Introducing the Latest Find and Replace Features
The “Find and Replace” feature in the code editor has existed for many years. Developers can easily and efficiently search and replace code, especially when dealing with large codebases. 4D v20 is bringing improvements that are sure to be appreciated by developers who rely on this functionality to streamline their coding workflows:
- knowing the number of occurrences to replace,
- knowing the position of the current occurrence,
- having permanent access to the Next and Previous navigation options,
- display a palette instead of a modal window to limit the number of clicks.
New VS Code Editor Features with 4D v20
As usual, a new release, new VS Code extension features for developers who want to view and edit code with this free editor.
4D v20 brings new capabilities to the Visual Studio Code editor through the 4D-Analyzer extension: Say hello to Document Syntax Checking, which will help the developer to type fewer mistakes, Code Folding and Indentation for a better look, and tool4d to allow faster LSP server starting.
VS Code Extension: Code Completion
A new release, a new VS Code extension feature.
4D v19 R8 brings a new capability to the Visual Studio Code editor through the 4D-Analyzer extension: Say hello to code completion.
VS Code: Go To Definition & Signature Help
4D v19 R6 brought the support of external source code editors (e.g., Visual Studio Code), allowing them to handle 4D code and provide them with standard functionalities such as syntax highlighting using the Visual Studio Code extension.
4Dv19 R7 brings two new capabilities: Go To Definition and Signature Help.
Setting up code syntax highlighting using the Visual Studio Code extension
We recently talked about our new Visual Studio Code extension allowing VS Code to communicate with 4D for code management. The syntax highlighting was the first Language Server Protocol feature in 4D v19 R6. Let’s see how to customize your source code rendering.
A brand new Visual Studio Code extension at your disposal
4D now supports the Language Server Protocol to allow external source code editors to handle 4D code and provide them with standard functionalities such as syntax highlighting, syntax help, go to definition, or type ahead. Let’s see how to take advantage of it in Visual Studio Code.
Access your component classes from your host project
Components can now publish classes! And even better, if your application is still in binary mode, you can now benefit from classes and object-oriented development by using a component (in project mode) to create your own classes and use them from your (binary mode based) application.
New possibilities to customize the code editor
When it comes to customizing the code editor, everyone thinks of the font and colors of the code. But it is also possible to customize the code editor window and some interactions with the code. Everyone has their own preferences and ways of working.
Moreover, the most essential part of a code editor is the writing code area. With 4D v19 R4, we have redesigned the editor to highlight your code and give it as much space as possible.
This is precisely why 4D v19 R4 enables you to show or hide the ten clipboards. If you don’t use all ten clipboards, you can lighten the toolbar with the “Show clipboard” preference.
Saving project source code without tokens
Commands, constants, tables and fields are stored with their tokens in the project source code files (4dm files). This allows 4D to rename them automatically. But sometimes, you would like these source code files to be stored without tokens for a better readability with a version control system or an external code editor, or for better code sharing between projects. Let’s see how to make 4D store source code without these tokens.
Tag your comments, a feature by developers for developers
Comments are essential in a developer’s life. When we work on a new feature, we often add comments that are reminders. For example:
- to validate a part of code with a colleague,
- to refactor a function,
- to fix code that is slowing down the performance,
- to split a method or a class into sections,
- to prepare the skeleton of a class and add a todo comment inside each function.
Even if you write some straightforward code, try reading it months or years later. Will it still seem simple, or would you wish you’d added comments?
4D v19 R4 takes comments to a whole new level with comment tags that enables you to better organize your comments.
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