Support expanding input parameters into multiple arguments

[anatolyburakov]

Currently, it is possible to specify debug arguments from input, using this syntax:

        "inputs": [
                {
                        "id": "mystr",
                        "type": "promptString",
                        "description": "",
                }
        ]

And having this prompt appear in launch.json:

        "configurations": [
                {
                        "name": "myexe",
                        "type": "cppdbg",
                        "request": "launch",
                        "program": "myexepath",
                        "args": [
                                "${input:mystr}"
                        ]
                }
        ]

This will cause a prompt to appear, asking for arguments to pass to the application. However, it is only possible to pass one argument that way.

It would be nice if it was possible to expand this:

"-a 5 -b 10 -c 15 -d \"some string\""

into this:

["-a", "5", "-b", "10", "-c", "15", "-d", "some string"]

This would make opportunistic debugging (testing with different parameters quickly) much easier, and will avoid polluting the launch.json with targets that are used only once and then discarded.

[isidorn]

This is coming from the configurationResolverService thus forwarding to @alexr00
Also fyi @weinand

[weinand]

@anatolyburakov I understand the usefulness of your feature.

But how should it actually work?

Today the input prompting mechanism is based on variable substitution: a specific pattern ${variable} that appears inside a string is substituted by the variable's value.

With your feature the variable's value becomes an array. So the pattern that occurs in a string now needs to be replaced by by an array. How do you envision would the syntax look like and how would you explain the semantics?

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[anatolyburakov]

@anatolyburakov I understand the usefulness of your feature.

But how should it actually work?

Today the input prompting mechanism is based on variable substitution: a specific pattern ${variable} that appears inside a string is substituted by the variable's value.

With your feature the variable's value becomes an array. So the pattern that occurs in a string now needs to be replaced by by an array. How do you envision would the syntax look like and how would you explain the semantics?

The easiest way i can think of is add another input type (instead of it being a "string" or a "choice", also add something like "argument list"), and split it into an array the way shell does (something every programmer should be familiar with). This would be the most sensible. The launch config does not allow specifying full command strings anyway and mandates making an "args" array for arguments - so array expansion inside this array shouldn't be too hard (i'm not familiar enough with JS, but it works find in Python with one line of slicing magic).