LuaLS / LuaLS/lua-language-server

feature: @since/@deprecated/@removed annotations for 3rd party libraries

Open
#1,132 0 comments 4 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

Nobody has claimed this yet.

enhancement feat/LuaCats Annotations
Dominant language
Lua
Stars
4.4k
Forks
442
PR merge metrics
No merged PRs in 30d

Description

I'd love it if we were able to use version markers for 3rd party libraries. OpenResty annotations would benefit from this.

## annotation example

```lua
---@meta
local lib = {}

--- This function was added in lib 1.1.3
---
---@param a string
---@param b string
---@since 1.1.3
function lib.new(a, b) end

--- This function was added in lib 1.1.0 but has been deprecated since 2.0
---
---@param a string
---@param b string
---@since 1.1.0
---@deprecated 2.0
function lib.deprecated(a, b) end

--- This function was added in lib 1.1.0 but has been deprecated since 2.0 and removed in 3.0
---
---@param a string
---@param b string
---@since 1.1.0
---@deprecated 2.0
---@removed 3.0
function lib.removed(a, b) end

--- This function was added in lib 1.0
---
---@param a string
---@param b string
---@since 1.0
function lib.updated(a, b) end

--- ...and the signature was changed in lib 2.0 to add a 3rd param
---
---@param a string
---@param b string
---@param c string
---@since 2.0
function lib.updated(a, b, c) end

return lib
```

Initially, the language server could just add these things to the function's documentation.

Once this feature is in place, the next stage would be to make the language server aware of which version of $library is being used. Then, the language server could use this contextual info:

* provide type hints, docs, etc that are specific for the version being used (see `lib.updated` from my example)
* provide diagnostics
* "warning: `lib.deprecated` has been deprecated in version 2.0 (your version: 2.1)"
* "error: `lib.removed` was removed in version 3.0 (your version: 4.7)"

## discovering the library version

Here are some ideas I have:

### explicitly-configured by the user

`.luarc.json`

```json
{
"workspace": {
"library.version": {
"OpenResty": "1.2.3",
},
}
}
```

### discoverable from meta/3rd/$lib/config.lua

#### top-level `version` declaration

```lua
version = function(workspace_dir)
-- do something to determine the version
return require("my_library").meta.version
end
```

#### using config actions

```lua
configs = {
{
key = 'Lua.workspace.library.version.OpenResty',
action = 'set',
value = (function()
return require("my_library").meta.version
end)(),
},
}
```

### per-module annotation

#### by library author, from table key

```lua
-- lib.lua

---@version-from-field _VERSION
local lib = {
_VERSION = "1.2.3",
}
return lib
````

```lua
-- main.lua

local lib = require "lib" -- version is 1.2.3
```

#### by library author, from annotation

```lua
-- lib.lua

---@version 1.2.3
local lib = {}
return lib
```

```lua
-- main.lua

local lib = require "lib" -- version is 1.2.3
```

#### by library user

```lua
---@version 1.2.3
local lib = require "lib"
```

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Read the annotation examples first, then compare the proposed .luarc.json, meta/3rd/$lib/config.lua, and per-module version sources. The issue does not name implementation files or tests and describes several possible stages, so first agree on the scope for exposing @since, @deprecated, and @removed in library documentation. Done should include defined annotation syntax and version-source behavior.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
lua
Domain
tooling
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
25/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.