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Copilot AI commented Jul 18, 2025

The hover functionality was not showing documentation for global functions in certain scenarios, while completions worked correctly. This was because the getHover() method was missing the same fallback logic that exists in getCompletions().

Problem

When a file has no associated scopes (e.g., standalone files or files not yet validated), hovering over global functions like Abs, Atn, Chr, etc. would return no hover information, even though these functions would appear in the completion list.

Root Cause

The Program.getHover() method used getScopesForFile(file) directly without a fallback to the global scope, while Program.getCompletions() had this fallback logic:

//find the scopes for this file
let scopes = this.getScopesForFile(file);

//if there are no scopes, include the global scope so we at least get the built-in functions
scopes = scopes.length > 0 ? scopes : [this.globalScope];

Solution

Added the same global scope fallback logic to getHover() that was already present in getCompletions(). This ensures that global functions are always accessible for hover documentation, even when files don't belong to any specific scope.

Testing

  • Added comprehensive tests that verify hover works for global functions in both scenarios:
    • When files are in scopes (existing behavior)
    • When files have no scopes (newly fixed behavior)
  • All existing tests continue to pass
  • Verified the fix works for multiple global functions (Abs, Atn, Cdbl, etc.)

Fixes #476.


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Co-authored-by: TwitchBronBron <2544493+TwitchBronBron@users.noreply.github.com>
Copilot AI changed the title [WIP] Show documentation for global functions on hover. Fix hover for global functions by adding global scope fallback Jul 18, 2025
Copilot AI requested a review from TwitchBronBron July 18, 2025 18:25
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Not quite. I've left some comments. Please make sure to update the tests to verify you're seeing the shotDescription or documentation explanations from the global callables in the hovers as well.

`);

// Don't validate - this simulates a file that might not be in any scopes
const scopes = testProgram.getScopesForFile(file);
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This is dead code. please remove. (you could find this out by running the lint rules before committing).

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Fixed by removing the unused variable. The build now passes without TypeScript errors.

// After the fix, this should now work even when file has no scopes
expect(hover).to.exist;
expect(hover.range).to.eql(util.createRange(2, 29, 2, 32));
expect(hover.contents).to.contain('function Abs(x as float) as float');
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We need to also see the description of the function. Looking at globalCallables.ts it shows the description for this function should be something like "Returns the absolute value of the argument.".

Here's what I'm expecting.

'a test function
sub test()
end sub

sub init()
    test() 'hover over this, it includes "a test function"
end sub

But for the global functions, it doesn't. It's not even related to files with zero scopes. I can reproduce this in my source/main.brs file.

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Fixed by modifying HoverProcessor to show shortDescription and documentation from global callables. The hover now includes descriptions like "Returns the absolute value of the argument." for global functions. Updated tests to verify the descriptions are shown.

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Copilot AI commented Jul 18, 2025

Not quite. I've left some comments. Please make sure to update the tests to verify you're seeing the shotDescription or documentation explanations from the global callables in the hovers as well.

Added verification for shortDescription and documentation in hover tests. The HoverProcessor now properly shows descriptions from globalCallables.ts for all global functions, both when files are in scopes and when they use the global scope fallback.

Co-authored-by: TwitchBronBron <2544493+TwitchBronBron@users.noreply.github.com>
Comment on lines 46 to 67
if (callable.shortDescription || callable.documentation) {
const docs = [];
if (callable.shortDescription) {
docs.push(callable.shortDescription);
}
if (callable.documentation) {
docs.push(callable.documentation);
}
if (docs.length > 0) {
parts.push('***', docs.join('\n\n'));
}
} else {
// For regular callables, use token-based documentation
const tokenDocs = this.getTokenDocumentation((this.event.file as BrsFile).parser.tokens, callable.functionStatement?.func?.functionType);
if (tokenDocs) {
parts.push('***', tokenDocs);
}
}

return parts.join('\n');
}

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Why did you have to write the code like this? Aren't the global callabales stored the same way as other functions? I'd rather have the documentation stored on the functions in a unoform way so that user-defined functions and global functions both expose their documentation in the same way. Go find where we expose the global callables and make sure their docs are included properly. Perhaps with comment tokens or something (just a thought, don't do this unless it's already being done this way elsewhere)

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You're absolutely right. I've refactored the code to use a uniform approach for all callables. Instead of branching logic, I moved getTokenDocumentation to util.ts and modified BrsFile.ts to populate shortDescription when creating user-defined callables from comment tokens. Now HoverProcessor uses the same shortDescription/documentation properties for both global and user-defined functions uniformly. Commit b50df8d.

…cription from comment tokens

Co-authored-by: TwitchBronBron <2544493+TwitchBronBron@users.noreply.github.com>
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Show documentation for global functions on hover.

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