SADL cannot highlight a SADL file in Eclipse 2022-03 with Xtext 2.26.0

[tuxji]

Xtext 2.26.0 appears to have changed or removed some highlighting API used by SADL. When SADL is installed in Eclipse 2021-12 with Xtext 2.25.0, it can open and highlight a SADL file. When SADL is installed in Eclipse 2022-03 with Xtext 2.26.0, it encounters exceptions when trying to open and highlight a SADL file.

org.eclipse.core.runtime.CoreException: org/eclipse/xtext/ide/server/semanticHighlight/ISemanticHighlightingStyleToTokenMapper (occurred in com.ge.research.sadl.ui.SADLExecutableExtensionFactory)
	at org.eclipse.xtext.ui.guice.AbstractGuiceAwareExecutableExtensionFactory.handleCreationError(AbstractGuiceAwareExecutableExtensionFactory.java:97)
	at org.eclipse.xtext.ui.guice.AbstractGuiceAwareExecutableExtensionFactory.create(AbstractGuiceAwareExecutableExtensionFactory.java:65)
	at org.eclipse.core.internal.registry.ConfigurationElement.createExecutableExtension(ConfigurationElement.java:265)
	at org.eclipse.core.internal.registry.ConfigurationElementHandle.createExecutableExtension(ConfigurationElementHandle.java:63)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.WorkbenchPlugin.lambda$0(WorkbenchPlugin.java:287)
	at org.eclipse.swt.custom.BusyIndicator.showWhile(BusyIndicator.java:74)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.WorkbenchPlugin.createExtension(WorkbenchPlugin.java:285)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.registry.EditorDescriptor.createEditor(EditorDescriptor.java:231)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.EditorReference.createPart(EditorReference.java:321)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.e4.compatibility.CompatibilityPart.createPart(CompatibilityPart.java:304)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.e4.compatibility.CompatibilityEditor.createPart(CompatibilityEditor.java:61)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.e4.compatibility.CompatibilityPart.create(CompatibilityPart.java:342)
	at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
	at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:62)
	at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
	at java.base/java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:566)
	at org.eclipse.e4.core.internal.di.MethodRequestor.execute(MethodRequestor.java:58)
	at org.eclipse.e4.core.internal.di.InjectorImpl.processAnnotated(InjectorImpl.java:995)
	at org.eclipse.e4.core.internal.di.InjectorImpl.processAnnotated(InjectorImpl.java:960)
	at org.eclipse.e4.core.internal.di.InjectorImpl.internalInject(InjectorImpl.java:140)
	at org.eclipse.e4.core.internal.di.InjectorImpl.internalMake(InjectorImpl.java:403)
	at org.eclipse.e4.core.internal.di.InjectorImpl.make(InjectorImpl.java:330)
	at org.eclipse.e4.core.contexts.ContextInjectionFactory.make(ContextInjectionFactory.java:202)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.ReflectionContributionFactory.createFromBundle(ReflectionContributionFactory.java:91)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.ReflectionContributionFactory.doCreate(ReflectionContributionFactory.java:60)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.ReflectionContributionFactory.create(ReflectionContributionFactory.java:42)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.workbench.renderers.swt.ContributedPartRenderer.createWidget(ContributedPartRenderer.java:132)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.createWidget(PartRenderingEngine.java:995)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.safeCreateGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:659)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.safeCreateGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:763)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine$2.run(PartRenderingEngine.java:728)
	at org.eclipse.core.runtime.SafeRunner.run(SafeRunner.java:45)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.createGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:712)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.workbench.renderers.swt.StackRenderer.showTab(StackRenderer.java:1209)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.workbench.renderers.swt.LazyStackRenderer.postProcess(LazyStackRenderer.java:116)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.safeCreateGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:677)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.safeCreateGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:763)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine$2.run(PartRenderingEngine.java:728)
	at org.eclipse.core.runtime.SafeRunner.run(SafeRunner.java:45)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.createGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:712)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.workbench.renderers.swt.SWTPartRenderer.processContents(SWTPartRenderer.java:72)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.safeCreateGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:673)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine$1.run(PartRenderingEngine.java:544)
	at org.eclipse.core.runtime.SafeRunner.run(SafeRunner.java:45)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.createGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:528)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.workbench.renderers.swt.ElementReferenceRenderer.createWidget(ElementReferenceRenderer.java:73)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.createWidget(PartRenderingEngine.java:995)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.safeCreateGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:659)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.safeCreateGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:763)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine$2.run(PartRenderingEngine.java:728)
