[Geany] compile, build, run for custom filetype

[Lex Trotman]

On 8 February 2012 03:29, spir <denis.spir at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 02/06/2012 09:11 PM, Lex Trotman wrote:
>>
>> PS Note there is a wiki entry on configuring the build system at
>> http://wiki.geany.org/howtos/configurebuildmenu
>
>
>
> First, thank you and bravo for this wiki page on the topic. It is great and
> above all clear. Reading it not only helped but also launched a few comments
> to possibly still ameliorate the system on details, and a 2 questions on
> remaining obscure points.
> If ever I finally understand things well enough, I'll help and improve the
> wiki page.

Yes, please help explaining, but please check proposed changes here
first, it annoys the wiki administrator having to revert erroneous
changes.

> Also add one on settings for Go, and possibly a general one on
> how to introduce a new language (this badly lacks in geany doc).

New wiki pages are welcome.

>
> *** Questions ***
>
> * toolbar buttons?
> The relation between the build menu config (either in files or via GUI) and
> toolbar is unclear for me. I guess --because it seems to work that way on my
> machine-- that
> ~ If ever, resulting from config, there are "Compile" & "Build" entries in
> the 1st section of the menu, then they map to matching buttons.

Yes

> ~ The Execute button's command is always set by the Execute line of the
> menu, meaning in config the first line of the fourth section.

Yes

> If true, then I find that difficult to get. I tried both in files and
> through GUI to set an Execute command, like the Compile & Build ones, which
> doubled the predefined one without any effect. Conversely, why is there no
> predefined entries for the Compile & Build like for Execute? Sure, they do
> not apply to interpreted languages, but the entries could still be there,
> no?

Useless entries are not shown in the menu, if the filetype of the
current file does not set commands none are shown.

>
> * Relation between config files & GUI settings?
> What happens to the config after changing settings on the GUI. They double
> the files' role. What kind of relation are there between GUI setting and
> config files, in both relations?

The GUI settings save over the same setting in the user config files
or the project config files.

> Who wins?

No one "wins" you are editing the same config file, just you have two
ways of doing it, with an editor or with the GUI.

>The page pointed above lists the
> "cascade" of config locations in files, but does not include the GUI
> settings.

Thats because the GUI edits the config files, thats how its included,
see the manual for a table
http://www.geany.org/manual/current/index.html#build-menu-configuration

>Conversely, what happens to the GUI settings after changing files?
> I think we may do without these GUI that double and complicate the config
> system. Simply, the config files would as standard propose parameter lines
> equivalent to the present GUI, and the doc would state that it is
> recommended to stop there. ("With power comes responsability")

Not acceptable for new users.  The usual request is for more GUI
editing not less.

>
> *** Comments ***
>
> * Build Menu orga
> It may be reorganised so that the 3 configurable sections (out of 5) come
> 1st, 2nd, 3rd. And --is it possible to have a bigger separation with the
> other 2 sections?

The organisation has been the same for a long time, you would have to
have a good argument to change it.  (and probably expect to be flamed
on the ML, users get *so* attached to their GUIs) I wasn't around when
it was first proposed, but as I say in the wiki, I believe it is laid
out in the order of the usual C workflow, compile/link one file, make
a whole lot of files, search for the errors, execute the result if no
errors.  And prefs is last as usual.

>
> * No dealing with system config
> The user ideally should not have to deal at all with system-general config
> files, which also deal as geany defaults IIUC.
> Possible solution: In the latest versions, there are entries in the 'Tools'
> menu to allow editing some config files directly in geany itself. One of
> this entries allows editing filetypes.common; if the user version does not
> yet exist (in the user config folder), it is then created by copy (from the
> system config folder). Add one entry to edit user filetype config files. Do
> the same as for filetypes.common. To select the filetype: (1) a submenu like
> for setting the filetype (2) a popup with a rolling list (3) a popup with a
> text field to type the (case-insensitive) filetype name.

Yes, extending the menu to the other config files is likely to be
useful, patches welcome.

>
> * Easy config of new filetype
> This would deal as recommended way to create a *new* filetype: open an
> existing one for edition in geany, save it at once as config file for the
> new filetype, edit it. There should be a standard one having the structure
> and entries with common sensible values, for cases when no appropriate model
> filetype exists (present filetypes.Geany.conf seems to be configured for
> Vala). Entries for which no sensible value exist should be present anyway,
> so that the user knows about them.

1. if making a custom filetype (which is based on an existing one) you
would copy the existing filetype as a start
2. if making a completely new filetype there is no prototype, it
depends on what capabilities the lexer in Scintilla exposes and how
they are mapped to the config file.

>
> * No "filetypes.Lang.conf"
> Filetype config files should all have the same naming pattern. For a new
> language, instead of filetypes.Lang.conf, why not just filetypes.lang? In
> addition, having the name capitalised only for new filetypes is a source of
> annoying issues.

You can call your custom language anything, up to you, but since it is
displayed it is better to use a name with capitalisation.  For builtin
types there is an internal mapping to the displayname, so they use
lower case, but for custom filetypes it always has to be the same so
that Geany can relate settings in filetypes.extensions to the language
etc.

Custom filetypes have a conf extension so that they get the right
filetype (.conf) when opened by Geany.  It would be nice if the
built-in filetypes did the same, I am often annoyed by Geany trying to
format filetypes.c as a C file, but it would be hard to change and
remain backwardly compatible with all the existing edited
filetypes.lang files in user directories.

>
> * Filetype config file names
> Better, also solve this: filetype config files are often edited in geany
> (else, other editors also have styling for common languages). Since the
> names of the config files end in the name of the languge, thjey are styled
> as if they were source code of this language, instead of just config files.
> Solution: reverse the logic, or rather reset it as should be: lang.cfg
> instead of filetypes.lang.

See above.

>
> * no tweaking of filetype_extensions.conf
> Filetype extensions should be declared in the filetype config file.

You find the config file by looking up the language name in
filetype_extensions.conf.  Geany does *not* read all the language
definition files, only the ones needed for open files.

> Actually, all the config for a filetype should be in a single file. I first
> thought there could be no filetype_extensions.conf at all, but this may
> force geany to read all filetype confg files at startup. Instead, there
> could a generated one, updated when filetype config files are edited in
> geany, or whenever geany detects a modif (by last edition time), or via the
> menu entry "Tools/Reload Configuration".

This would still require Geany to look at all the config files to see
which ones had changed, ok its stating it not loading it, but you
would have to keep doing it.

>
> * config file doc
> Comments in config files may be rewtritten (they have improved, but
> still..).

Patches are welcome :)

> Some param names can be clearer. (Naming is doc.)

Provide suggestions, being aware that backward compatibility needs to
be kept as much as possible.

>
> Denis
>
>
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