GFA BASIC 3.6 Enhanced Syntax Highlighting for VS Code

Description

This is a comprehensive Visual Studio Code extension that provides enhanced syntax highlighting, auto-indentation, code snippets, and intelligent code assistance for the GFA BASIC 3.6 programming language, primarily used on Atari ST systems.

This enhanced version significantly improves upon the original extension with:

• Complete instruction recognition - Over 200+ GFA BASIC 3.6 instructions properly categorized
• Advanced variable type detection - Proper recognition of GFA BASIC variable suffixes ($, %, &, |, !)
• Comprehensive syntax highlighting - Distinct colors for different language elements
• Smart auto-indentation - Automatic indentation for all control structures
• Rich code snippets - Pre-built templates for common GFA BASIC patterns
• Hover documentation - Inline help for GFA BASIC keywords and functions
• Symbol navigation - Quick navigation to procedures, functions, and labels

Features

🎨 Enhanced Syntax Highlighting

• Control Flow Keywords: IF, FOR, WHILE, REPEAT, SELECT, PROCEDURE, etc.
• Graphics Instructions: PSET, LINE, BOX, CIRCLE, SETCOLOR, VSYNC, etc.
• System Instructions: XBIOS, PEEK, POKE, DPEEK, DPOKE, LPEEK, LPOKE, etc.
• Math Operations: SHR, SHL, AND, OR, XOR, RAND, ABS, SQR, etc.
• Memory Management: BMOVE, MALLOC, MFREE, VARPTR, etc.
• String Functions: LEN, LEFT, RIGHT, MID, INSTR, STR, VAL, etc.
• I/O Operations: PRINT, INPUT, OPEN, CLOSE, READ, WRITE, etc.

🔤 Variable Type Recognition

Properly recognizes GFA BASIC 3.6 variable types:

• variable$ - String variables (highlighted in string color)
• variable% - 32-bit integer variables (highlighted in integer color)
• variable& - 16-bit integer variables (highlighted in integer color)
• variable| - 8-bit integer variables (highlighted in integer color)
• variable! - Boolean variables (highlighted in boolean color)
• variable - Float variables (default highlighting)

🔢 Number Format Support

• Decimal: 123, 456.789
• Hexadecimal: &H1A2B, &HFFFF8240
• Binary: &X10110101, &X11111111

🏗️ Smart Auto-Indentation

Automatic indentation for all GFA BASIC control structures:

• FOR...NEXT loops
• WHILE...WEND loops
• REPEAT...UNTIL loops
• DO...LOOP loops
• IF...ELSE...ENDIF conditionals
• SELECT...CASE...ENDSELECT statements
• PROCEDURE...RETURN blocks
• FUNCTION...ENDFUNC blocks

📝 Rich Code Snippets

Pre-built code templates for:

• Control structures (FOR, WHILE, IF, SELECT)
• Procedure and function definitions
• Graphics operations (PSET, LINE, BOX, CIRCLE)
• Memory operations (PEEK, POKE, DPEEK, DPOKE)
• Array declarations
• Common programming patterns

💡 Intelligent Code Assistance

• Hover Documentation: Hover over keywords to see syntax and usage information
• Symbol Navigation: Quick navigation to procedures, functions, and labels
• Auto-completion: Smart suggestions for GFA BASIC keywords and functions

Installation

From VS Code Marketplace

1. Open Visual Studio Code
2. Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X)
3. Search for "GFA BASIC 3.6 Enhanced"
4. Click Install

Manual Installation

1. Download the .vsix file from the releases
2. Open VS Code
3. Press Ctrl+Shift+P to open command palette
4. Type "Extensions: Install from VSIX"
5. Select the downloaded .vsix file

Usage

1. Create a new file with .lst extension
2. Start coding in GFA BASIC 3.6
3. Enjoy syntax highlighting, auto-indentation, and code assistance!

Example Code

' GFA BASIC 3.6 Example Program
' Graphics and Animation Demo

' Variable declarations
DIM colors%(16)          ' Color palette array
DIM x&(100), y&(100)     ' Coordinate arrays
speed! = TRUE            ' Animation speed flag
counter| = 0             ' 8-bit counter
screen_addr% = XBIOS(2)  ' Get screen address

' Initialize color palette
FOR i| = 0 TO 15
  SETCOLOR i|, RAND(8), RAND(8), RAND(8)
  colors%(i|) = i|
NEXT i|

' Main animation loop
REPEAT
  ' Clear screen
  CLS
  
  ' Draw animated graphics
  FOR i& = 0 TO 99
    x&(i&) = 160 + SIN(counter| + i&) * 100
    y&(i&) = 100 + COS(counter| + i&) * 50
    PSET x&(i&), y&(i&), colors%(i& MOD 16)
  NEXT i&
  
  ' Update animation
  INC counter|
  VSYNC
  
UNTIL INKEY$ <> ""

END

Supported File Extensions

• .lst - GFA BASIC listing files

Language Features

Comments

• Line comments: ' This is a comment
• Inline comments: ! This is also a comment

Control Structures

• Conditional: IF...THEN...ELSE...ENDIF
• Selection: SELECT...CASE...DEFAULT...ENDSELECT
• Loops: FOR...TO...NEXT, WHILE...WEND, REPEAT...UNTIL, DO...LOOP
• Procedures: PROCEDURE...RETURN
• Functions: FUNCTION...ENDFUNC

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! If you find bugs or want to add features:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Submit a pull request

Resources

• GFA BASIC Reference
• GFA BASIC Instructions
• Atari ST Development
• GBE - GFA BASIC Editor

License

MIT License - Feel free to use, modify, and distribute.

Author

Hylst - Passionate about Atari ST development and retro programming

Changelog

Version 2.0.0

• Complete rewrite with enhanced syntax highlighting
• Added comprehensive instruction recognition (200+ instructions)
• Improved variable type detection
• Added smart auto-indentation
• Added rich code snippets
• Added hover documentation
• Added symbol navigation
• Enhanced language configuration

Version 1.0.0

• Initial release with basic syntax highlighting

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Happy coding on your Atari ST! 🖥️