The CICS 210 Zipper is a Visual Studio Code extension designed to help students in CICS 210: Data Structures easily create a submission-ready zip file for their assignments. The extension simplifies the process of packaging project files into a submission.zip file while excluding unnecessary directories like bin.
Features
1. Zip Project Command
Command Palette: Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P or Cmd+Shift+P on Mac) and search for "Zip Project". Running this command will generate a submission.zip file in your project directory.
Automatically excludes the bin folder from the zip archive to ensure only relevant files are included.
2. Status Bar Button
A convenient "Zip Project" button is added to the status bar (at the bottom of the VS Code window).
Clicking this button performs the same function as the "Zip Project" command, creating the submission.zip file in your project directory.
3. Exclusion Rules
The extension automatically excludes the bin directory from the zip file to prevent including compiled artifacts.
Usage Instructions
1. Install the Extension
Install the CICS 210 Zipper extension from the VS Code Extensions Marketplace.
2. Zip Your Project
Open your project folder in VS Code.
Use one of the following methods:
Command Palette: Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P or Cmd+Shift+P), type "CICS 210 Zip Project", and press Enter.
Status Bar Button: Click the "Zip Project" button in the status bar at the bottom left of the window.
3. Locate the Zip File
The submission.zip file will be created in the root of your project directory.
The extension will display a confirmation message when the zip file is successfully created.
Requirements
A workspace folder must be open in VS Code. If no folder is open, the extension will show an error message.
The extension requires access to the file system to read and zip files.
Extension Settings
This extension does not currently include customizable settings. Future updates may include options for custom zip file names or additional exclusion rules.
Known Issues
If no workspace is open, the extension will display an error message stating that no folder is available to zip.
Large projects may take longer to process.
Contributing
If you’d like to contribute to this extension, feel free to fork the repository and submit a pull request. Suggestions for additional features or improvements are welcome!
Release Notes
1.0.0
Initial release with the following features:
Command Palette command to zip the project.
Status bar button for quick access.
Automatic exclusion of the bin directory.
Icon Credits
The status bar icon ($(file-zip)) is a built-in VS Code codicon. Check out the full Codicon library for more options.
The icon for the extension was generated by ChatGPT.
