drag-lint help

Fix it

Since: 0.1.0-alpha

Applies the fix for the single lint finding on a Structure-tree node; an unused unit is removed or moved to implementation by compiling.

Read this when you are looking at one lint finding in the Structure form and want just that one fixed. Right-click the finding node and choose Fix it; an unused unit is removed or moved to the implementation section, verified by compiling.

How to run it

Full flag list: lint in the CLI reference.

Full flag list: uses-fix in the CLI reference.

Flags

Where to click

• Right-click in the Structure form: Fix it

Details

Applies the autofix for the single lint finding represented by a Structure-tree node. Reach for it when you are looking at one finding and want it fixed without touching anything else in the unit.

Reaching it in the IDE

This is a RIGHT-CLICK action, not a main-menu item. Menu path: "Structure form (right-click a tree node)".

**The Structure form's right-click menu is the only place autofix ("Fix it", "Fix all in unit", "Fix all in project") is reachable in the IDE** -- there is no main drag-lint menu item for it.

To reach it: open the Structure form first (drag-lint > Show Structure), then right-click the tree node for a finding and choose "Fix it".

Running it from the CLI

The menu item runs lint with the autofix flags:

drag-lint lint --file <path.pas> --fix --fix-line <L> --fix-rule <rule-id> --apply

--fix-line and --fix-rule narrow the fix to the ONE finding you right-clicked. Without --apply the command is a DRY RUN: it reports what it would fix and writes no source file -- and, for a naming fix, no index either (a stale owning index is reported index=stale, not reindexed). With --apply, a naming fix may first reindex stale owning project indexes (see Multi-Project-Rename).

Only rules marked fixable can be auto-fixed. drag-lint rules --json reports a fixable field per rule; 23 of the 190 rules are fixable.

Unused units (unused-unit-in-uses)

"Fix it" on an unused-unit-in-uses finding does not use lint --fix. It asks the compiler-verified uses-fix verb about that ONE unit, which decides by compiling:

• removed -- nothing needs the unit and it has no initialization section;
• moved to the implementation section -- only the implementation needs it, or it has an initialization section (moving keeps that running; removing could build cleanly and break at runtime);
• no change -- neither edit compiles; the reason is shown.

It needs an active project with an index (the same one a save reindexes), and it compiles the unit up to three times, so it can take a minute on a large unit. The result is reported in the status strip and the Messages pane, e.g. applied 1 edit(s): System.Win.Registry removed (.bak written). The CLI form:

drag-lint uses-fix <Unit.pas> --project <App.dproj> --db <App.sqlite> --platform win32 --remove-unused --only <UnitName> --apply --format json

While it runs, and afterwards

• It runs in the background on the drag-lint job queue; the status strip shows it, and the result appears on the Diagnostics root row.
• On a NAMING finding (const-casing, type-name-prefix, local-var-casing, ...) "Fix it" RENAMES the symbol -- its declaration and every use the project index knows about (e.g. wrStr -> WrStr). Asking for that ONE finding is the opt-in. It needs the project index, and is not offered without one. A naming fix runs a PREVIEW first (nothing written): when the unit is compiled by two or more indexed projects, a confirmation lists every one of them and the rename happens in all of them or in none -- see Multi-Project-Rename. A refusal (a conflicting name, an index that could not be refreshed, ...) is shown on the Diagnostics root row as rename refused -- <project>: <reason>.
• A constant is renamed WORD BY WORD, to the first style in const_case (the Lint Options tab of the drag-lint Panel; default PascalCase, then UPPER_CASE): StationType_Operator -> StationTypeOperator (PascalCase) or STATION_TYPE_OPERATOR (UPPER_CASE). Before renaming, the project index is asked whether the new name already exists; if it does, the next style is tried (Station_Name beside an existing StationName becomes STATION_NAME), and with no free name the constant is left alone. Two names that close are also reported by the confusable-identifier warning.
• A unit with UNSAVED changes is refused ("save the unit first"): a fix rewrites the file on disk and then reloads the editor from disk, which would otherwise discard the unsaved edits.
• When it changed the file, the buffer is reloaded, the project reindexed and the unit re-linted, so the fixed finding drops off on its own.

What it needs

No index required -- lint --file works on a single file. (An index is still needed for the Structure form itself to populate.)

Example

Dry run first, to see what would change:

drag-lint lint --file C:\Projects\MyApp\Unit1.pas --fix

Typical output when nothing is fixable:

autofix: no fixable findings (of 13 finding(s))

Then apply one specific finding:

drag-lint lint --file C:\Projects\MyApp\Unit1.pas --fix --fix-line 42 --fix-rule bare-except --apply

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