Emmanuel ToledoNov 16, 2022
bitbonk

Did you know you can inject languages into string literals with a comment in #JetBrainsRider? It will enable basic syntax highlighting and *some* code completion in the string literal. Additionally it will give you warnings if the string literal is not valid in the chosen language.

In .NET 7 you will also be able to use the StringSyntaxAttribute https://learn.microsoft.com/dotnet/api/system.diagnostics.codeanalysis.stringsyntaxattribute which also works in #VisualStudio. But attributes can't be used everywhere (e.g. for local variables).

#dotnet @dotnet

StringSyntaxAttribute Class (System.Diagnostics.CodeAnalysis)

Specifies the syntax used in a string.

Nov 16, 2022 at 9:23amWeb
Show threadStructed šŸŽ®Nov 16, 2022
@bitbonk yes, that's a pretty epic feature!
Show threadZac White  Nov 16, 2022
@bitbonk Yet another feature that makes #JetBrainsRider the undoubted king of #dotnet IDEā€™s! Thanks for sharing!
Show threadbitbonkNov 16, 2022
@zacpwhite To be fair, the attribute currently *only* works in VS. But I guess it will be supported in Rider, once 2022.3 hits the streets. @khalidabuhakmeh @maartenballiauw might know more.
Show threadMaarten BalliauwNov 16, 2022
@bitbonk @zacpwhite @khalidabuhakmeh Correct. The EAP already supports it.
Show threadYegor PavleehinNov 16, 2022
@bitbonk @dotnet mind blown šŸ¤Æ
Show threadJames HartNov 16, 2022

@bitbonk @dotnet makes me a little sad how close this is to an embedded language-typed-string-literal though.

Like, weā€™re almost at

JSONObject j = $JSONā€œā€ā€
{ ā€œfooā€:ā€barā€ }
ā€œā€ā€

With a pluggable compile time validation and parseā€¦

Show threadKhalid āš”Nov 16, 2022

@james_a_hart @bitbonk @dotnet so Rider can have attributes on method parameters to signal to the editor the intended language. I guess you could extend that attribute to types as well.

In your example, JSONObject casts from string would implicitly trigger the behavior in IDE.

Show threadJames HartNov 16, 2022

@khalidabuhakmeh @bitbonk @dotnet yeah, Iā€™m just wishcoding a full C# language/compiler feature here.

If Iā€™ve got a string literal in my code which my IDE is guaranteeing contains valid JSON, Iā€™d love to have the compiler back that guarantee up too. And if itā€™s *validating* it, why not also manifest it as a more interesting object than a mere ā€˜stringā€™ while youā€™re at it? Like:

Date christmas = $Dateā€2022/12/25ā€;

With compile time warnings, and no runtime parseā€¦

Show threadKhalid āš”Nov 16, 2022
@james_a_hart @bitbonk @dotnet a source generator could do this (I think).
Show threadJames HartNov 16, 2022

@khalidabuhakmeh @bitbonk @dotnet I suspect so.

There goes my weekend.

Show threadbitbonkNov 16, 2022
@james_a_hart @khalidabuhakmeh @dotnet I doubt that a source generator can do the ā€œmanifesting in a more interring objectā€ part but it sure could validate the content of a string literal. But be careful: This type of analysis can become expensive and may degrade the overall IDE performance. Source generators are executed upon every keystroke (with all kinds of optimizations of course).
Show threadKhalid āš”Nov 16, 2022
@bitbonk @james_a_hart @dotnet the source generator can both generate the methods and then read the string literals causing build failures. A Roslyn analyzer might be smarter though tbh.