Baan C / Infor LN Support

Complete language support for Baan C and Infor LN (3GL and 4GL) inside Visual Studio Code.

Marketplace: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=AnonymousGCA.baan-c-vscode

Full documentation: docs/README.md
As well as here: Github Pages
Which's essentially an hosted page of: docs/index.html

Features

• Syntax Highlighting: Comprehensive coloring for keywords, SQL embedded statements, 4GL sections, types, preprocessors, and more.
• Code Formatting: Automatic document formatting (Shift + Alt + F or on-save). Perfectly indents conditional blocks, loops, embedded SQL branches (selectdo, selectempty), and multi-line arguments. Embedded SQL clauses (select / from / where / and / …) are aligned so operands share the same column.
• Block Diagnostics: Real-time linting that catches structural errors like unmatched endif, endwhile, or endselect statements. Quick Fixes correct common idiom slips: for … by → step and stray while … do (Baan C has no do keyword).
• Naming Convention Hints: Soft (Hint-level) suggestions based on Infor LN design principles — lowercase, dots as separators (my.beautiful.function), avoid single-letter / temp names. Quick Fix can rename across the file. Toggle with baanc.diagnostics.namingConventions.
• Built-in Completions: 1,120+ API functions with snippet inserts and hover docs — db.*, dal.*, strings, dates, SQL, reports, XML/JSON, HTTP client, cURL, SOAP, digests, BLOBs, dialogs, RDI/dictionary, parallel processing, eMessage Connector (cmf.*), Chart Manager (chm.*), and more.
• Error Constants: Completions and hovers for common ES/DB codes (ELOCKED, EDUPL, ENOREC, EREFERENCE, …).
• Signature Help: Parameter hints while typing function calls (Ctrl+Shift+Space) for builtins and local functions.
• Hover Documentation: Hover over keywords, API functions, error codes, and local functions for definitions and usage notes.
• Go to Definition: Jump to functions, tables, domains, and typed variables declared in the current file (F12).
• Find All References: Highlight and list every use of an identifier in the file (Shift+F12).
• Rename Symbol: Rename identifiers across the current file (F2), with guards against renaming builtins/keywords.
• Document Highlights: Occurrences of the symbol under the cursor are highlighted while editing.
• Code Folding: Fold if/while/for/select/function blocks, preprocessor regions, and 4GL sections.
• Document Symbols (Outline): Navigate functions, domains, tables, and 4GL sections in the Outline view.
• Workspace Symbols: Search functions, domains, tables, and 4GL sections across all open Baan C files with Go to Symbol in Workspace (Ctrl+T), in addition to the per-file Outline (Ctrl+Shift+O).
• Snippets: Shortcuts like if, ife, while, selectf, txselect, httpget, dalgs, domain, and more. Select snippets insert table.* (not bare *) with linked table name placeholders and column-aligned clauses.
• Insert Templates: Command Palette / context menu — transaction+select and full select skeletons (same table.* + aligned clause style).
• Status Bar Quick Actions: While a Baan C file is active, a Baan C item appears in the status bar — click it for a Quick Pick of the most used commands (Format Document, Run Diagnostics, insert templates, Manage Memorized Libraries, Open Documentation).
• Library Memory (BECS-friendly): When you open a library or include .bc file, the extension remembers its functions even after BECS closes and deletes the temp file. Those functions appear in completions in other scripts.
• IntelliJ-style Auto-Import (include vs pragma): Accepting a completion inserts the correct import form when missing:
  • Include scripts (e.g. itxadv0000) → #include "itxadv0000"
  • Compiled DLLs (e.g. tccomdll0200) → #pragma used dll "otccomdll0200" Soft Information hints + Quick Fix cover calls that already exist without the import. You can toggle include/DLL kind in Manage Memorized Libraries. Optional builtin DLL mappings stay conservative (never aggressive guessing across LN installations).
• Manage Memorized Libraries: Command Palette actions to inspect, switch import kind (#include ↔ #pragma used dll), remove individual libraries/functions, or clear all.

Extension Settings

See docs/configuration.md for the full reference. Summary:

Commands

Details: docs/commands.md.

Supported files

Building

npm install
npm run compile              # development bundle → dist/extension.js
npm run watch                # rebuild on change
npx @vscode/vsce package     # production build + .vsix

Then in VS Code: Extensions: Install from VSIX… and select the generated .vsix.

Full contributor guide: docs/development.md.

Known Issues

• Advanced macro definitions inside block diagnostics might occasionally confuse the linter if blocks are opened/closed in different files.
• Find References / Rename operate on the current file only. Workspace Symbols (Ctrl+T) search across all open Baan files, but there is no persistent workspace index.
• Library memory classifies sources as include vs DLL by name/content heuristics (*dll* → pragma; classic i… includes like itxadv0000 → #include). Use Manage Memorized Libraries to override if a name is ambiguous. Unusual temp names may need a manual import.
• Builtin auto-import only runs for APIs with an explicit optional DLL mapping (core bshell functions never force a pragma).

More: docs/troubleshooting.md.

Release Notes

See CHANGELOG.md for the full history.

[1.0.9] - 07-08-2026

• Fixed string highlighting: Baan C has no backslash escapes (embedded quotes are doubled ""), so \ is a plain character. It no longer eats the closing " and mis-colors the rest of the line, and a real | comment after a string is detected again. Diagnostics, formatting, signature-help, and library-memory parsing follow the same rule.

[1.0.8] - 02-08-2026

• Workspace symbols: search symbols across all open Baan files with Go to Symbol in Workspace (Ctrl+T).
• Status bar quick actions: click the Baan C status bar item for a Quick Pick of the most used commands.
• Quick Fixes for for … by → step and stray while … do.
• ~140 more builtins (1,125 total): eMessage Connector (cmf.*), Chart Manager (chm.*), ARTM (artm.*).
• Docs site generator hardened: HTML escaping, table pipes inside code spans, CommonMark fences, unique anchors, deep-linked search results.
• Tooling: ESLint modernized (@stylistic/semi, lint covers scripts/), npm test script, npm audit clean.

[1.0.7] - 23-07-2026

• Added Baan C: Open documentation command to open the extension documentation.
• Added /docs folder with .md documentation for commands, development, troubleshooting and more.
• Added /scripts/build-docs.js script to generate the documentation as an index.html HTML file from /docs/*.md.
• Added Github Action workflow to build the documentation and deploy it to GitHub Pages on every push to master.
• Optimized build process to reduce the size of the extension package and improve performance.

[1.0.6] - 22-07-2026

• Select snippets and insert templates use table.* with linked placeholders and aligned clauses.
• Document formatter aligns embedded SQL clause keywords so operands share one column.

[1.0.5] - 21-07-2026

• Library memory for BECS / temp .bc workflows; include vs DLL auto-import; manage/clear commands.

[1.0.4] - 18-07-2026

• 980+ builtins, error constants, signature help, references/rename/highlights, folding, templates.

[1.0.3] – 1.0.1

Earlier releases: naming hints, initial language support — see changelog.

License

MIT