OpenSCAD 3D modelling language support

[João Mendes]

Hi,
I´m using http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:15363 Notepad++ configuration files to have context color, syntax highlight and auto completion in Notepad++ with OpenSCAD files. However those files do not allow for listing modules and functions in functions list windows. It seems from the manual that I have to create a new parser in functionList.xml. I tried to create a new parser for this language from the existing ones without success. I’m not a fluent programmer. I only need to detect the words ‘module’ and ‘function’.

I added the following to functionsList.xml :

    <association ext=".scad" id="OpenSCAD_file"/>			

</associationMap>

<parsers>
<parser id=“OpenSCAD_file” displayName=“OpenSCAD” commentExpr="((/*.?*)/|(//.?$))">
<function
mainExpr="^[\t ]*(module|function)\w+"
displayMode="$functionName">
<functionName>
<nameExpr expr="[^\t(module|function)]+[\w]+"/>
</functionName>
</function>
</parser>

Maybe there are some erros in this code, I don’t know. Any help is welcome. Thanks a lot.
Kind regards.

[guy038]

Hello Joao,

When the possibility to link a parser_ID to a name of user-defined language was, first, added, in N++ v6.5, on October 2014, I noticed that the other method, using the extension name of user-defined files, didn’t work at all. Of course, I informed Don ( and some other guys too ) about that issue ! Refer to the first part of my post, below :

http://sourceforge.net/p/notepad-plus/discussion/331753/thread/627d7ac2/#9ff7

Unfortunately, that issue hasn’t been fixed, yet. So, Joao, in the assocciationMap node, you MUST use the only syntax :

<association userDefinedLangName="OpenSCAD" id="OpenSCAD_file"/>

By the way, you just have to create a new user-defined language with name OpenSCAD, using the extension scad. It’s no use to define the characteristics of your language, to allow your own functionList parser to work :-)

---

Secondly, I, slightly, changed your regexes for, both, the mainExpr and Expr items :

• I suppose that there is, at least, one blank character, after the key words Module and Function

• I changed the syntax [\t ], with the simple \h syntax. Indeed, the exact meaning of \h, with the BOOST regex library, used in N++, is [\t \xA0] ( also known as an horizontal blank character )

• In expr, I use the \K syntax, which allows the regex engine to forget everything located on the left of this form ! So, the exact name of the module or the function, without any possible leading blank characters, will be displayed in the FunctionList window :-)

Therefore, in the parsers node, add the lines below :

<parser id="OpenSCAD_file" displayName="OpenSCAD" commentExpr="((/*.?*)/|(//.?$))">
    <function
        mainExpr="^\h*(module|function)\h+\w+"
        displayMode="$functionName">
        <functionName>
            <nameExpr expr="^\h*(module|function)\h+\K\w+"/>
        </functionName>
     </function>
</parser>

For instance, these regexes allow the detection of these four syntaxes, below :

module Test_1

function       Test2

       module Test3

			function	Test_4

---

Thirdly, your regex, used to detect the comments, ((/*.?*)/|(//.?$)), is NOT a valid regular expression ! So, to define the correct regex, could you tell me the different cases of comments, in OpenSCAD language. From the general form of this regex, I presume that :

• A comment line begins with a double slash //

• A comment block begins, with the form /* and ends with the form */

Am I right about it ?

---

See you soon !

Best regards,

guy038

P.S. :

Some people may think : Why couldn’t he use a lookbehind construction in expr ?

Indeed, the form below, with a positive lookbehind , seemingly, should work nice ?

<nameExpr expr="(?<=(module|function)\h+)\w+"/>

But, in the BOOST regex library, lookbehinds must represent an UNIQUE FIXED length strings. So, this regex is INVALID, for two reasons :

• The two parts of the alternative, (module|function), have a different length ( 6 characters for the string module and 8 characters for the string function )

• The form \h+ is NOT a fixed length string, as it stands for one or more horizontal blank character(s) !

Luckily, the \K syntax allows the regex engine to match :

• First, the part of the regex, located before the \K form

• Secondly, the part of the regex, located, after the \K form, which is the final regex matched !