ALeX

This extension is a productivity tool for ALeX developers.

Features

Main extension features:

• Upload PHP actions and parts of XML files with a single key stroke.
• Snippets to speed up configuration authoring.

For more details see:

• Commands
• Snippets
• Editor title bar

The extension is activated once an XML or PHP file is opened or once a connection is selected.

Quick start

• Create connection ini file.
  • See ALeX: Connection: Select command.
• Select connection.
  • Use ALeX: Connection: Select command.
• Edit XML configuration file:
  • Put cursors inside an <alex-update> block and upload the block.
  • Select several <alex-update> blocks and upload them.
  • For both use ALeX: Upload selection command.
• Edit PHP action file and upload it.
  • See ALeX: Upload PHP file command.

Commands

ALeX: Connection: Select

Use ALeX: Connection: Select to select connection ini file that defines IS ALeX endpoint. IS ALeX endpoint is defined with

• url - ALeX base URL, e.g. http://localhost/ALeX/current
• db - ALeX database name
• user - ALeX user name, dbowner or another powerful user is a good choice
• password - Optional password, define it for development environments only!

Connection ini file example:

url="http://localhost/ALeX/current"
db="alex"
user="root"
; Never store password for produciton systems.
;pass="mysecretpassword"

The command searches the path from the directory of the active document to the root folder looking for .*.ini and *.ini files. User is offered the list of connection files to select one.

Once you select a connection file, its endpoint details are printed to output. The selected connection file is then used for all commands that talk to ALeX server (like ALeX: Upload).

ALeX: Upload selection

Ctrl+Alt+U Cmd+Alt+U

Use ALeX: Upload selection to upload the selected part of your XML configuration file to ALeX.

The selected part is

• the current selection block, or
• the closest <alex-update> block surrounding the current cursor position, if the current selection is empty.

You can use multiple cursor positions to select several blocks.

Command requires a connection file with ALeX endpoint details. Use command ALeX: Connection: Select to select one.

ALeX: Upload PHP file

Ctrl+Alt+U Cmd+Alt+U

Use ALeX: Upload PHP file to upload the current PHP action file to ALeX.

Command requires a connection file with ALeX endpoint details. Use command ALeX: Connection: Select to select one.

ALeX: Upload XML file

Use ALeX: Upload XML file to upload the current XML file to ALeX.

Command requires a connection file with ALeX endpoint details. Use command ALeX: Connection: Select to select one.

ALeX: Compile selection

Ctrl+Alt+K Cmd+Alt+K

Use ALeX: Compile selection command to compile the selected part of your XML configuration file (see ALeX: Upload selection for definition) and save the result to a file.

Compiled XML is saved to build/part.file.compiled.xml if called from file.xml.

Command does NOT upload anything to ALeX server.

ALeX: Compile XML file

Use ALeX: Compile XML file command to compile the whole current file.

Compiled XML is saved to build/file.compiled.xml if called from file.xml.

Command does NOT upload anything to ALeX server.

ALeX: Connection: Set password

Use ALeX: Connection: Set password to set password if one is missing in connection file. Once password is set VSCode remembers it until workspace is closed or a different connection file is selected.

If password is set and connection file contains password too, the one set in VSCode is used.

ALeX: Connection: Reset password

Use ALeX: Connection: Reset password to unset password set with ALeX: Connection: Set password.

ALeX: Connection: Info

Use ALeX: Connection: Info command to print the current ALeX endpoint details to output.

ALeX: Make

Use a set of ALeX: Make commands to invoke alex make command from VSCode. There is a command for each of the most used targets.

Invoke command in one of the following ways.

1. From context menu of alex.json file in file explorer.
2. As a usual command with Ctrl+Shift+P - it will ask you to select one of alex.json files VSCode will find on the paths from the active document to root.

More on alex.json in usage help of alex make command.

alex make --help

Snippets

Document initialization

Update blocks

Universal blocks

Parameter group blocks

Parameter blocks

Rights blocks

PHP

Jobs blocks

Filter blocks

Editor title bar

An upload action is displayed in editor title bar (in top-right corner) in XML and PHP files. For XML files it uploads the current selection.

If Alt is pressed, then compile action is available instead upload in XML files.

Requirements

This extension requires command alex to be installed.

Extension Settings

Path

Set path to alex executable, if it is not on path including alex, alex.bat, or alex.php.

On Windws it's better to set path to alex.php.

{
    "alex.path": "/path/to/bin/alex",
    // or
    "alex.path": "C:\\mypath\\alex.php"
}

PHP

If path to alex.php is set in alex.path, you can set path to PHP binary to run it, otherwise php is epxected on path.

{
    "alex.php": "/path/to/bin/php"
}

This setting is ignored if alex.path is not set to a path to alex.php but e.g. to alex or alex.bat.

Known Issues

• Check you have the latest alex-tools installed.