[RFC]: add support for displaying suggested corrections in the REPL
- Dominant language
- JavaScript
- Stars
- 6k
- Forks
- 1.3k
- Avg merge
- 1d 3h
- Merged PRs (30d)
- 611
Description
### Description
This RFC proposes adding support for displaying suggested corrections in the REPL when a user enters an identifier which does not exist. This functionality would be similar to what is offered by Julia and discussed in https://github.com/JuliaLang/julia/issues/28347.
For example, currently, when a user enters an undefined identifier
```
In [1]: base.abbs( -1.0 )
Error: base.abbs is not a function
```
This RFC proposes extending this to do something along the lines of
```
In [1]: base.abbs( -1.0 )
Error: base.abbs is not a function
Perhaps you meant base.abs, base.abs2, ...
```
There may be other UI options, and we could, similar to Julia, provide suggestions when a user provides an unknown name to `help()` (or other similar built-in REPL commands).
### Related Issues
No.
### Questions
No.
### Other
No.
### Checklist
- [X] I have read and understood the [Code of Conduct](https://github.com/stdlib-js/stdlib/blob/develop/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md).
- [X] Searched for existing issues and pull requests.
- [X] The issue name begins with `RFC:`.
Contributor guide
Research direction
Start by reviewing the REPL behavior described in this RFC and the linked Julia discussion. The proposal does not identify files, tests, or a settled UI; scope would need to be clarified before implementation. Done would mean agreeing on and implementing a way to suggest corrections for undefined identifiers, with possible support for unknown names passed to help().
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- javascript
- Domain
- cli
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 5/5
- Estimated time
- Over a week
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Needs clarification
- Newbie friendliness
- 20/100