This extension adds support for Inform 6 in VS Code.
Features
Syntax colouring
This extension adds syntax colouring to Inform 6 source (.inf and .h file extensions) and to Inform 6 templates (.i6t file extension, mainly used by Inform 7 when including Inform 6 within the source).
Additionally, strings used as arguments in Vorple's VorpleExecuteJavaScriptCommand and BuildCommand routines have basic JavaScript syntax highlighting.
Compiling .inf files from VS Code
The extension adds two commands to compile Inform 6 files: one to compile in debug mode (with -SD) and one to compile in non-debug mode, for releasing your story.
They are accessible in the command palette, or by right-clicking an Inform 6 file in the explorer, or with the play button at the top right of the window when an Inform 6 file is open. In the case of the play button, pressing alt before clicking will compile in non-debug mode; clicking without alt compiles in debug mode.
By using these commands, compiler errors and warnings will be reported in the Problems panel as well as in your source.
You can change the path of the compiler in the settings. It defaults to "inform6" (i.e. assumes the compiler is in your PATH). You can also add additional arguments to pass to the compiler (such as +include_path to point to the folder where you store your .h files). For story-specific arguments, it's better to add !% lines at the top of your source, though.
When compiling, the current working directory of the inform6 process is set to the folder containing the compiled source, so that the output story file is created next to it.
Snippets
The following snippets are available in Inform 6 files:
dountilfor (in the form for (counter=start : counter<max : counter++))ififelsemovetoobjectlooproutine, alias function (like [ Main x; ];)routineembedded, alias method (i.e. defined inside an object like before [; ],)styleswitchwhile
Extension settings
This extension contributes the following settings. All the settings are prefixed with inform6. (e.g. inform6.compilerCommands).
inform6Path: The path to the inform 6 compiler. Defaults to inform6.compilerCommands: Additional ICL commands to pass to the compiler when compiling from VS Code.openStoryAfterCompilation: If set to "external", story files will be opened with their default application (e.g. Lectrote for .ulx) after being compiled. If set to "vscode", story files will be opened in a VS Code tab (the IF Player extension is recommended).openStoryColumn: If openStoryAfterCompilation is set to "vscode", the compiled story will be opened in the specified editor column.
Known issues
- If a line of Inform 6 source contains multiple errors, only the last one is reported in the source and the Problems panel when compiling.
- When opening a newly compiled story, the extension tries the formats in this order:
.ulx, .z8, .z5, .z3. So if you first compiled a source to .z8 then to .z5, the extension will open the older .z8 file. You have to delete it to make the extension open the right file.
- Errors in the ICL commands (lines with
!%) are not shown in the source and in the Problems panel. You have to look directly in the output of the compiler to find them.
(See also the file TODO.md in the repository for more.)
Licence
Copyright (c) 2019-present Nathanaël Marion
Licenced under the MIT License (see the LICENSE file).
