ASF Language Support
A comprehensive Visual Studio Code extension providing rich language support for the Advanced Scripting Framework (ASF) — a modern, JavaScript-like scripting language implemented entirely in VBA that transforms VBA into a powerful script host.
ASF brings first-class functions, closures, classes, modules, template literals, destructuring, spread/rest operators, COM object prototype extension, and much more to the VBA ecosystem. This extension makes writing ASF code a first-class experience inside VS Code.
Features
Syntax Highlighting
Full TextMate grammar covering every construct in the ASF language:
- Keywords & control flow —
if, elseif, else, for, while, switch, case, try, catch, return, break, continue
- Declarations —
let, fun, class, field, constructor, static, extends
- Prototype extensions —
prototype.COM.ObjectType methodName() syntax for COM object monkey patching
- Module system —
import, export, from, as, default
- Literals — numbers, single/double-quoted strings with escape sequences, booleans (
true, false), null
- Template strings — backtick strings with
${expression} interpolation, fully recursive highlighting
- VBA escape hatch —
@(VBA_EXPR) blocks highlighted as embedded VBA source
- Operators — arithmetic, comparison, logical, bitwise, assignment, spread (
...), ternary (? :)
- Comments — line (
//) and block (/* */)
- Classes — class names, inherited classes, constructors, static methods, and field declarations
- Functions — named declarations and anonymous function expressions
- Office COM objects — syntax highlighting for Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Access, and Outlook object types
Code Snippets
Over 30 built-in snippets for rapid development:
| Prefix |
Description |
fun |
Function declaration |
afun |
Anonymous function expression |
class |
Class declaration |
classx |
Class with extends |
if |
If statement |
ife |
If-else statement |
ifel |
If-elseif-else statement |
for |
C-style for loop |
forin |
For-in loop |
forof |
For-of loop |
while |
While loop |
switch |
Switch statement |
try |
Try-catch block |
let |
Variable declaration |
imp |
Default import |
impn |
Named import |
impns |
Namespace import (* as) |
exp |
Named export |
expd |
Default export |
dest |
Array destructuring |
destr |
Array destructuring with rest |
print |
Print statement |
tpl |
Template literal |
vba |
VBA escape hatch @(...) |
prototype |
COM prototype method definition |
protorange |
Excel Range prototype method |
protolistrow |
Excel ListRow prototype method |
protoworksheet |
Excel Worksheet prototype method |
protodocument |
Word Document prototype method |
protopresentation |
PowerPoint Presentation prototype method |
protoslide |
PowerPoint Slide prototype method |
protorecordset |
Access Recordset prototype method |
protomailitem |
Outlook MailItem prototype method |
this |
COM object property access via 'this' |
Language Configuration
- Bracket matching —
{}, [], ()
- Auto-closing pairs — braces, brackets, parentheses, single quotes, double quotes, backticks
- Surrounding pairs — select text and wrap with any bracket or quote type
- Comment toggling —
Ctrl+/ for line comments, Shift+Alt+A for block comments
- Code folding — automatic folding on brace blocks plus
// #region / // #endregion markers
- Smart indentation — automatic indent/outdent based on braces
IntelliSense & Editor Support
- Hover information — hover over keywords to see quick descriptions
- Code completions — suggestions for built-in objects, language keywords, and Office COM objects
- Office COM objects — IntelliSense support for 180+ Office objects from Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Access, and Outlook
- Prototype method navigation — COM prototype methods appear in VS Code outline and symbol navigation
- Folding ranges — intelligent code folding based on block structure
Support for ASF's COM object monkey patching syntax (ASF v3.1.2+):
- Prototype method definition —
prototype.COM.ObjectType methodName() { ... } syntax highlighting
- Context-aware
this binding — proper highlighting of this keyword within prototype methods
- Office object types — recognition of Excel (
Range, Worksheet, ListRow), Word (Document, Paragraph), PowerPoint (Slide, Presentation), Access (Recordset, Form), and Outlook (MailItem, Folder) object types
- Method chaining support — snippets include
return this; for fluent interfaces
- Application-specific templates — dedicated snippets for each Office application's common objects
Example prototype method:
prototype.COM.Range formatCurrency() {
this.NumberFormat = "$#,##0.00";
this.Font.Bold = true;
return this; // Enable method chaining
}
Requirements
No external dependencies are required. The extension works out of the box with any VS Code installation 1.109.0 or later.
To actually run ASF scripts, you will need:
- Microsoft Excel or Access (as the VBA host)
- The ASF runtime library imported into your VBA project
- ASF v3.1.2 or later for COM prototype extension features
See the ASF documentation for setup instructions.
Extension Settings
This extension does not currently contribute any configurable settings.
Supported File Extensions
| Extension |
Description |
.vas |
ASF script file (can use import/export) |
Known Issues
- VBA escape highlighting — The
@(VBA_EXPR) construct uses a simplified matching strategy. Deeply nested parentheses inside the VBA expression may cause the closing delimiter to be detected prematurely.
- Template string nesting — Nested template literals (backticks inside
${} interpolations) may not highlight correctly beyond two levels of depth.
- No semantic tokenization yet — Highlighting is purely TextMate-based. Variable scoping, type inference, and cross-file symbol resolution are not yet supported.
Enjoy!
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