9 Check Syntax

▼ |  | Dr Racket Plugins

1 | Tool support for #lang-based Languages
2 | Implementing Dr Racket Plugins
3 | Adding Languages to Dr Racket
4 | Creating New Kinds of Dr Racket Frames
5 | Extending the Existing Dr Racket Classes
6 | Expanding the User’s Program Text and Breaking
7 | Editor Modes
8 | Plugin Capabilities
9 | Check Syntax
10 | Cooperating with Background Check Syntax
11 | Teaching Languages
12 | Signatures
13 | drracket: get/ extend
14 | drracket: unit
15 | drracket: language
16 | drracket: language-configuration
17 | drracket: debug
18 | drracket: rep
19 | drracket: frame
20 | drracket: help-desk
21 | drracket: eval
22 | drracket: modes
23 | drracket: module-language-tools
24 | drracket: module-language
25 | drracket: tracing
26 | drracket: init
27 | Backwards Compatibility
| Index

► | 9 | Check Syntax

9.1 | Check Syntax Button
9.2 | Syntax Properties that Check Syntax Looks For

On this page:

9.1`` Check Syntax Button
syncheck-drracket-button
syncheck: button-callback
syncheck-bitmap
9.2`` Syntax Properties that Check Syntax Looks For

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### 9`` Check Syntax🔗ℹ

Check Syntax is a part of the DrRacket collection, but is implemented via the plugin API. See also drracket/check-syntax.

#### 9.1`` Check Syntax Button🔗ℹ

(require drracket/syncheck-drracket-button)
| package: drracket

> > value
> > syncheck-drracket-button | : |
> > (list/c
> > string?
> > (is-a?/c bitmap%)
> > (-> (is-a?/c
> > top-level-window<%>)
> > any))

This is meant to be used with the 'drracket:toolbar-buttons argument to the info proc returned from read-language.

> syntax syncheck:button-callback

This is defined with define-local-member-name and is bound to a method of no arguments of the DrRacket frame that runs Check Syntax.

> value syncheck-bitmap : (is-a?/c bitmap%)

The bitmap in the Check Syntax button on the DrRacket frame.

#### 9.2`` Syntax Properties that Check Syntax Looks For🔗ℹ

Check Syntax collects the values of the syntax-propertys named 'disappeared-use, 'disappeared-binding, 'identifiers-as-disappeared-uses?, 'identifier-as-keyword, 'sub-range-binders, and 'mouse-over-tooltips and uses them to add control which arrows are added to the program text. These properties are intended for use when a macro discards or manufactures identifiers that, from the programmers perspective, should be binding each other, or when there are identifiers that are intended to be used more in the spirit of keywords, and thus should be ignored.

For example, here is program with a macro that discards its arguments, but adds properties to the result syntax object so that the two occurrences of a are treated as a binding/bound pair by Check Syntax.

> (define-syntax (m stx)
> (syntax-case stx ()
> [(_ id1 id2)
> (and (identifier? #'id1) (identifier? #'id2))
> (syntax-property
> (syntax-property
> #'1
> 'disappeared-use (list (syntax-local-introduce #'id1)))
> 'disappeared-binding (list (syntax-local-introduce #'id2)))]))
> (m a a)

Check Syntax draws arrows only between identifiers that are free-identifier=?. They must be syntax-original? or have the syntax-property 'original-for-check-syntax set to #t. See also current-recorded-disappeared-uses.

Another approach for situations where identifiers are discarded by a macro is to introduce a let expression that doesn’t contribute to the result of the computation, but does signal to Check Syntax that there are some arrows to draw. For example, Check Syntax is unable to draw the arrows between the introductions and uses of a, b, and c for this code:

> #lang racket
> (require (for-syntax syntax/parse))
> (define-syntax (depths stx)
> (syntax-parse stx
> [(_ id expr)
> (define table (make-hash))
> (let loop ([stx #'expr] [depth 0])
> (cond
> [(syntax->list stx)
> =>
> (λ (lst)
> (for ([ele (in-list lst)])
> (loop ele (+ depth 1))))]
> [(identifier? stx)
> (hash-set! table (syntax-e stx) depth)]))
> #`(define-syntax id #,table)]))
> (define-syntax (depth-of stx)
> (syntax-parse stx
> [(_ id1 id2)
> (datum->syntax
> #'here
> (hash-ref (syntax-local-value #'id1)
> (syntax-e #'id2)))]))
> (depths my-sexp ((a) b (((((((c)))))))))
> (depth-of my-sexp a)
> (depth-of my-sexp b)
> (depth-of my-sexp c)

Extending these macro to cooperate with Check syntax requires more information to be collected on the definition side and then used at the use side:

> #lang racket
> (require (for-syntax syntax/parse))
> (define-syntax (depths stx)
> (syntax-parse stx
> [(_ id expr)
> (define table (make-hash))
> (let loop ([stx #'expr] [depth 0])
> (cond
> [(syntax->list stx)
> =>
> (λ (lst)
> (for ([ele (in-list lst)])
> (loop ele (+ depth 1))))]
> [(identifier? stx)
> (hash-set! table (syntax-e stx)
> (cons (vector (syntax-source stx)
> (syntax-line stx)
> (syntax-column stx)
> (syntax-position stx)
> (syntax-span stx))
> depth))]))
> #`(define-syntax id #,table)]))
> (define-syntax (depth-of stx)
> (syntax-parse stx
> [(_ id1 id2)
> (define pr
> (hash-ref (syntax-local-value #'id1)
> (syntax-e #'id2)))
> (define fake-binder
> (datum->syntax #'id2 (syntax-e #'id2) (car pr) #'id2))
> #`(begin
> (void (let ([#,fake-binder 1]) id2))
> #,(cdr pr))]))
> (depths my-sexp ((a) b (((((((c)))))))))
> (depth-of my-sexp a)
> (depth-of my-sexp b)
> (depth-of my-sexp c)

