Inconsistent #if ... #endif blocks reformatting about prettier-plugin-csharp HOT 2 CLOSED

Conditional macros are an interesting beast, because they can produce valid or invalid code based on values that are not available at formatting-time. It's pretty pointless to try to evaluate them before formatting the code. IIRC, macros are naively treated as if they were comments. The same reformatting rules apply, including the difference between /* */ vs // comments. And just like when you nest comments (/* /* foo */ */), the parser often breaks.

I'm not sure why the formatter swaps the directives here, but yes, there is some logic that treats #if and #endif differently. You can see bits of it here.

While it may be interesting to explore and learn, this plugin is basically abandoned so do not rely on it for serious usage. I'm not even writing C# anymore, so unlikely to tackle this challenge again. It was fun though!

from prettier-plugin-csharp.

Thanks for your answer, and I'm sorry for only replying today... aye, your explanation makes sense; it just shows how impossibly complex C# is, to the point that automatically parsing it becomes a nightmare...

I've since then found one oddity or another, but I most certainly won't bother you if you're not actively developing this plugin. In fact, I hate C# with a vengeance; whoever came up with it ought to be hanged, quartered, and their remaining body parts fed to the beasts. I do respect Microsoft's absolutely fantastic work done with their super-fast compilers, though; I also admire the poor technical writers that are writing piles and piles of documentation for a language which seems to grow like a cancer, expanding in all directions... a decade ago, I had to struggle with it to continue development of an academic project (because there were already a few tens of thousands of lines of code written...), and I professed the solemn oath of never coming back to C# again. Alas, such is the irony of fate: ten years later, here I am, facing the same project (which underwent several layers of mutations by others) I had buried long ago, and, like a good zombie, rises from its grave (the old Google Code archive...), bites me in the back, and drags me back into the insomniac realms of C# programming...

Anyway... sorry for the long ramble! And I'm closing this issue; you might wish to tag it as 'won't fix' or anything similar.

from prettier-plugin-csharp.