argument syntax. (e.g. type "MsgBox(" in a Visual Studio Visual Basic file).
4. Pop-up member list for quick auto-completion. (e.g. Create a TextBox on a VB .NET dialog and type "TextBox1." to see a pop-up scrolling list of Properties and Methods for that object.
5. Pop-up text describing the function where the mouse pointer is hovering.
6. Context sensiive help file displayed by the F1 key that depends on the word where the cursor is located. This is help for the language of the file being edited, not TP help.