Developer Tools for CPQ

⚡Write Oracle CPQ BML in VS Code - with autocomplete, error checking, and the Oracle docs built in.

🤔 Why this exists

Oracle CPQ makes you write BML in a small text box in the admin UI. There is no autocomplete, no error checking, and no way to look up a function without opening the Oracle documentation in another tab.

So most people copy their BML into a real editor, work on it there, and paste it back. This extension makes that editor understand BML.

🚀 Quick start

1️⃣  Install the extension
2️⃣  Create a file ending in .bml
3️⃣  Start typing a function name - for example  json

That's it. Autocomplete, error checking and hover help all switch on automatically. ✨

💭 Tip: you can also work in a .txt, .java or .c file. Autocomplete, hover help and snippets work there too, which is handy for quick drafts.

🎁 What you get

Everything below is ordered by what you will reach for most.

💡 Autocomplete for every BML function

Start typing and every BML function appears, with its signature and description. Pick one and the arguments are filled in as placeholders - press Tab to jump between them.

It also suggests:

• 🔤 Variables you have already used in the file
• 🔑 BML keywords - if, elif, for … in, AND, OR, NOT, throwError
• 🧩 Code templates - loops, if/elif chains, the standard script header comment

🚨 Error checking as you type

Mistakes are underlined in your editor straight away, the way a compiler would show them. 15 checks run automatically - see the full list in Error checking reference below.

🎯 Two checks a generic linter cannot do

Wrong number of arguments - every call is checked against Oracle's own published signature, so a mistake surfaces while you type instead of at runtime on a quote:

expiry = adddays(startDate);       // documented as taking 2 arguments, but 1 was given
value  = jsonget(payloadJson);     // documented as taking 2 to 4 arguments, but 1 was given
put(headerDict);                   // documented as taking 3 arguments, but 1 was given

Your own util library functions are never checked - only the ones the extension has a signature for. It is a Warning rather than an Error because Oracle's documentation is not always complete.

Queries and web service calls inside loops - the classic reason a quote gets slow:

for line in line_process {
    partRecords = bmql("SELECT ... WHERE part_number = $partNum");  // one query per line
    response    = urldata(url, "GET", headerDict);                  // one HTTP call per line
}

On a 200-line quote that is 200 round trips. It looks fine when you test with three lines. Run the query once outside the loop and look the results up from a dictionary instead.

🔧 One-click fixes

Click the 💡 next to an underlined problem and pick a fix:

Every problem also offers 🔕 "Disable this rule", which writes the setting for you. There is also a ⚡ Fix all action for the whole file.

🖱️ Hover help

Hover over any function to see what it does, its parameters, what it returns, and an example - without leaving your file.

🔮 Parameter hints

While you are typing a function call, the current parameter is highlighted so you know which argument you are on. It works correctly with nested calls like jsonput(obj, "key", upper(name)).

📚 The Oracle documentation, offline

The Documentation panel in the sidebar contains the complete Oracle CPQ BML reference - 28 pages covering every function category, BMQL, the Function Editor and BML coding practices - fully searchable, with no internet connection needed. ✈️

🖱️ Right-click any function in your code and choose Show Documentation for Function at Cursor to jump straight to its page.

🌐 Need something the bundled copy does not cover? The Live help button opens the current Oracle help site in an editor tab, on the same topic you were reading. That one needs an internet connection.

🗄️ BMQL support

BMQL queries are no longer just plain strings:

• 🎨 Highlighting inside bmql("...") for SELECT, FROM, WHERE, JOIN, ORDER BY, operators, and your $boundVariables
• 🔍 Checks for a SELECT with no FROM, an INSERT with no INTO, ORDER BY grouped with DISTINCT (which BMQL does not allow), and empty queries
• ⚠️ A warning when a WHERE clause compares against a variable without the required $ - easy to miss, and it fails at runtime

✅ Variables you bind into a query with $ are correctly counted as used, so they are never wrongly reported as unused.

🧹 Formatter

Press Shift+Alt+F to tidy up indentation and spacing. It understands BML syntax that normal formatters do not - elif, for x in list, AND/OR, and <>.

📏 It uses your editor's tab size and tabs-or-spaces setting.

🔍 BML Functions sidebar

Browse and search every function by category, in collapsible sections. Each entry shows the syntax, a description and an example, with buttons to 📋 copy it or ➕ insert it at your cursor.

✂️ Snippets

Type a prefix like bml-json or bml-urldata-get and press Tab. Over 200 snippets cover every function plus common patterns like loops and if/elif chains.

🧭 Getting around large files

• 🗂️ Outline view lists your top-level variables and blocks
• 📁 Folding - wrap a section in // #region Name … // #endregion to collapse it
• ✏️ Rename - put the cursor on a variable and press F2 to rename it everywhere in the file. Unlike find-and-replace, it will not change matches inside strings or comments

📂 Works in other file types

Drafting BML inside a .txt, .java or .c file? Autocomplete, hover help, parameter hints and snippets all work there too.

🎨 Themes

18 built-in colour themes tuned for reading BML - Dracula, Monokai, Nord, One Dark Pro, GitHub Dark/Light, Solarized and Notepad++ lookalikes.

🚨 Error checking reference

All 15 checks, and whether a one-click fix is available.

📖 These follow Oracle's own BML Coding Best Practices. 🎚️ Any of them can be turned off or changed - see Settings below.

⌨️ Commands

Open the Command Palette with Ctrl+Shift+P (Cmd+Shift+P on Mac) and type Developer Tools for CPQ.

⚙️ Settings

Open Settings (Ctrl+,) and search for CPQ.

🔕 Turning off a check you disagree with

The easiest way is to click the 💡 on the problem and choose Disable this rule.

To do it by hand, add this to your settings.json:

"cpqTools.validation.rules": {
    "unused-variable": "off",       // silence it completely
    "unguarded-print": "off",
    "line-too-long": "warning"      // or just change how serious it is
}

Each check can be set to off, hint, information, warning, error, or default.

📥 Installing

1️⃣  Open VS Code
2️⃣  Press Ctrl+Shift+X to open Extensions
3️⃣  Search for "Developer Tools for CPQ"
4️⃣  Click Install

💬 Questions or problems?

• 🐛 Report a bug or request a feature
• ✉️ Email me

⭐ If you find this useful, a review on the Marketplace helps other CPQ developers find it.

_{Made for Oracle CPQ developers, by an Oracle CPQ developer.
Not an official Oracle product. Oracle and CPQ are trademarks of Oracle Corporation.}