Gobo Eiffel for Visual Studio Code

Bring the power of the Gobo Eiffel toolchain directly into Visual Studio Code, providing full language support for the Eiffel programming language. This extension lets you edit, navigate, compile and run Eiffel programs seamlessly — ideal for both beginners discovering Eiffel and experienced developers who want an efficient workflow.

✨ Features

• Syntax highlighting & language support

  Eiffel keywords, comments and strings are highlighted using an up-to-date Eiffel grammar.

  

• Feature navigation

  Quickly jump to a feature or feature clause within the current class from the Outline panel.

  

• Feature signatures

  Hover to view variable types and feature signatures directly in tooltips.

  

• Go to definition

  Navigate instantly to the definition of variables and features using the contextual menu.

  

• Compile & run from VS Code

  • Command to compile the current Eiffel file from the Command Palette or contextual menus.
  • Automatically run after compilation in the Terminal panel.
  • Set arguments and environment variables using Launch Configurations.
  • Generate and use ECF files for more advanced compilation settings.

  

• Inline error reporting

  Compilation errors appear as you type, with red squiggles in the Editor and entries in the Problems panel. Click an error to jump directly to its location.

  

• Integrated Eiffel Terminal

  Open a preconfigured terminal with Gobo Eiffel's environment set up automatically, ready for command-line use.

  

• Debug configurations

  Easily create launch configurations for your Eiffel programs.
  Pass custom arguments and environment variables, and choose between compile & run, compile-only or run-only modes from the Run And Debug panel or by pressing F5.

  

• Automatic installation of Gobo Eiffel binaries

  If needed, the extension can download and install Gobo Eiffel and automatically check for updates.

⚙️ User Settings

You can customize the extension in VS Code’s Settings (File → Preferences → Settings → Extensions → Gobo Eiffel) or via settings.json.

Setting	Description	Default
gobo-eiffel.automaticUpdateCheck	Automatically checks for new Gobo Eiffel releases.	true
gobo-eiffel.useNightlyBuild	Use Gobo Eiffel nightly build instead of the latest release.	false
gobo-eiffel.workspaceEcfFile	ECF file to analyze Eiffel classes in current workspace.	null
gobo-eiffel.workspaceEcfTarget	Target in ECF file to analyze Eiffel classes in current workspace.	null

The last two settings are Workspace-specific settings.
If the ECF file is not specified, the extension uses the last ECF file (alphabetically) found at the root of the workspace; otherwise, it falls back to a default ECF file (using Gobo Eiffel libraries and recursive clusters starting at the workspace root).
If the ECF target is not specified, the last target from the selected ECF file is used.

You can also create multiple launch configurations in .vscode/launch.json with different arguments or environment variables for each program.

📦 Commands

All commands are available from the Command Palette or contextual menus:

• Compile & Run Eiffel File
• Compile Eiffel File
• Run Eiffel File
• Lint Eiffel File
• Compile & Run With ECF File
• Compile With ECF File
• Run With ECF File
• Lint With ECF File
• Create ECF File
• New Gobo Eiffel Terminal

💡 Tips for Beginners

• Start by opening a single .e file and run Compile & Run Eiffel File — no project setup needed.
• Errors appear directly in the editor with explanations in the Problems panel.

💪 Tips for Advanced Users

• Use multiple launch configurations to run different test scenarios.
• The integrated terminal automatically defines $GOBO and other environment variables.

📚 More Information

• Gobo Eiffel Documentation
• Gobo Eiffel Code Repository
• Eiffel Language Reference

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Enjoy productive Eiffel development right inside VS Code!