Tasking Project to VSCode

A VSCode extension that converts Tasking project configurations to VSCode settings, making it easier to work with Tasking projects in Visual Studio Code.

Features

• Automatically detects and converts Tasking project configurations (.cproject files)
• Extracts and converts:
  • Predefined macros
  • Include paths
  • Excluding paths
  • Forced include files
• Supports multiple Tasking configurations with configuration selector
• Generates VSCode configuration files:
  • c_cpp_properties.json for C/C++ configuration
  • settings.json for file exclusion rules
  • compile_commands.json for clangd integration
• Integrates with GNU Global for enhanced code navigation
• Enhanced clangd support with optimized settings for better code intelligence

Requirements

• Visual Studio Code version 1.80.0 or higher
• C/C++ extension for VSCode (recommended)
• GNU Global (optional, required for code navigation features)

Installation

1. Download the extension package
2. Install it in VSCode using the Extensions view
3. Reload VSCode

Usage

1. Open your Tasking project folder in VSCode
2. Press Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+P (macOS) to open the Command Palette
3. Type "Convert Tasking Project" and select the command
4. Choose the configuration you want to convert when prompted
5. The extension will create/update the necessary VSCode configuration files

Extension Settings

This extension contributes the following settings:

• tasking-to-vscode.enableGNUGlobal: Enable GNU Global Support for code navigation. When enabled, a gtags.conf file will be generated with proper exclude paths configuration. Default is false.
• tasking-to-vscode.enableCompileCommands: Enable generation of compile_commands.json file for clangd integration. When enabled, the extension will generate a compile_commands.json file based on your Tasking project configuration, providing enhanced code intelligence features through clangd. Default is true.
• tasking-to-vscode.clangdDiagnosticsSuppressOptions: Configure the Diagnostics.Suppress options in the .clangd file to suppress specific diagnostic warnings. Multiple values can be specified as an array. Default is ["attributes_not_allowed"].

GNU Global Configuration

When GNU Global support is enabled, the extension automatically generates a gtags.conf file in your project directory. This file is configured to:

• Convert exclude paths from your Tasking project to GNU Global format
• Handle both directory and file exclusions
• Support wildcards and pattern matching
• Maintain consistency with VSCode's file exclusion settings

The generated configuration ensures that GNU Global indexes only the relevant source files, improving performance and search accuracy.

Clangd Integration

The extension generates a compile_commands.json file in the .vscode directory, which enables advanced code intelligence features through clangd:

• Accurate code completion and diagnostics
• Smart header file inclusion
• Cross-file symbol renaming
• Background indexing for better performance
• Detailed completion suggestions

Known Issues

• Path conversion limitations: Some complex path configurations in the Tasking project may not be correctly converted to VSCode format
• Performance considerations: Projects with extremely large numbers of exclude paths (>100) may experience slower initial configuration generation

Troubleshooting

spawn ENAMETOOLONG Error in Projects with Many Exclude Paths

If you encounter a spawn ENAMETOOLONG error when using the extension, this is typically caused by:

• Too many exclude paths in your .cproject file (the main cause)
• Each exclude path being converted to complex glob patterns
• The combined exclude pattern string exceeding system command line argument limits

Root Cause: When your Tasking project has dozens or hundreds of exclude paths in the .cproject file, the extension converts each path to a glob pattern and combines them into a single string for vscode.workspace.findFiles. This can result in command line arguments that exceed system limits (typically around 8000 characters).

Solution: The extension automatically handles this in version 1.0.9 and later by:

• Limiting the maximum number of exclude patterns to 50
• Limiting the total exclude string length to 8000 characters
• Using a fallback strategy when limits are exceeded:
  • Priority given to hidden directory exclusions (.git, .vscode, etc.)
  • Important exclude patterns are preserved up to the length limit
  • Warning messages are logged when patterns are limited

Manual Workarounds (if needed):

1. Reduce the number of exclude paths in your .cproject file
2. Combine similar exclude patterns where possible
3. Check the VSCode output console for warning messages about pattern limiting

Release Notes

1.0.9

• Fixed critical spawn ENAMETOOLONG error caused by too many exclude paths in .cproject files
• Added intelligent exclude pattern limiting (max 50 patterns, max 8000 characters)
• Implemented fallback strategy to preserve most important exclude patterns when limits are exceeded
• Enhanced error handling with detailed warning messages for pattern limitation
• Improved performance for projects with large numbers of exclude configurations

1.0.8

• Fixed spawn ENAMETOOLONG error in Git-managed projects by automatically excluding hidden directories (starting with .) from file searches
• Improved performance in projects with large numbers of files by filtering out .git, .vscode, and other hidden directories
• Enhanced file search efficiency and reduced memory usage during configuration generation

1.0.7

• Optimized user experience for single configuration scenarios: Automatically use the configuration without displaying the selection dialog when the project has only one configuration

1.0.6

• Added clangdDiagnosticsSuppressOptions configuration for customizing clangd diagnostic warnings
• Enhanced clangd integration with configurable warning suppression

1.0.5

• restart clangd server after configuration changes

1.0.4

• Add arguments -ferror-limit=0 for clangd

1.0.3

• Add arguments for clangd

1.0.2

• Added support for Tasking compiler-specific identifiers
• Improved macro handling and compiler compatibility
• Enhanced configuration parsing for better Tasking integration

1.0.1

• Added compile_commands.json generation for clangd integration
• Enhanced clangd configuration with optimized settings
• Added support for forced include files
• Improved path processing for better compatibility
• Enhanced exclude path handling for both files and directories

1.0.0

Initial release of Tasking Project to VSCode converter with the following features:

• Basic Tasking project configuration conversion
• GNU Global integration for code navigation
• Multiple configuration support