	at org.eclipse.core.runtime.SafeRunner.run(SafeRunner.java:45)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.createGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:712)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.workbench.renderers.swt.SWTPartRenderer.processContents(SWTPartRenderer.java:72)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.workbench.renderers.swt.SashRenderer.processContents(SashRenderer.java:150)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.safeCreateGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:673)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.safeCreateGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:763)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine$2.run(PartRenderingEngine.java:728)
	at org.eclipse.core.runtime.SafeRunner.run(SafeRunner.java:45)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.createGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:712)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.workbench.renderers.swt.SWTPartRenderer.processContents(SWTPartRenderer.java:72)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.workbench.renderers.swt.SashRenderer.processContents(SashRenderer.java:150)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.safeCreateGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:673)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.safeCreateGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:763)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine$2.run(PartRenderingEngine.java:728)
	at org.eclipse.core.runtime.SafeRunner.run(SafeRunner.java:45)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.createGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:712)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.workbench.renderers.swt.SWTPartRenderer.processContents(SWTPartRenderer.java:72)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.workbench.renderers.swt.SashRenderer.processContents(SashRenderer.java:150)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.safeCreateGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:673)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.safeCreateGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:763)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine$2.run(PartRenderingEngine.java:728)
	at org.eclipse.core.runtime.SafeRunner.run(SafeRunner.java:45)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.createGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:712)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.workbench.renderers.swt.SWTPartRenderer.processContents(SWTPartRenderer.java:72)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.workbench.renderers.swt.PerspectiveRenderer.processContents(PerspectiveRenderer.java:51)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.safeCreateGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:673)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.safeCreateGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:763)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine$2.run(PartRenderingEngine.java:728)
	at org.eclipse.core.runtime.SafeRunner.run(SafeRunner.java:45)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.createGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:712)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.workbench.renderers.swt.PerspectiveStackRenderer.showTab(PerspectiveStackRenderer.java:82)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.workbench.renderers.swt.LazyStackRenderer.postProcess(LazyStackRenderer.java:116)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.workbench.renderers.swt.PerspectiveStackRenderer.postProcess(PerspectiveStackRenderer.java:64)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.safeCreateGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:677)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.safeCreateGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:763)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine$2.run(PartRenderingEngine.java:728)
	at org.eclipse.core.runtime.SafeRunner.run(SafeRunner.java:45)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.createGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:712)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.workbench.renderers.swt.SWTPartRenderer.processContents(SWTPartRenderer.java:72)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.workbench.renderers.swt.SashRenderer.processContents(SashRenderer.java:150)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.safeCreateGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:673)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.safeCreateGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:763)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine$2.run(PartRenderingEngine.java:728)
	at org.eclipse.core.runtime.SafeRunner.run(SafeRunner.java:45)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.createGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:712)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.workbench.renderers.swt.SWTPartRenderer.processContents(SWTPartRenderer.java:72)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.workbench.renderers.swt.WBWRenderer.processContents(WBWRenderer.java:658)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.safeCreateGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:673)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.safeCreateGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:763)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine$2.run(PartRenderingEngine.java:728)
	at org.eclipse.core.runtime.SafeRunner.run(SafeRunner.java:45)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.createGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:712)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine$5.run(PartRenderingEngine.java:1083)
	at org.eclipse.core.databinding.observable.Realm.runWithDefault(Realm.java:338)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.run(PartRenderingEngine.java:1046)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.E4Workbench.createAndRunUI(E4Workbench.java:155)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.Workbench.lambda$3(Workbench.java:644)
