concise-syntax

1. What does it do?
   • It toggles the visibility of unnecessary syntax.
2. Why and when to use it?
   • It is easier to read code when there is less syntax.
   • You may not use it when you are writing code.
3. How does it work?
   • It uses tokenColors rules along with a window script to synchronize the visibility of syntax.

Usage

• Install the extension.

  • Download the latest vsix asset from the releases page.
  • Install it:
    • View > Command Palette > Extensions: Install from VSIX...
    • Or with code --install-extension concise-syntax-0.0.1.vsix.

• Uninstall the extension.

  • View > Command Palette > Dispose Extension (free memory).

• Usage

  • Open a workspace folder.
  • Open a concise-syntax target file with the extension .tsx
  • An info message will appear The extension is not calibrated. Shall we calibrate it? click Yes.

• Runtime:

  • Then you'll have access to a command palette command Concise Syntax: Calibrate
    • Use this command to manually calibrate the extension to your theme/settings.json.
  • When ever you change your workspace theme and the extension is active, you'll be prompted to calibrate the extension or deactivate it.

• Configuration:

  • File > Preferences > Settings > Extensions > Concise Syntax
  • There, you can tune the opacities and their hierarchy.

Development

• Launch the vscode debugger with F5. A warning will appear The task "watch" cannot be tracked. Make sure to have a problem matcher defined, click Remember my choice for this task and Debug Anyway.
  • Why does this happen? The build script vite.config.custom.ts needs to build the extension and the window side. That script doesn't have a problem matcher defined in .vscode/tasks.json so vscode doesn't know how to track it. The warning is harmless and can be ignored.
• To package the extension install vsce with npm install -g vsce and run vsce package.

Known Issues

• Your Code installation appears to be corrupt. Please reinstall.

  • The extension spawns a window script and vscode doesn't like that. That script syncs the window state with the extension.

• Uninstall the extension.

  • View > Command Palette > Dispose Extension (free memory).
  • Why? The vscode extension api doesn't seem to call it's uninstall hook consistently. So, the extension needs to be disposed manually. :'(

• This extension is a workaround for a feature that is not yet available in VSCode.

  • Which is the ability to toggle tokenColors and or apply partial theme rules. It is highly over engineered for what it does: toggle css styles on and off. That being said, it is a proof of concept about how to communicate between the extension and the window.
  More

  Glims of hope - The following shows how simple it could be to toggle tokenColors.

  microsoft/vscode#157087 (comment)

   "editor.semanticTokenColorCustomizations": {
   	"[Extension]": {
   		"rules": {
   			"veriable.readonly": "#95E6CD"
   		}
   	}
   }
   "editor.semanticTokenColorCustomizations": {
   	"[Extension]": {
   		"enabled": false
   	}
   }