Go to Type Definition contextual menu

[angelozerr]

Today definition and typeDefinition are available with Ctrl+Click but in XML context:

• definition is used to switch from start tag to end tag
• typeDefinition is used to open the grammar bound with XML and select the proper element/attribute declaration in the grammar.

Ctrl+Click on start tag element should just swith to the end tag element and not provide the typeDefinition (which can takes some times).

vscode provides:

• definition with Ctrl+Click
• typeDefinition with a contextual menu

I think LSP4E should provide this menu too.

[angelozerr]

@ rubenporras I have seen that you have provided Open Implementation with hyperlink in #524

IMHO I think it is a bad idea to provide this feature with hyperlink. I remembered that I have provided Type definition with hyperlink because I wanted to have this feature quickly, but it is a bad idea too.

Open Implementation and Go To Type Definition should be available with contextual menu and not with hyperlink. Hyperlink is used to jump to a definition only, it is the behavior of vscode.

There is the same behavior with JDT. When you process an hyperlink to a Java Class, it jumps to the class and hyperlink doesn't provides Implemetation for instance.

More Implemeptation and Type Definition can takes some times but user generally want just to go to definition. So it is shame to process Implementation and Type Definition when you do hyperlink although user generally want just to jump to definition.

[rubenporras]

Hi @angelozerr,

My JDT shows indeed go to implementation, or are we talking about something else?

[angelozerr]

My JDT shows indeed go to implementation, or are we talking about something else?

Ooops my bad, you are right.

[rubenporras]

And this is for the record how LSP4E looks for me after the change

[rubenporras]

Do you still think it is wrong to have this behavior? If so, how should we support jumping to an implementation?

Would one then need to open a Type Hierarchy dialog?

[angelozerr]

My fear is that more we will add features with hyperlink,

• more we could have some performance problem.
• more we will have hyperlink items which can be hard to select if you have a lot of items.

In mycase, I use hyperlink for go to the definition and I like to do Ctrl+Click without selecting an item (when definition return just one definition).

Takes a sample with XML (with lemMinx). If you have

<foo>


</foo>

If you do an hyperlink in the start tag <foo>, it jumps to </foo>. This feature is nice when your is not visible in the screen.

When you bind this XML with a grammar

<?xml-model href="foo.xsd" ?>
<foo>


</foo>

When you do hyperlink with LSP4E, you have 2 hyperlinks:

• one to jump to end tag (definition)
• one to open the foo.xsd and select the proper range where <element name="foo" is declared in XSD (type definition)

I find it breaks the workflow to jump to end tag element, because you need to select an hyperlink.

Opening the foo.xsd (type definition) is not a common operation, and if thisfeature could be available only with contextual menu, it would be nice.

[rubenporras]

I have always been happy with the way the JDT works, but I understand others can have different preferences. I would not mind if we move go to type definition / implementation to a context menu, but even then, I am not sure the user can expect to just jump to the definition, since org.eclipse.lsp4j.services.TextDocumentService.definition(DefinitionParams) returns a list, there can be more than one definition.

[angelozerr]

I am not sure the user can expect to just jump to the definition, since org.eclipse.lsp4j.services.TextDocumentService.definition(DefinitionParams) returns a list, there can be more than one definition.

Indeed it can returns several definition, but in most usecases, one definition is returned.

[mickaelistria]

I think the current state with hyperlink is very good; it's not so harmful to add items, as long as they are relatively easy to browser, and as long as the first/default one is the most useful.
However, adding context menus, or even just commands, wouldn't harm as it would give the ability to more easily navigate with keyboard or other mouse-less navigation. Having commands allows to work with Ctrl+3 and context-menus usually is good for people who like to discover things without knowing the useful shortcuts.