OpenEdge ABL Basics

A VS Code extension for OpenEdge ABL / Progress 4GL.

Initial features:

• Syntax highlighting for .p, .i, and .df files
• Bracket and comment configuration
• Basic ABL snippets
• Keyword, statement, and built-in function autocomplete
• Built-in ABL function and modifier highlighting based on the Progress ABL Syntax Reference
• Built-in ABL function signature help based on Progress function detail pages
• Table and column autocomplete from a database schema cache JSON file
• Schema cache refresh through an ODBC connection string
• Go to Definition and clickable links for include files such as {ar/fmsg.i} and procedures such as RUN po/item-price-p.p
• Basic Format Document support for ABL block indentation

Running the Extension

1. Run npm install
2. Run npm run compile
3. Open this project in VS Code
4. Press F5 to open the Extension Development Host
5. Open a .p, .i, or .df file

Project Structure

• src/extension.ts: autocomplete provider and language features
• src/ablSignatures.ts: generated signature help data for built-in ABL functions
• scripts/generate-abl-signatures.mjs: signature generator from Progress documentation
• syntaxes/abl.tmLanguage.json: TextMate grammar for syntax highlighting
• language-configuration.json: comments, brackets, and auto-closing pairs
• snippets/abl.json: basic snippets

Include File Navigation

Include paths are resolved relative to the workspace root:

{ar/fmsg.i}
RUN po/item-price-p.p.

If the target file exists in the workspace, use Ctrl+Click or the Go to Definition command on the include/procedure path to open it. Document links are also enabled for paths that can be resolved.

Format Document

Use Format Document or the default VS Code shortcut to format ABL indentation.

The formatter currently focuses on indentation for:

• Block openers such as DO:, FOR EACH:, REPEAT:, PROCEDURE:, and FUNCTION:
• Block closers such as END., END PROCEDURE., and END FUNCTION.
• Multiline include blocks { ... }
• ELSE, WHEN, and OTHERWISE branches
• FIELD lines after DEFINE TEMP-TABLE

The formatter does not change keyword casing and does not split long statements.

Database Schema Autocomplete

The extension reads table and column metadata from a JSON cache so autocomplete remains fast while editing.

Available commands:

• ABL: Set ODBC Connection String: stores the ODBC connection string in VS Code SecretStorage
• ABL: Refresh Database Schema: connects to the database through ODBC, reads table/column metadata, and writes the cache JSON
• ABL: Show Schema Cache: opens the schema cache file currently in use

Important settings:

{
  "abl.database.connectionString": "DSN=OpenEdgeDB;UID=user;PWD=password",
  "abl.database.tableQuery": "SELECT table_name FROM sysprogress.systables WHERE table_type = 'T' ORDER BY table_name",
  "abl.database.columnQuery": "SELECT column_name FROM sysprogress.syscolumns WHERE table_name = ? ORDER BY ordinal_position",
  "abl.database.schemaCacheFile": ""
}

Using ABL: Set ODBC Connection String is recommended instead of storing passwords in settings.json.

Cache format:

{
  "refreshedAt": "2026-06-22T04:00:00.000Z",
  "tables": [
    {
      "name": "Customer",
      "columns": [
        {
          "name": "CustNum",
          "dataType": "integer"
        },
        {
          "name": "Name",
          "dataType": "character"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

After the cache is available:

• Type FOR EACH to see tables in the autocomplete list.
• Type Customer. to see columns for the Customer table.

If the default queries do not match your OpenEdge database or driver, update abl.database.tableQuery and abl.database.columnQuery. The table query must return the table name in the first column. The column query must accept one ? parameter containing the table name and return the column name in the first column.