For each syntax object that appears in the fully expanded program, DrRacket traverses it looking for identifiers and connecting them to likely binding occurrences. When it finds such identifiers it draws an arrow with a large question mark near the head of the arrow. But, if the syntax object has the property 'identifiers-as-disappeared-uses?, then the arrows are the normal arrow color.

The value of the 'sub-range-binders property is expected to be a tree of cons pairs (in any configuration) whose leaves are either ignored or are vectors with either of these shapes:

> (or/c (vector/c identifier? natural? natural?
> identifier? natural? natural?)
> (vector/c identifier?
> natural? natural?
> (real-in 0 1) (real-in 0 1)
> identifier?
> natural? natural?
> (real-in 0 1) (real-in 0 1)))

Each vector is interpreted as a single arrow. The first identifier in the vector is the start of the arrow and the second identifier in the vector is the destination of the arrow. The two natural numbers that follow each identifier adjust the precise starting and ending ranges for the arrows, however. They are interpreted as offsets into the position of each corresponding identifier, making the arrows start and end on just a portion of the identifier, instead of the entire identifier.

If the vector has 8 elements, then the two real numbers are treated as the precise location where the arrow starts and ends, inside the rectangle that corresponds to the start and end of the identifier. The first real number is for the x direction and the second one is for the y direction. For example, if some identifier has a position and span of 100 and 10, and the offset are 1 and 5, then the rectangle that bounds the corresponding end of the arrow would be from position 101 to 105. This entire range gets highlighted when the mouse moves over it. The arrow itself, however, will start from some specific point inside that editor range, normally in the center and corresponds to the situation where the two real numbers are both 0.5. If, however the two reals are both 1/3, then the arrow will start one third of the way from the top to the bottom and one third of the way from the left to the right.

The property is looked for in expression positions and on binding identifiers.

Here’s an example:

> #lang racket/base
> (require (for-syntax racket/base))
> (define-syntax (define/hyphen stx)
> (syntax-case stx ()
> [(_ id1 id2 rhs-expr)
> (let ()
> (define first-part (symbol->string (syntax-e #'id1)))
> (define second-part (symbol->string (syntax-e #'id2)))
> (define first-len (string-length first-part))
> (define second-len (string-length second-part))
> (define hyphenated-id
> (datum->syntax
> #'id1
> (string->symbol (string-append first-part "-" second-part))))
> (syntax-property
> #`(define #,hyphenated-id rhs-expr)
> 'sub-range-binders
> (list
> (vector (syntax-local-introduce hyphenated-id)
> 0 first-len 0.5 0.5
> (syntax-local-introduce #'id1)
> 0 first-len 0.5 0.5)
> (vector (syntax-local-introduce hyphenated-id)
> (+ first-len 1) second-len 0.5 0
> (syntax-local-introduce #'id2)
> 0 second-len 0.5 1))))]))
> (define/hyphen big generator
> 11)
> (+ big-generator big-generator)

After putting this code in the DrRacket window, mouse over the words “big” and “generator” to see arrows pointing to the individual pieces of the identifier big-generator. The four 0.5s in the first vector put the arrows on big in the center of the identifiers; the 0.5 0 and the 0.5 1 in the second vector put the arrows at the top and bottom center for generator.

The value of the 'mouse-over-tooltips property is expected to be to be a tree of cons pairs (in any configuration) whose leaves are either ignored or are vectors of the shape

> (vector/c syntax?
> exact-nonnegative-integer?
> exact-nonnegative-integer?
> (or/c string? (-> string?)))

Each vector’s content indicates where to show a tooltip. The first three components are a syntax object whose syntax-source field indicates which file the tooltip goes in, the start and end position in the editor where mouseovers will show the tooltip, and the content of the tooltip. Note that editor positions count from zero, while syntax object positions count from one, so use sub1 to convert between them. If the tooltip content is a procedure, this procedure is called by Check Syntax to compute the string used for the tooltip, as Check Syntax traverses the syntax objects looking for properties.

For example, here’s a macro that shows the span of itself in a tooltip on mouseover:

> #lang racket
> (define-syntax (char-span stx)
> (syntax-case stx ()
> [(_ a)
> (syntax-property
> #'a
> 'mouse-over-tooltips
> (vector
> stx
> (sub1 (syntax-position stx))
> (sub1 (+ (syntax-position stx)
> (syntax-span stx)))
> (format "this expression\nspans ~a chars"
> (syntax-span stx))))]))
> (char-span (+ 1 2))

If the syntax property 'identifier-as-keyword is any value except #f and appears on an identifier, then Check Syntax ignores the identifier, not drawing any arrows to it.

Changed in version 1.3 of package drracket: Looks for 'sub-range-binders on binding identifiers (not just in expression positions).
Changed in version 1.5: Looks for 'identifier-as-keyword on identifiers.

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