InFormatter...the 4gl formatter
Posted in 1997
I've written (many, many moons ago) an Informix 4gl formatting program. It works rather well, but I've created a list of enhancements that I would like to do to it. I'm wondering: 1. What features sound interesting/worthwhile or required for 4gl programmers if they were to use it. 2. If this seems a product worth purchasing to 4gl programmers (and what they'd pay) 3. If anyone is interested in co-writing the enhancements (and sharing in profit if it is marketed, or just getting credit if it's put in the public domain. Currently, it can change the indentation format to n spaces (where n is 1 to 12) or tabs (1 to 4) per level of indent, and can change Informix key-words to ALL UPPER, all lower, or Mixed Case. It can also format variables to ALL UPPER, all lower, or Mixed Case. The program can be run interactively or in a batch mode and utilizes optional environment variables to set preferences to override defaults (particularly helpful in batch mode). Some ideas I've had: Being able to insert blank lines before and after statement loops and between menu commands for additional readability. Also, three blank lines before the beginning of every function, and any other blank lines which seem appropriate. Whether the blank lines are inserted is based on user input from a screen field on the main screen or command-line option. Be able to break loop statements which should be on separate lines but aren't, such as the classic "IF...THEN...END IF" all on one line. Also, the reverse, when a "THEN" statement is not on the same line as an "IF" statement, and any other similar conditions. Another feature would be for InFormatter to try to intelligently break any lines that are longer than a user supplied length, default of 80. Be able to insert a comment of the function name at the "END FUNCTION" statement if no such comment exists. By adding a few new keywords to the database, InFormatter could be NewEra compatible as well. So what's the consensus? Tim