ABL Scratch Playground

A VS Code extension for writing ABL scratch files (a.k.a. Scratchpad / ABL Dojo).

Related Software

This extension depends on the OpenEdge ABL extension by Riverside Software.

Description

It lets you quickly create and run short Progress OpenEdge ABL sratch snippets.

The ABL Scratches view, which is automatically opened after installation, detects the OpenEdge projects in your workspace and allows each scratch to run in the context of a selected project.

To add a new scratch, use the action New scratch or click the + button. When the workspace has multiple OpenEdge projects, a drop-down is shown where you can pick the target OpenEdge project.

Scratch files are stored inside your project in the .scratches folder. When creating a scratch for the first time, you will be prompted to include .scratches to your .gitignore file (if the project uses Git).

ABL Scratches view

The ABL Scratches view allows you to manage your scratch files. From this view you can create, open, run and delete scratches. For each scratch, the last run timestamp is displayed in the list. It's also possible to set a custom 'Description' to the scratch and to choose a different Mode (gui, chui, batch).

Actions

• New scratch Creates a new scratch file and opens it in the editor Default keybinding: Win+F3 (or Cmd+F3 for macOS) (Also available via the Command Palette, context menu of the Explorer and Status Bar when a default OpenEdge project is set)
• New scratch (run procedure) Creates a new scratch with initial text to RUN the selected procedure (only for *.p files)
• Run Scratch Executes the selected scratch in the context of its assigned project Default keybinding: Win+F2 (or Cmd+F2 for macOS) (Also available via the Command Palette)
• Debug Scratch Executes the selected scratch in the context of its assigned project and attaches it to the debugger (Also available via the Command Palette)
• Delete Scratch Removes the selected scratch and automatically closes the editor tab if it is currently open
• Open Scratch Double-click (or right-click) to open the scratch file in the editor
• Set as description In the context menu of an opened scratch editor, the selected text can be used to set the 'Description' of the scratch

Screenshot

Settings

User / Workspace / Folder

• Run Mode The run mode when creating a new scratch (Project setting, CHUI, GUI or Batch) Defaults to Project setting
• Initial Scratch Content The initial text inserted when creating a new scratch
• Debug Port The debug port for attaching the debugger

User only

• Sort Column Sort column in the scratch grid (Scratch or Last run) Defaults to Scratch
• Sort Direction The sort direction of the sort column (asc or desc) Defaults to 'desc'

Support

Debugging

Debugger

With the Debug action (button / Command Palette), a scratch (with modes gui and chui) can be started with the debugReady port. For that, the port number has to be entered in the settings first. Also, set up a launch configuration, example:

 {
   "version": "0.2.0",
   "configurations": [
     {
       "name": "Attach to ABL process",
       "type": "abl",
       "request": "attach",
       "hostname": "localhost",
       "mode": "legacy",
       "port": 3099,
       "pause": true,
       "localRoot": "${workspaceFolder}",
       "refProjects": [ "ProjectA", "ProjectB" ]
     }
   ]
 }

Use optional refProjects if your project relies on other workspace projects.

When the warning message 11725 (Use port 3099 for the Debugger to connect to) appears, the debug launch configuration (F11) can be started. The debugger will wait on the first executable line. Click 'Continue' (F5) to go to the first breakpoint.

More info here: Debugger

Logging

To check debug logging, open the 'ABL Scratch Playground' logging channel in the OUTPUT view and set the log-level to Debug

Issues

Please report issues and feature requests via the GitHub repository.

Related Extensions

You may also be interested in my other extension: ABL DataDigger Launcher.

Licensing and Legal Notices

• This extension is licensed under the MIT License.
• OpenEdge and ABL are registered trademarks of Progress Software Corporation.