Getting Started

This topic covers how to get started using the JavaScript language from the Web Languages Add-on, implemented by the JavaScriptSyntaxLanguage class, and lists its requirements for supporting advanced features like parsing and code outlining.

It is very important to follow the steps in this topic to configure the language correctly so that its advanced features operate as expected.

Configure the Ambient Parse Request Dispatcher

The language's parser does a lot of processing when text changes occur. To ensure that these parsing operations are offloaded into a worker thread that won't affect the UI performance, you must set up a parse request dispatcher for your application.

The ambient parse request dispatcher should be set up in your application startup code as described in the Parse Requests and Dispatchers topic.

protected override void OnStartup(StartupEventArgs e) {
	...
	AmbientParseRequestDispatcherProvider.Dispatcher = new ThreadedParseRequestDispatcher();
	...
}

Likewise it should be shut down on application exit, also as described in the Parse Requests and Dispatchers topic.

protected override void OnExit(ExitEventArgs e) {
	...
	var dispatcher = AmbientParseRequestDispatcherProvider.Dispatcher;
	if (dispatcher != null) {
		AmbientParseRequestDispatcherProvider.Dispatcher = null;
		dispatcher.Dispose();
	}
	...
}

Configure the JavaScriptSyntaxLanguage

The next step is to create an instance of the JavaScriptSyntaxLanguage class.

This code creates a JavaScriptSyntaxLanguage:

var language = new JavaScriptSyntaxLanguage();

Use the JavaScriptSyntaxLanguage

Next, use the language on the ICodeDocument instances that will be editing JavaScript code.

This code applies the language to a document in a SyntaxEditor, whose instance is in the editor variable:

editor.Document.Language = language;

Assembly Requirements

The following list indicates the assemblies that are used with the JavaScript syntax language implementation in this add-on.