FoxPro Programming
VSCODE and VFP9???
Gravatar is a globally recognized avatar based on your email address. VSCODE and VFP9???
  Teddy Billewicz
  All
  Sep 10, 2023 @ 12:07am

Does anyone know whether or how it is possible to use VSCODE as an editor inside VFP9? Not just to edit PRGs, but to install it to be the editor for methods inside VFP9?

Gravatar is a globally recognized avatar based on your email address. re: VSCODE and VFP9???
  Tore Bleken
  Teddy Billewicz
  Sep 10, 2023 @ 07:33am

I'm pretty sure that it's not possible. And with Thor I really see no reason to use an external editor.

Gravatar is a globally recognized avatar based on your email address. re: VSCODE and VFP9???
  Rick Strahl
  Teddy Billewicz
  Sep 10, 2023 @ 04:19pm

No it's not possible unless somebody creates a plugin that understand FoxPro file formats.

As you probably know there's a FoxPro addin for VsCode that can edit PRG files, but it won't work with DBF based classes and other VFP component files.

+++ Rick ---

Gravatar is a globally recognized avatar based on your email address. re: VSCODE and VFP9???
  Rick Strahl
  Tore Bleken
  Sep 12, 2023 @ 06:49am

Well, there is one very important reason not to use the FoxPro editor:

  • You can't leave a document open because it locks files while editing.

For Web Connection that's one good reason to actually use VS Code on PRG files as you can automatically restart the web Connection server after a code change - that doesn't work with the FoxPro editor because you have to close the document. This means you can:

  • Make a change in a PRG file
  • Save
  • Go back to the browser or REST client (without restarting Web Connection)
  • Go back to the editor and repeat for you next change where you left off

It's hard to understand these benefits if you haven't worked that way, but it's a tremendous time saver.

That and the fact that you can have many documents open and leave them open for the duration so it's easy to keep your place in many places at the same time.

The FoxPro editor itself is fine and it at least has some basic Intellisense, but the state management has always been a nightmare.

That said sometimes for more involved editing I still use the FoxPro editor for the simple reason that I get even the few code expansions plus my own FoxPro FoxCode expansions. But these days it's rare for me that I actually do that especially for Web projects.

Live Reload and auto-restart on save is the way to go for me.

+++ Rick ---

Gravatar is a globally recognized avatar based on your email address. re: VSCODE and VFP9???
  Tore Bleken
  Rick Strahl
  Sep 12, 2023 @ 06:56am

Right, and I also use VS Code to write WWC code. But for "normal" VFP code, nothing beats VFP9 with Thor.

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