Extension:CodeEditor/en

The CodeEditor extension extends the WikiEditor advanced editing toolbar with an embedded Ace editor widget, providing some handy features for user/site JS, CSS pages, and when Extension:Scribunto is also installed, for pages in Module namespace:


 * syntax highlighting for JavaScript, CSS and Lua
 * auto-indent
 * tab key produces tab indents (since 1.22), soft indents before.
 * indent/unindent selection with tab/shift-tab
 * syntax validity check for JavaScript
 * Pair-matching for parenthesis, braces and square brackets

Currently the extension is under development, and details of activation and functionality are subject to change.

Configuration


In order to use this extension for Scribunto, set

JavaScript Configuration
It is possible to change the configuration of the ACE editor, by hooking into the MediaWiki JS hook. The argument passed to your hook will be an ACE editor session.

WikiEditor integration
''I've been integrating CodeEditor into the pluggable portions of Extension:WikiEditor as prep for Future editor work, since we'll want to be able to extend it to edit things that aren't plain wikitext, which'll need some changes to the toolbar setup and whatnot. JS/CSS here still return plain text in the end, making it an easier intermediate project. --brion 00:26, 14 June 2011 (UTC)''

Good:
 * special char insertions work, including quote pairs to surround text
 * basic formatting insertions work, including link dialogs
 * search/replace dialog works
 * ace's built-in search/replace UI also triggers from keyboard commands, still need to disable them! (onCommandKey)

Bad:
 * multi-line formatting doesn't apply correctly (but really should that apply here? :)

Todo:
 * remove toolbar buttons that don't apply (formatting, syntax help?)
 * add toolbar buttons that are more directly useful
 * indent/outdent
 * insertion helpers for common keywords or code bits
 * help reference to MW JS API reference, JS & CSS specs/documentation

Compatibility
Browsers tested:
 * Firefox 4.0 / Linux
 * Chrome 10.0.648.204 / Linux

Browsers tested with issues:
 * Opera 11.10 / Linux: copy fails, paste sometimes crashes
 * IE 8.0.6001.18702 / Win XP: some newlines mysteriously removed, corrupting data; insertion point keeps resetting back to the top of the page after a click (arrow keys ok)
 * Safari / iPad 4.3 (8F190): renders ok, but can't set focus or scroll vertically. No focus means no typing. :(
 * There is some work in progress that needs merging upstream...

Issues
Known issues:
 * probably explodes with classic toolbar now; use with Extension:WikiEditor toolbar. See also 55419
 * accessibility: tab/shift-tab are overridden. is there a consistent alternative for keyboard-reliant users?
 * accessibility: accesskey on the original textarea needs to be moved over or otherwise handled
 * 'discard your changes?' check on tab close doesn't trigger 61117
 * scrollbar initializes too wide; need to trigger resize check after that's filled (maybe fixed?)
 * cursor/scroll position not maintained over previews/show changes
 * upstream ctrl+R, ctrl+L, ctrl+T are taken over by the editor, which is SUPER annoying