microsoft / microsoft/vscode-java-debug

Define custom "toString()" in variables view

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ai-triaged feature request variables voting
Dominant language
TypeScript
Stars
591
Forks
429
Avg merge
1d 9h
Merged PRs (30d)
19

Description

Eclipse has a functioality to setup a custom "toString" method (called "Detail Formatter") on each type in the variables view. This is handy when you have objects that don't come with a nice toSring method. It allows you to directly show the useful information.
Example details formatter: getName() + ": " + getBirthDate()

Environment
  • Operating System: macOS 10.12.6 (16G1212)
  • JDK version: 1.8.0_144-b01
  • Visual Studio Code version: 1.20.0 (1.20.0)
  • Java extension version: 0.18.1
  • Java Debugger extension version:0.6.0

detailformatter

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

Start in the variables view and trace how Java object values are rendered by the debugger. Determine how a user-defined Detail Formatter such as getName() + ": " + getBirthDate() should be configured and evaluated. Done means configured formatters display useful object details in the variables view, with coverage for the relevant debugger behavior.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
java, typescript
Domain
devtools
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
48/100

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