SuperBOL VSCode Extension

TODO: Update this Section if still relevant; remove it otherwise.

This VSCode extension is used to interface VSCode with the SuperBOL LSP Server and provides building tasks for your COBOL projects.

The extension can be used as a standalone, but is required for the SuperBOL VSCode Extension to work.

Tasks

We provide a task definition to build your COBOL files. The task is defined as follow:

{
    "type": "superbol",
    "copybooks": [],
    "sourceFormat": "",
    "dialect": "",
    "extensions": [],
    "forDebugging": false,
    "problemMatcher": [],
    "label": "superbol: Build file",
    "group": {
        "kind": "build",
        "isDefault": true
    }
}

You can fill the fields with the following values:

copybooks: an array of string, each string must point a to a directory with copybooks inside
sourceFormat: a string for the COBOL source format to be used by the compiler
dialect: the dialect to be used by the compiler
extensions: file extensions to resolve COPY (without the leading .)
forDebugging: if true then the compiler is cobcd, otherwise cobc.

To trigger the building task just push Ctrl + Shift + B.

Settings

The settings for the extension are to be modified by going to File > Preferences > Settings.

Then select the Extension submenu and select SuperBOL COBOL.

`Path`

This is the path to the superbol executable.

SuperBOL extension features

Go to definition

You can navigate to the defintion of any variable in your code. Push F12 on a variable name to go to it’s defintion. This works on: * every variable in the PROCEDURE DIVISION, * every variable that is on a RENAME clause, * every variable that is used by a REDEFINES clause

Go to references

You can have a list of references of every variables in your code. Push Shift + F12 on a variable name to find all the places it is referenced.

Semantic highlighting

The extension understands your code on a semantic level, giving you better highlighting to make reading your code easier and focus on the important information of the source code.

Peek copy

Place your cursor on COPY statement and a pop up with the content of the copied file will appear, giving you all the information you need to understand the code at a glance.

Indentation

You can indent your code for a better understanding of the control flow at a glance. Simply push Ctrl + Shift + I and all the file is indented.

You can also just select a part of your code and push the same shortcut just to indent the selection.

Keyboard shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
`F12`	Go to the defintion of the item under cursor
`Shift + F12`	List all references of the item under cursor. If there is only one other reference then navigate directly to it
`Ctrl + Shift + I` (no selection)	Format the whole file
`Ctrl + Shift + I` (with selection)	Format the selection
`Mouse hover`	If on a `COPY` statement peek the content of the copied file.