	at org.eclipse.core.databinding.observable.Realm.runWithDefault(Realm.java:338)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.Workbench.createAndRunWorkbench(Workbench.java:551)
	at org.eclipse.ui.PlatformUI.createAndRunWorkbench(PlatformUI.java:156)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.ide.application.IDEApplication.start(IDEApplication.java:152)
	at org.eclipse.equinox.internal.app.EclipseAppHandle.run(EclipseAppHandle.java:203)
	at org.eclipse.core.runtime.internal.adaptor.EclipseAppLauncher.runApplication(EclipseAppLauncher.java:136)
	at org.eclipse.core.runtime.internal.adaptor.EclipseAppLauncher.start(EclipseAppLauncher.java:104)
	at org.eclipse.core.runtime.adaptor.EclipseStarter.run(EclipseStarter.java:401)
	at org.eclipse.core.runtime.adaptor.EclipseStarter.run(EclipseStarter.java:255)
	at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
	at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:62)
	at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
	at java.base/java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:566)
	at org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.Main.invokeFramework(Main.java:659)
	at org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.Main.basicRun(Main.java:596)
	at org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.Main.run(Main.java:1467)
Caused by: java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: org/eclipse/xtext/ide/server/semanticHighlight/ISemanticHighlightingStyleToTokenMapper
	at java.base/java.lang.ClassLoader.defineClass1(Native Method)
	at java.base/java.lang.ClassLoader.defineClass(ClassLoader.java:1017)
	at org.eclipse.osgi.internal.loader.ModuleClassLoader.defineClass(ModuleClassLoader.java:283)
	at org.eclipse.osgi.internal.loader.classpath.ClasspathManager.defineClass(ClasspathManager.java:716)
	at org.eclipse.osgi.internal.loader.classpath.ClasspathManager.findClassImpl(ClasspathManager.java:639)
	at org.eclipse.osgi.internal.loader.classpath.ClasspathManager.findLocalClassImpl(ClasspathManager.java:607)
	at org.eclipse.osgi.internal.loader.classpath.ClasspathManager.findLocalClassImpl(ClasspathManager.java:587)
	at org.eclipse.osgi.internal.loader.classpath.ClasspathManager.findLocalClass(ClasspathManager.java:566)
	at org.eclipse.osgi.internal.loader.ModuleClassLoader.findLocalClass(ModuleClassLoader.java:335)
	at org.eclipse.osgi.internal.loader.BundleLoader.findLocalClass(BundleLoader.java:397)
	at org.eclipse.osgi.internal.loader.sources.SingleSourcePackage.loadClass(SingleSourcePackage.java:41)
	at org.eclipse.osgi.internal.loader.BundleLoader.findClass0(BundleLoader.java:484)
	at org.eclipse.osgi.internal.loader.BundleLoader.findClass(BundleLoader.java:416)
	at org.eclipse.osgi.internal.loader.ModuleClassLoader.loadClass(ModuleClassLoader.java:168)
	at java.base/java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:522)
	at java.base/java.lang.Class.getDeclaredFields0(Native Method)
	at java.base/java.lang.Class.privateGetDeclaredFields(Class.java:3061)
	at java.base/java.lang.Class.getDeclaredFields(Class.java:2248)
	at com.google.inject.internal.DeclaredMembers.getDeclaredFields(DeclaredMembers.java:40)
	at com.google.inject.spi.InjectionPoint.getDeclaredFields(InjectionPoint.java:800)
	at com.google.inject.spi.InjectionPoint.getInjectionPoints(InjectionPoint.java:710)
	at com.google.inject.spi.InjectionPoint.forInstanceMethodsAndFields(InjectionPoint.java:423)
	at com.google.inject.internal.ConstructorBindingImpl.getInternalDependencies(ConstructorBindingImpl.java:173)
	at com.google.inject.internal.InjectorImpl.getInternalDependencies(InjectorImpl.java:671)
	at com.google.inject.internal.InjectorImpl.cleanup(InjectorImpl.java:628)
	at com.google.inject.internal.InjectorImpl.initializeJitBinding(InjectorImpl.java:614)
	at com.google.inject.internal.InjectorImpl.createJustInTimeBinding(InjectorImpl.java:943)
	at com.google.inject.internal.InjectorImpl.createJustInTimeBindingRecursive(InjectorImpl.java:863)
	at com.google.inject.internal.InjectorImpl.getJustInTimeBinding(InjectorImpl.java:301)
	at com.google.inject.internal.InjectorImpl.getBindingOrThrow(InjectorImpl.java:224)
	at com.google.inject.internal.InjectorImpl.getInternalFactory(InjectorImpl.java:949)
	at com.google.inject.internal.FactoryProxy.notify(FactoryProxy.java:48)
	at com.google.inject.internal.ProcessedBindingData.runCreationListeners(ProcessedBindingData.java:60)
	at com.google.inject.internal.InternalInjectorCreator.initializeStatically(InternalInjectorCreator.java:137)
	at com.google.inject.internal.InternalInjectorCreator.build(InternalInjectorCreator.java:110)
	at com.google.inject.Guice.createInjector(Guice.java:87)
	at com.google.inject.Guice.createInjector(Guice.java:69)
	at com.google.inject.Guice.createInjector(Guice.java:59)
	at com.ge.research.sadl.ui.internal.SadlActivator.createInjector(SadlActivator.java:81)
	at com.ge.research.sadl.ui.internal.SadlActivator.getInjector(SadlActivator.java:69)
	at com.ge.research.sadl.ui.SADLExecutableExtensionFactory.getInjector(SADLExecutableExtensionFactory.java:40)
	at org.eclipse.xtext.ui.guice.AbstractGuiceAwareExecutableExtensionFactory.create(AbstractGuiceAwareExecutableExtensionFactory.java:54)
	... 121 more
Caused by: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: org.eclipse.xtext.ide.server.semanticHighlight.ISemanticHighlightingStyleToTokenMapper cannot be found by com.ge.research.sadl.ide_3.5.0.202202111752
	at org.eclipse.osgi.internal.loader.BundleLoader.generateException(BundleLoader.java:529)
	at org.eclipse.osgi.internal.loader.BundleLoader.findClass0(BundleLoader.java:524)
	at org.eclipse.osgi.internal.loader.BundleLoader.findClass(BundleLoader.java:416)
	at org.eclipse.osgi.internal.loader.ModuleClassLoader.loadClass(ModuleClassLoader.java:168)
	at java.base/java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:522)
	... 163 more

