vscode-extempore

An Extempore language extension for Visual Studio Code.

Installation

Install it through the Extensions view (View > Extensions); search for "vscode-extempore".

Use

0. set up Extempore on your computer

1. open up an Extempore file (with an .xtm) file extension

2. start Extempore with Extempore Start (use the Command Palette)

3. connect VSCode to the Extempore process with Extempore Connect

4. move your cursor into an Extempore expression and evaluate it with Extempore Eval (default keybinding: ctrl+enter on Win/Linux, cmd+enter on macOS)

Configuration

Keybindings

Only Extempore Eval has a keybinding by default---although you should obviously feel free to add your own keybindings for other commands.

Extempore share directory

The extempore "share directory" is just your extempore folder---the one with libs, examples, runtime etc. For Extempore Start to be able to automatically start Extempore in a new terminal, it needs to know where this folder is. It tries to figure this out by:

• if you've added a user setting for extempore.sharedir then it'll use that path

• if you opened the root extempore folder as your workspace folder in VSCode (e.g. if you're just messing with the examples) then it'll use that

• otherwise, it gives up and bombs out (you can still start extempore however you like, it's just that Extempore Start won't do it for you automagically)

If you're planning on doing a lot of Extempore coding, it's not a bad idea to set that in your user settings. Open your user settings with Preferences: Open User Settings and add a config entry which looks something like this:

  "extempore.sharedir": "/Users/ben/extempore" 

Don't forget to replace /Users/ben/extempore (or C:\Users\ben\extempore or whatever) with the path to the extempore folder on your machine. Also, make sure your user settings file is still valid JSON after you've made your edits.

Features

• start & manage Extempore processes using the built-in terminal
• syntax highlighting
• auto-indent on return
• snippets (see snippets file)

TODO

• allow for multiple simultaneous connections (on different host/port)
• more snippets

Changelog

• 0.0.1: initial release

• 0.0.2: prompt for host/port

• 0.0.3: add Extempore Start, send selected region (if selection is active)

• 0.0.4: top-level eval, pretty blinking on eval, sharedir stuff

• 0.0.5:

  • improved formatting (sets editor.formatOnType: true by default)
  • use EXTEMPORE_PATH env var if set
  • add Extempore Help command to jump to docs website
  • plays nicer with paredit/parinfer

• 0.0.6: more robust top-level eval (ignores brackets in strings/comments)

• 0.0.7: more robust top-level eval

• 0.0.8: actually robust top-level eval (honestly ;)

• 0.0.9:

  • fixed some indenting problems
  • added selection formatting
  • added snippets for play, mplay, loop, eloop, mloop, mcc

• 0.1.0:

  • change "connect" command to just use default host/port---there's a new "connect to host/port" port when you need something other than the defauly
  • add an "Extempore: download binary" command (for macOS/Win, anyway)
  • make "eval" command work when cursor is just after an s-expression

• 0.2.0:

  • fix bug where the "download binary" command wasn't activated properly

• 0.2.1: automatically detect & download the latest release with the "Download Binary" command

• 0.2.2: no functional changes, but the extension is now bundled by webpack (should be leaner)

• 0.2.3:

  • bugfix for broken folder paths (when using the "Download Binary" command)
  • add "do you want to download this large file" confirmation for Download Binary command

• 0.2.4: bugfixes for misleading "secondary" error messages

• 0.2.5: bugfix for incorrect download path in "Download Binary"

• 0.2.6: make Extempore extension compatible with older VSCode versions

• 0.2.7: add "start with CLI options" command

• 0.2.8: refactor Extempore start command

• 0.2.9: implemented vscode.DocumentLinkProvider for links passed to sys:load (thanks @stellartux)

• 0.2.10: fix broken "Download Binary" command (download paths had changed)

Developer Notes

To work on this VSCode extension (any help is appreciated!) you need to:

1. install the deps with npm install
2. activate the extension
3. make it better
4. submit a pull request

Licence

MIT