Stop adding code in format/lint, use code actions instead

[pimeys]

In this video I demonstrate how our formatter acts differently compared what formatting typically does:

recording.mp4

The user does manual work, removes the front sides of all relations. The user has set the formatter to be run on save. When we run it, we do a thing that a formatter should not do: we add the relations back because we forgot to remove the back-relations before saving/formatting.

What a formatter typically should do:

• Align code
• Ordering
• Spacing

Whatever we want to do additionally, like missing relation fields, should be happen through a code action. This would then require the user to go on top of a relation field, and if we notice it doesn't have the other side available, we'd be showing a light bulb in the editor through the language server protocol, and offering code actions for the user.

Example:

The user has only defined one forward relation field, and presses the code action quick key on top of the relation attribute, listing available code actions:

• first being add a back-relation 1:n, so the back-relation is an array.
• second is adding a back-relation 1:1

We can also do this from the other side, with different options:

• Add an array back-relation to the other side, make a m:n relation
• Add a singular forward field

[Jolg42]

If we remove the "fix" part from "format" and only add it to the language-server then users won't be able to use it like they did with npx prisma format like we sometimes recommend to do.

We would probably need a "fix" CLI command?

[pimeys]

Yep. Formatting is not supposed to be adding code, just formatting it.

[pimeys]

And instead of fixing, we should guide our users to utilize their editors instead of magic commands. And provide them the best tools to autofill missing things in the schema.

[janpio]

We can also treat the format in the extension separate from the existing behavior that prisma format in the CLI has.

[tomhoule]

I'd be in favor of splitting the current thing into a format command and a fix command. In the editor, the fix part can be code actions.