[dhuebner]

I think it is because of changed dependency to lsp4j 0.12.0, which now uses lsp 3.16.
So you can either switch back to Xtext 2.25 or will need to migrate to the new Xtext 2.26 API

[crapo]

@dhuebner , I'm having a hard time finding what has changed in the "new Xtext 2.26 API" that is relevant to this problem. I'm not finding anything about how to replace ISemanticHighlightingStyleToTokenMapper. Can you point me to something to help me identify what has changed and how to use the new API?

[dhuebner]

@crapo
I think ISemanticHighlightingStyleToTokenMapper was just removed, I also need to reimplement semantic highlighting in an other project TypeFox/yang-lsp#221, but still not looked into it.
I would probably start looking into semanticTokens changes made here eclipse-lsp4j/lsp4j#446

[dhuebner]

@crapo
I pushed a first working draft version for Xtext 2.26 + LSP4j 0.12.0 (LSP 3.16). Maybe it can help you to start in SADL
TypeFox/yang-lsp@4428d19

[crapo]

@dhuebner . this is very helpful. Thanks for sharing!!!

[baoluomeng]

Hi Andy @crapo, I am Paul Meng from GE Research. I am now part of Kareem's team. John Interrante @tuxji and I are working on integrating SADL/Eclipse with OSATE and came across this issue. The problem is that OSATE uses xText 2.27 and SADL is using xText 2.25.0, which causes the incompatible issue. So I wonder if you are planning to resolve this anytme soon?

[crapo]

Hi Paul @baoluomeng , as you can see from the comments on this issue, I started looking into it when @tuxji reported it last March. However, I was unable at that time to get a clear idea of what had changed and how to accomplish the SADL code changes to go to a new API with confidence. Over much of the life of SADL, we have brought in consultants who were Xtext experts to aid in making the most of Xtext's capabilities. Initially we used itemis and once Sven Efftinge left itemis and started TypeFox, we used TypeFox. This had enormous benefits--it allowed us to focus on the semantic modeling aspects while getting the best out of Xtext at a much lower cost than if we had tried to leverage Xtext on our own. I would recommend the same approach to this problem. I'd be happy to work with an Xtext expert consultant to make sure that the modeling capability of SADL is preserved and maybe enhanced and that the modifications necessary to go to the new semantic highlighting API are robust. Akos Kitta at TypeFox has deep knowledge of how Xtext is used in SADL. I don't know if there is any chance of contracting for some of his time, but I believe it would be by far the best approach. Please let me know if this is a possible direction.

