Documentation: Where is the "Theia cookbook"?

#1

I’m really impressed with the forum responses that I get from the Theia team and others in the community. Just recently, @kittaakos wrote an excellent answer to my question. And then another community member followed up with more info. I’ve gotten similar help in the past, too—many kudos to the community and maintainers.

But my questions are always quite basic, and I find myself wondering if I’m missing something in the documentation. If I’m not missing something, I wonder if the community could be more efficient by having a “cookbook” or something similar. My learning pattern is a) search the web and the forum for a precise solution; b) search the TypeDocs site; c) parse the source. This all seems to complex for my rather basic questions.

So: Am I missing something, or can you point me to the best place to answers my questions? Or perhaps the answer is “you simply need to spend more time in the source code.” For example:

  • What is the best way to open a file when Theia starts? Do I simply create an EditorWidget instance? Where do I create it? Should I use the EditorManager? What about the monaco editor plugin: is that the best way to go?
  • How do I open a terminal when Theia starts?
  • How to automatically preview a file when Theia starts?
  • What’s the easiest way to store a user’s settings for the next session?

I’m thinking about a “cookbook” or something similar. Though in a different language and context, something like this: https://mkaz.blog/code/python-argparse-cookbook/.

Thoughts?

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#2

@akosyakov @vince-fugnitto @kittaakos: Any thoughts on my question above? Is this something y’all have considered creating?

#3

@briandant while the idea is most certainly useful, it is a matter of prioritization, and I do not believe the main community (maintainers) have the bandwidth at the moment to implement and maintain a cookbook for theia extension and application developers. The idea can certainly be implemented in the future, or the main site can be enhanced to include such information.

I’d like to mention that there are many resources available if one is serious about using the framework to develop their own custom application such as documentation, past eclipsecon presentations, seminars, and tutorials.

I’d also like to mention that @theia extensions offer a lot of capabilities and additional control which does require some understanding, but its completely plausible to implement simpler features using vscode extensions (which the framework can consume) to implement simpler features like you’ve mentioned.

#4

Thanks for your reply, @vince-fugnitto!

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