Abas FO/FOP Language

Syntax highlighting for Abas FO/FOP language files, suggestions and snippets (basic intellisense).

This is unofficial extension created using AI/LLM model. Creator is not related in any way with Abas ERP or company Forterro Deutschland Abas GmbH. Use at your own risk.

What It Highlights

• Comments starting with ..
• Interpreter directives such as ..!interpreter english declaration
• Known German and English FO dot commands from the quick reference
• Nested documented command families such as .pc.exec, .pc.open, .dde.exec
• Labels starting with !
• Double-quoted strings
• Variable substitutions such as 'U|xtext' and 'G|arg.i'
• Buffer variables such as H|name, G|true, _F|defined
• User variables beginning with x
• Command options such as -encoding and selection options such as @group
• Types used with .type / .art
• Conditions introduced by ?
• Numeric constants and basic operators

What It Suggests

The extension also registers an IntelliSense completion provider for Abas FO.

It suggests:

• Known FO commands, for example .select, .formula, .type, .set
• Nested command families such as .pc.exec, .pc.open, .dde.init, .dde.request
• Interpreter directive/options such as ..!interpreter english declaration noabbrev
• Common command options such as -encoding, -text, -xml, -wait
• Selection options such as @database, @group, @filingmode
• FO variable types for .type / .art
• Common buffers/constants such as U|, H|, G|true, G|arg.i, F|defined

Examples:

• Type .se at the start of a line to get .select and .set.
• Type .type to get FO variable type suggestions.
• Type @gr in a selection string to get @group / @gruppe.
• Type ..! at the beginning of the first line to get the single-line interpreter directive.

Snippets

The extension contributes VS Code snippets for Abas FO.

Available snippet prefixes:

• fo-template: full FOP template with ..!interpreter english declaration noabbrev, metadata comments, one command, and .end.
• fo-header: interpreter directive plus metadata comments only.
• fo-if: command guarded by a ? condition.
• fo-jump: .continue plus label target.

Completion Language

English completions are the default. Change this in VS Code Settings by searching for Abas FO: Completion Language, or set it directly in settings.json:

"abasFo.completionLanguage": "english"

Supported values:

• "english": English commands/options only, plus language-neutral entries.
• "german": German commands/options only, plus language-neutral entries.
• "both": English and German commands/options.

Install Locally

If needed, this extension can be installed locally. Copy or symlink this folder into your VS Code extensions directory, then reload VS Code.

ln -s ~/vscode-abas-fo ~/.vscode/extensions/abas-fo-language

After reloading VS Code, files ending in .fo, .fop, or .efop use the Abas FO language automatically.

Use examples/hello.fo to check highlighting and completions quickly.

Notes

Abas FO allows syntax-relevant characters to be redefined at runtime. This grammar handles the documented standard syntax: dot commands, .. comments, apostrophe variable substitution, ? conditions, and ! labels.

The completion provider is intentionally lightweight. It does not parse the complete FOP or infer exact database fields. It gives command-level and syntax-level suggestions from the copied FO documentation.