🧮 CalcDocs — Instantly See What Your Firmware REALLY Computes

Reveal hidden firmware values directly inside VS Code.
Inline calculations • Macro value expansion • Engineering formulas • Unit conversions

Live engineering knowledge embedded directly into firmware.
Stop rebuilding firmware formulas in Excel ➡️ Reuse the originals directly.

CalcDocs is the first VS Code extension focused on understanding firmware engineering calculations instead of source code syntax.

Firmware logic is often invisible.

Values are buried behind:

chained macros

scaling constants

unit conversions

spreadsheet calculations

scattered documentation

👉 CalcDocs makes those values visible instantly.

⚡ What CalcDocs does

CalcDocs transforms VS Code into a live engineering calculation explorer.

Instead of manually expanding macros, opening Excel files, or mentally resolving formulas:

✅ Hover a value
✅ See the final computed result
✅ Understand firmware logic instantly

No build. No flashing. No debugger required.

1️⃣ Coding Evaluator

Write this...	...and will instantly appear

✅ Real-time evaluation
✅ Inline resolved values
✅ No manual calculations

2️⃣ Realtime Engineering Notes

Write this...	...and will instantly appear

Realtime calculations directly in comments
Unit conversion (rpm -> rad/s, atm -> Pa, etc.)
Keep formulas near the actual firmware logic
Eliminate scattered Excel and text notes

👉 Inline Calculations

Keep engineering calculations close to the firmware logic instead of:

external spreadsheets

random .txt files

disconnected documentation

Your firmware becomes self-documented.

3️⃣ Interactive Formula Explorer with estimated tolerance propagation

Explore firmware formulas as a live dependency graph directly inside VS Code.
Check whether the measured value matches your expectations.

Macro Chain Revelation in code

Tolerance propagation in code

Macro Chain Revelation in code

CalcDocs keeps formulas and firmware intrinsically synchronized.

The same engineering logic can now:

✅ live next to production code
✅ be evaluated in real time
✅ be reused during debugging
✅ propagate through dependencies automatically
✅ stay permanently aligned with the firmware implementation
✅ visualize real output distributions with Monte Carlo sampling and a new Distribution tab
✅ propagate uncertainty through dependency graphs using probabilistic models
✅ estimate output distributions via Monte Carlo sampling
✅ model engineering uncertainty with uncertainty, distribution, and automatic propagation

No duplicated engineering logic.
No spreadsheet drift.
No parallel maintenance.

📖 Learn more

👉 Interactive Formula Viewer
👉 Tolerance propagation & formula ranges
👉 Probabilistic Modeling Guide

4️⃣ Macro Chain Revelation

File	Preview
Inside C code
Inside *formulas.yaml**

👉 Interactive Formula Viewer

🚀 Try It Yourself

The fastest way to discover what CalcDocs can do is to open the built-in example workspace.

After installing the extension:

Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)
Run:

CalcDocs: Open Extension Test Folder

This opens a ready-to-use project demonstrating:

✅ Inline engineering calculations
✅ Ghost values
✅ Macro chain revelation
✅ Interactive Formula Viewer
✅ YAML ↔ C synchronization
✅ Unit conversions
✅ Tolerance propagation
✅ Probabilistic modeling examples

Explore the sample files, visualize Monte Carlo tolerance propagation, modify engineering formulas, and see how results update instantly in real time.

👀 Firmware Blindness — Before vs After

Before	After

⚡ Quick Actions & Header Generation

Header generation

Quick menu

🔥 Why this matters

Firmware development is rarely difficult because of syntax.

It becomes difficult because:

values are hidden
formulas are fragmented
scaling is implicit
engineering decisions live outside the codebase

Understanding a single value may require:

opening multiple headers
expanding macro chains
checking documentation
validating unit conversions
searching old spreadsheets

Most firmware projects suffer from:

duplicated formulas

stale spreadsheets

undocumented scaling

hidden assumptions

These issues create real bugs.

CalcDocs removes that friction.

Instead of navigating half the project:

👉 you immediately see what the firmware computes.

🔗 YAML ↔ C Synchronization

Define formulas once:

power:
  formula: vin * current
  unit: W

Use them everywhere.

CalcDocs:

✅ evaluates formulas
✅ syncs YAML with C/C++
✅ prevents formula drift
✅ shows results inline

👉 Formula YAML Guide

⚖️ Built-In Validation

Detect issues early:

Unit mismatches
Overflow risks
Invalid conversions
YAML/C inconsistencies

👉 Features Overview

CalcDocs is designed for real embedded firmware workflows.

💡 Real use cases

🔍 Understand code instantly

No more jumping across headers to resolve macros

⚠️ Catch bugs early

See wrong values before flashing your MCU

🔄 Eliminate Excel drift

Formulas stay aligned with firmware

🧪 Debug faster

Know values before runtime

📖 Learn more

👉 Real Use Cases

📚 Create Self-Documenting Firmware

Engineering decisions stay inside the source code.

CalcDocs focuses on one thing:

making firmware numeric logic visible.

⚙️ Recommended setup (optional)

CalcDocs works standalone.

For best results, combine it with:

clangd (recommended)
ms-vscode.cpptools
CMake Tools

CalcDocs integrates without conflicts.

👉 Configuration

CalcDocs supports engineering prefixes automatically:

mV, uV, nV, kV, MHz, mA, etc.

❤️ Support

If CalcDocs saves you time:

⭐ Leave a review (this helps a lot)
https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=convergo-dev.calcdocs-vscode-extension
💖 Support development

📚 Documentation

Start here:

👉 Getting Started
👉 Features Overview

Reference:

Design & Scope:

👉 Project-Scope
👉 Design-Philosophy

🧠 Final thought

Spreadsheets hide logic. Code hides values.

CalcDocs - C/C++ Constants & Formula Evaluator

Gian Michele Pasinelli