Add support for opening file at a certain line+column via CLI

[andy0x10]

In Unity you can select any script editor to open the C# scripts...This is very useful for example for jumping to the line in the file that has a compile error or exception etc.

According to the docs:

These CLI parameters can be specified to jump to the correct file+line+column location. Usually the format for this is "file:line:column" where :line and :column are optional.

Is this something that could be supported in ecode (or perhaps already is)?

Also I couldn't find any CLI params in the docs or when typeing "ecode.exe -?" so perhaps some basic CLI improvement could be made here too..at least listing a basic help params.

[andy0x10]

It would be great if there was also another CLI param that would ensure that this doesn't cause a new ecode process to start, but instead uses the existing one.

[SpartanJ]

This would be very useful, I'll implement it right away.
What's the default format in Unity for this call? I could use that format.

Regarding the CLI options, you can invoke the help with the standard UNIX way: ecode -h or ecode --help, -? won't work universally since ? is considered a wildcard.

Current options are:

ecode --help                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              [file] {OPTIONS}

    ecode

  OPTIONS:

      -h, --help                        Display this help menu
      file                              The file or folder path
      -f[file], --file=[file],
      --folder=[file]                   The file or folder path
      -d[pixel-density],
      --pixel-density=[pixel-density]   Set default application pixel density
      -c[prefers-color-scheme],
      --prefers-color-scheme=[prefers-color-scheme]
                                        Set the preferred color scheme ("light"
                                        or "dark")
      --css=[css]                       Sets the path for a custom stylesheet to
                                        load at the start of the application
      -t, --terminal                    Open a new terminal
      -l[log-level],
      --log-level=[log-level]           The level of details that the
                                        application will emmit logs.
      --fb, --framebuffer               Use frame buffer (more memory usage,
                                        less CPU usage)
      --benchmark-mode                  Render as much as possible to measure
                                        the rendering performance.
      -v, --verbose                     Print all logs to the standard output.
      -V, --version                     Prints version information
      -j[jobs], --jobs=[jobs]           Sets the number of background jobs that
                                        the application will spawn at the start
                                        of the application
      --health                          Checks for potential errors in editor
                                        setup.
      --health-lang=[health-lang]       Checks for potential errors in editor
                                        setup for a specific language.
      --health-format=[health-format]   Sets the health format report (accepted
                                        values: terminal, markdown, ascii,
                                        asciidoc)
      "--" can be used to terminate flag options and force all following
      arguments to be treated as positional options

(the health ones aren't available yet, that's for the next release =))

Regarding the single instance, I plan to implement it, but there's no standard way of doing it for a multi-platform application, and I was lazy to implement it, if possible, open a new issue for that request. Thanks

[andy0x10]

Great!

I tried --help and -h in windows but they don't show anything in CLI...

Perhaps a seperate issue?

In Unity by default if you set an external script editor it shows this:

But of course it lets you add your own command-line...so I would want to change it to "$(File):$(Line):$(Column) --please-use-existing-instance-thanks"

[andy0x10]

Interestingly it looks like Unity has support for adding support for external code editors:
https://docs.unity3d.com/ScriptReference/Unity.CodeEditor.IExternalCodeEditor.html

So I can make a simple plugin for this soon.

[andy0x10]

Related to this - it would also be nice to be able to pass in both "--folder" and "--file". This would result in the folder being opened and the file being opened and scrolled to the specified line number.

[SpartanJ]

I was thinking the same! I'll add it.

I already verified that the help is not being printed on Windows but the command parameters work, I'll see what's happening.

[SpartanJ]

Created this issue to keep track of the other feature request.

[SpartanJ]

I'll publish a new build probably tomorrow.

New options look like:

ecode --help                                                                                                                                                                                                                  03:42:56
  [file_or_folder] {OPTIONS}

    ecode

  OPTIONS:

      -h, -?, --help                    Display this help menu
      file_or_folder                    The file or folder path to open
      -f[file], --file=[file]           The file path to open. A file path can
                                        also contain the line number and column
                                        to position the cursor when the file is
                                        opened. The format is:
                                        $FILEPATH:$LINE_NUMBER:$COLUMN. Both
                                        line number and column are optional
                                        (line number can be provided without
                                        column too).
      --folder=[folder]                 The folder path to open
      -d[pixel-density],
      --pixel-density=[pixel-density]   Set default application pixel density
      -c[prefers-color-scheme],
      --prefers-color-scheme=[prefers-color-scheme]
                                        Set the preferred color scheme ("light"
                                        or "dark")
      --css=[css]                       Sets the path for a custom stylesheet to
                                        load at the start of the application
      -t, --terminal                    Open a new terminal
      -l[log-level],
      --log-level=[log-level]           The level of details that the
                                        application will emmit logs.
      --fb, --framebuffer               Use frame buffer (more memory usage,
                                        less CPU usage)
      --benchmark-mode                  Render as much as possible to measure
                                        the rendering performance.
      -v, --verbose                     Print all logs to the standard output.
      -V, --version                     Prints version information
      -j[jobs], --jobs=[jobs]           Sets the number of background jobs that
                                        the application will spawn at the start
                                        of the application
      --health                          Checks for potential errors in editor
                                        setup.
      --health-lang=[health-lang]       Checks for potential errors in editor
                                        setup for a specific language.
      --health-format=[health-format]   Sets the health format report (accepted
                                        values: terminal, markdown, ascii,
                                        asciidoc)
      "--" can be used to terminate flag options and force all following
      arguments to be treated as positional options

[andy0x10]

That's great!! Can't wait to try it.
Does it work with filePath that has quotes around it to support paths with spaces?

[SpartanJ]

It does work! :)

[andy0x10]

Confirmed this is working well! Massive improvement to usability from Unity!