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https://github.com/tgjones/HlslTools

A Visual Studio extension that provides enhanced support for editing High Level Shading Language (HLSL) files
https://github.com/tgjones/HlslTools

hlsl parser visual-studio

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A Visual Studio extension that provides enhanced support for editing High Level Shading Language (HLSL) files

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# HLSL Tools for Visual Studio [![Join the chat at https://gitter.im/tgjones/HlslTools](https://badges.gitter.im/tgjones/HlslTools.svg)](https://gitter.im/tgjones/HlslTools) [![Build Status](https://dev.azure.com/timjones/HlslTools/_apis/build/status/tgjones.HlslTools?branchName=master)](https://dev.azure.com/timjones/HlslTools/_build/latest?definitionId=3&branchName=master)



*This extension is for Visual Studio 2019 / 2022. [Go here for the Visual Studio Code extension](https://github.com/tgjones/HlslTools/tree/master/src/ShaderTools.VSCode).*



HLSL Tools is a Visual Studio 2019 / 2022 extension that provides enhanced support for editing High Level Shading Language (HLSL) files.



Download the extension at the [Visual Studio Marketplace](https://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/75ddd3be-6eda-4433-a850-458b51186658).



See the [changelog](CHANGELOG.md) for changes.



### Why use HLSL Tools?



Since Visual Studio 2012, Visual Studio has shipped with basic support for editing HLSL files.

In addition to that basic feature set, HLSL Tools includes many more navigational and editing features:



| VS2019 / VS2022      | VS2019 / VS2022 with HLSL Tools |

| -------------------- | ------------------------------- |

| Syntax highlighting  | Syntax highlighting             |

| Automatic formatting | Automatic formatting            |

| Brace matching       | Brace matching                  |

| Brace completion     | Brace completion                |

| Outlining            | Outlining                       |

|                      | [Statement completion](#statement-completion) |

|                      | [Signature help](#signature-help) |

|                      | [Reference highlighting](#reference-highlighting) |

|                      | [Navigation bar](#navigation-bar) |

|                      | [Navigate to (Ctrl+,)](#navigate-to) |

|                      | [Live errors](#live-errors) |

|                      | [Go to definition](#go-to-definition) |

|                      | [Quick info](#quick-info) |

|                      | [Gray out code excluded by preprocessor](#preprocessor-support) |

|                      | [HLSL-specific preferences](#options) |



There are more features [on the roadmap](CHANGELOG.md).



### Features



#### Statement completion



Just start typing, and HLSL Tools will show you a list of the available symbols (variables, functions, etc.)

at that location. You can manually trigger this with the usual shortcuts: `Ctrl+J`, `Ctrl+Space`, etc.



![Statement completion demo](art/statement-completion.gif)



#### Signature help



Signature help (a.k.a. parameter info) shows you all the overloads for a function call, along with information (from MSDN)

about the function, its parameters, and return types. Typing an open parenthesis will trigger statement

completion, as will the standard `Ctrl+Shift+Space` shortcut. Signature help is available for all HLSL functions and methods,

including the older `tex2D`-style texture sampling functions, and the newer `Texture2D.Sample`-style methods.



![Signature help demo](art/signature-help.gif)



#### Reference highlighting



Placing the cursor within a symbol (local variable, function name, etc.) will cause all references to

that symbol to be highlighted. Navigate between references using `Ctrl+Shift+Up` and `Ctrl+Shift+Down`.



![Reference highlighting demo](art/reference-highlighting.gif)



#### Navigation bar



![Navigation bar demo](art/navigation-bar.gif)



#### Navigate To



HLSL Tools supports Visual Studio's Navigate To feature. Activate it with `Ctrl+,`, and start typing the name

of the variable, function, or other symbol that you want to find.



![Navigate To demo](art/navigate-to.gif)



#### Live errors



HLSL Tools shows you syntax and semantic errors immediately. No need to wait till compilation!

Errors are shown as squigglies and in the error list.



![Live errors demo](art/live-errors.gif)



#### Go to definition



Press F12 to go to a symbol definition. Go to definition works for variables, fields, functions, classes,

macros, and more.



![Go to definition demo](art/go-to-definition.gif)



#### Quick info



Hover over almost anything (variable, field, function call, macro, semantic, type, etc.) to see a Quick Info tooltip.



![Quick info demo](art/quick-info.gif)



#### Preprocessor support



HLSL Tools evaluates preprocessor directives as it parses your code, and grays out excluded code.

