Support for avoiding source focus in "stopped" events

[NipunaRanasinghe]

We have implemented a debug adapter for the Ballerina language and, we have a requirement to avoid the automatic focus on the source file that contains the debug hit when a "stopped" event occurs while retaining the ability to display variables and other debug-related information in the LHS debug panel.

We already tried using the preserveFocusHint flag in the "stopped" event, but this flag not only avoids opening the source file but also disables the display of variables in the left-hand side (LHS) debug panel.

Is there a recommended way to achieve this functionality with the current Debug Adapter Protocol (DAP) specification?
If not, can this feature be considered for future versions of the protocol?

[connor4312]

Would it be possible for you to take a screen capture of your scenario so I can better understand the reasoning behind what you're doing? https://gifcap.dev/ is useful if you don't have other software.

[NipunaRanasinghe]

@connor4312 Thanks for the prompt response!

Unfortunately, I’m unable to share any screen recordings at this stage as the product is in its initial stages, and sharing such details requires approval from other teams.

To explain further, we’re working on providing a visual (low-code) debugging experience for the Ballerina language in VSCode. On each debug hit, we open a diagram view highlighting the specific node along with the stack trace, visible variables, and other debug information.

The challenge we’re facing is that the source file containing the debug hit opens automatically with the debug hit highlighted. This behavior replaces the diagram view we are trying to display. We couldn’t find a configuration in the Debug Adapter Protocol to disable this behaviour while retaining other debug-related functionality.

Would you happen to know of a workaround for this or if this functionality could be considered for future versions of the protocol?

[puremourning]

This sounds like a client (vscode) specific request not something that should be on the DAP. Hard to imagine how a generic DAP client could implement what you are talking about.