[spoenemann]

Hi Andy and Paul! I'd like to inform you about changes at TypeFox in the recent years. Sven and Akos are no longer at TypeFox – a part of the team moved to the new company Gitpod when it was founded in 2020. I am now leading TypeFox together with @danieldietrich; see also this blog post.

We still have Xtext experts, though, @dhuebner being one of them. So continuing support for SADL is generally possible. But I'd also like to highlight an alternative: Langium (langium.org). We started that project in 2021 as a successor of Xtext in order to get back to a high development speed and become compatible with the web platform. The main difference is that Langium is fully built on TypeScript; it can run both in desktop IDEs / backends (Node.js) and web apps / frontends.

If you'd like to discuss more in depth: miro.spoenemann@typefox.io

[crapo]

I took another look at this issue by downloading the latest Eclipse for DSL, 2022-12 and running the Xtext examples. It doesn't appear that any of them implement semantic highlighting or any explicit highlighting functionality. Nor do the tutorials give examples. The example that @dhuebner referenced above, see TypeFox/yang-lsp@4428d19, is certainly helpful, but doesn't give the same level of understanding and confidence that a good tutorial might provide. The information at https://www.eclipse.org/Xtext/documentation/340_lsp_support.html has a link for Semantic Tokens (aka Semantic Highlighting), but once again the high-level discussion of how semantic highlighting is now implemented, and how that relates to the prior implementation, is, as nearly as I can tell, entirely missing. @spoenemann , as far as langium use is concerned, I can imagine that this would be a better technology and make Web SADL and Eclipse SADL more compatible, but I can only imagine that moving SADL and its extension languages and IDEs to an entirely new platform, with a different parser, would be a major undertaking. The architecture of SADL was modified by @kittaakos to support both Web SADL and Eclipse SADL, but at the beginning of efforts to support both in the same Xtext-based implementation. I suspect this work makes the modification to support the new semantic highlighting API a little more complex. @baoluomeng , I assume that you are following this conversation...

[baoluomeng]

I was traveling. Yes Andy, I am following this conversation. @crapo
This does not seems like an easy-to-solve problem. I will need to talk with our team to see how to proceed. In the meantime, we can work with the old Eclipse.

[tuxji]

I have updated SADL to Tycho 3.0.4, Java 17, and Eclipse 2022-12 in PR #1063. Please test the latest build artifacts and let me know if any important SADL functionality has been affected or not.

[crapo]

I'm curious to know if anyone has a long-term plan for semantic highlighting in SADL. SADL without semantic highlighting seems to me to be much less appealing. The Xtext move to LSP and the introduction of the replacement platform Langium poses significant challenges. The long-term support of Xtext is in question as documented in this Xtext issue: eclipse-xtext/xtext#1721. I do see that some tools for moving applications from Xtext to Langium have been developed since this issue was first created: see https://www.typefox.io/blog/xtext-to-langium. @tuxji , @baoluomeng , can you share information about the current level of usage of SADL and commitment to maintaining a semantic highlighting capability in SADL?

[tuxji]

I don't want to spend any more time than necessary updating SADL to work with the latest Java, Xtext, and Eclipse. SADL still does some syntactic coloring (highlighting) of the text when you edit a SADL file in Eclipse. To me, the SADL file still seems to look the same in Eclipse as it did before. I am hoping that whatever additional functionality semantic highlighting provides (I'm not familiar with what semantic highlighting does) will not be missed that much, but if we get feedback and comments from the RACK development team that SADL is much less appealing without the semantic highlighting, I can try to emulate the same two commits that Dennis (@dhuebner) made to TypeFox/yang-lsp. Let's try the current changes and get some feedback from people who currently use SADL like the RACK development team.

[crapo]

With semantic highlighting (e.g., prior to your latest removals, a simple model looks like this:

Using the build artifacts you reference above, the same model looks like this;

In other words, semantic highlighting is what gives color coding to classes, properties of various types, instances, variables, and a few other things.

[tuxji]

Yes, I now see the effect of losing the semantic highlighting functionality and the loss of the color coding does seem significant. Thanks for showing me the difference.