If you want to make a code block visible to, or hidden from, HLSL Tools, use the `__INTELLISENSE__` macro:



![__INTELLISENSE__ macro demo](art/intellisense-macro.gif)



#### Options



Configure HLSL-specific IntelliSense and formatting options. If you really want to, you can disable IntelliSense altogether

and just use HLSL Tools' other features. You can also set HLSL-specific highlighting colours in 

Tools > Options > Environment > Fonts and Colors.



![Options demo](art/options.gif)



### Extras



#### The code



HLSL Tools includes a [handwritten HLSL parser](https://github.com/tgjones/HlslTools/blob/master/src/HlslTools).

It initially used an ANTLR lexer and parser,

but the handwritten version was faster, and offered better error recovery.



HLSL Tools has a reasonable test suite - although it can certainly be improved. Amongst more granular tests,

it includes a suite of 433 shaders, including all of the shaders from the DirectX and Nvidia SDKs.

If you want to contribute gnarly source files which push HLSL to its limit, that would be great!



#### Syntax visualizer



Inspired by Roslyn, HLSL Tools includes a syntax visualizer. It's primarily of interest to HLSL Tools developers,

but may be of interest to language nerds, so it's included in the main extension. Open it using `View > Other Windows > HLSL Syntax Visualizer`.



![Syntax visualizer demo](art/syntax-visualizer.gif)



### Custom preprocessor definitions and additional include directories



HLSL Tools has a built-in preprocessor to handle `#define` and `#include` directives. The behavior

of this preprocessor can be customised by creating a file named `shadertoolsconfig.json`:



``` json

{

  "hlsl.preprocessorDefinitions": {

    "MY_PREPROCESSOR_DEFINE_1": "Foo",

    "MY_PREPROCESSOR_DEFINE_2": 1

  },

  "hlsl.additionalIncludeDirectories": [

    "C:\\Code\\MyDirectoryA",

    "C:\\Code\\MyDirectoryB",

    ".",

    "..\\RelativeDirectory"

  ],

  "hlsl.virtualDirectoryMappings": {

    "/Project": "C:\\MyProject\\Shaders"

  }

}

```



* `hlsl.preprocessorDefinitions`: It's normal for additional preprocessor definitions to be defined

  as part of a project build. In some cases, the shader won't compile correcty without these. To handle

  this, you can add those additional preprocessor definitions here.

* `hlsl.additionalIncludeDirectories`: HLSL Tools will, by default, only use the directory containing 

  the source file to search for `#include` files. Additional include directories can be added here.

* `hlsl.virtualDirectoryMappings`: Use this to configure the virtual directory mappings required by

  Unreal Engine. The virtual directory (`/Project` in the example above) must start with a forward slash or backslash.



HLSL Tools will look for a file named `shadertoolsconfig.json` in the directory of an opened file,

and in every parent directory. A search for `shadertoolsconfig.json` files will stop when the drive

root is reached or a `shadertoolsconfig.json` file with `"root": true` is found. If multiple config

files are found during this search, they will be combined, with properties in closer files taking

precedence.



Config files are cached for performance reasons. If you make make changes to a config file,

you'll need to close and re-open any source files that use that config file.



### Getting involved



You can ask questions in our [Gitter room](https://gitter.im/tgjones/HlslTools).

If you find a bug or want to request a feature, [create an issue here ](https://github.com/tgjones/HlslTools/issues).

You can find me on Twitter at [@\_tim_jones\_](https://twitter.com/_tim_jones_) and I tweet about HLSL Tools using the

[#hlsltools](https://twitter.com/hashtag/hlsltools) hashtag.



Contributions are always welcome. [Please read the contributing guide first.](CONTRIBUTING.md)



### Maintainer(s)



* [@tgjones](https://github.com/tgjones)



### Acknowledgements



* Much of the code structure, and some of the actual code, comes from [Roslyn](https://github.com/dotnet/roslyn).

* [NQuery-vnext](https://github.com/terrajobst/nquery-vnext) is a nice example of a simplified Roslyn-style API,

  and HLSL Tools borrows some of its ideas and code.

* [Node.js Tools for Visual Studio](https://github.com/Microsoft/nodejstools) and

  [Python Tools for Visual Studio](https://github.com/Microsoft/PTVS) are amongst the best examples of how to build

  a language service for Visual Studio, and were a great help.

* [ScriptSharp](https://github.com/nikhilk/scriptsharp) is one of the older open-source .NET-related compilers,

  and is still a great example of how to structure a compiler.

* [LangSvcV2](https://github.com/tunnelvisionlabs/LangSvcV2) includes many nice abstractions for some of the more

  complicated parts of Visual Studio's language service support.