NDF

NDF language is a scripting language used to describe game data.

[!NOTE] The ndf here does not refer to the ndf file in the SQL file, they are not the same thing.

Features

Currently, the NDF language has completed its lexical analysis, syntax analysis, semantic analysis, and partial IDE support, representing a milestone progress.

1. Support for syntax highlighting

2. Support for syntax error reporting

3. Support for hover tooltips

4. Localized Language Support

5. Error Message Severity Level Setting

6. Support for global symbol building and lookup
   Can parse symbols globally imported (implicitly) in the file

7. Support for automatic injection of global symbol imports (automatic explicit import)
   Inserts parsed global symbol import comments into the file header

   [!TIP] Import comment syntax:

   1. Import from a file:
      Both \ and / are acceptable
      • Absolute import: from 'path\to\file.ndf' import symbol1, symbol2, ...
      • Relative to root directory import: from '\path\to\file.ndf' import symbol1, symbol2, ...
      • Relative to current file import: from '.\path\to\file.ndf' import symbol1, symbol2, ...
   2. Import from built-in library:
      Currently, the only tested built-in library symbol is TBaseClass, and automatic injection is not supported.
      • import symbol1, symbol2

8. Support for semantic highlighting

Requirements

There is currently no requirement, but if necessary, you may need a game that uses that language

Extension Settings

Location: File > Preferences > Settings > Extensions > NDF

• language:
  Language setting, default is 'en-US', currently supports 'en-US' and 'zh-CN'. Language changes usually take effect immediately, but there may be a delay if a global build task is running.

• level:
  Error message level setting, default is 'strict', options include 'strict', 'loose', 'ignore'. Level changes usually take effect immediately, but there may be a delay if a global build task is running. Changing the level will downgrade or upgrade error messages accordingly.

• maxNumberOfProblems:
  Maximum number of error messages, default is 100.

• globalSearch:
  Global symbol search, default is true. Enabling this will build, cache, and search for global symbols in the root directory of the current project. When the build task is running, a .ndf-cache folder will be generated in the root directory, containing the cache of global symbols.

  [!NOTE] During the build process, files in the .ndf-cache folder are frequently created and deleted, which is normal behavior.

• processNumber:
  Number of build task processes, default is 3.

  [!WARNING] This setting may affect build speed, but too many processes may lead to unpredictable behavior.

• threadNumber:
  Number of threads per process, default is half the number of CPU cores.

  [!WARNING] This setting may affect build speed, but too many threads may lead to unpredictable behavior.

• asyncWorkerNumber:
  Number of asynchronous workers per thread, default is 10.

• autoSpawnImport:
  Automatic injection of global symbol imports, default is true. Enabling this will inject global symbol import comments into the file header.

Known Issues

Currently, there are no known issues, but if any arise, please leave a comment in the issues section.

Todo

• Parser

  • [ ] Support type validation for special constructor functions
  • [ ] Write built-in library

• IDE

  • [ ] Add auto-completion functionality
  • [ ] Add code formatting functionality

Release Notes

This is the release note for version 2.0.3. Compared to the previous version, the improvements in this version are focused on the NDF language parser.

Corpus testing has been conducted on the parser, but it is still impossible to guarantee that there are no issues, as Eugen System has not disclosed the complete grammar and semantics of NDF. Therefore, this parser can only infinitely approach a true NDF interpreter/compiler but is not equivalent to it. Moving forward, more effort will be dedicated to IDE (VS Code) support.