Visual Studio Code

7External Tools and Task Automation

WHAT'S IN THIS CHAPTER?

• Understanding how to execute tasks from within Visual Studio Code
• Learning about the capabilities of Visual Studio Code when it comes to custom tasks
• Working with problem matchers and variable substitution to create generic tasks

The development of modern web applications is not just a matter of writing some JavaScript, or Python, or PHP, or any other single language. Today's code lives within an ecosystem of tools that perform various functions, from ensuring code quality to producing efficient packages for deployment.

And this isn't just limited to web applications. Regardless of the language being used and the platform being targeted, some tasks are routinely performed as part of the development and testing workflow.

To be able to truly fit into how today's developers work, Visual Studio Code has to be able to work seamlessly with these tools—and it does. In this chapter, we'll look at how you can use linters, transpilers, minifiers, and the like within your regular workflow.

TASKS DEFINED

The connection between Visual Studio Code and external tools is through a collection of defined tasks. For most tools, their preferred method of execution is through a command‐line interface. So, at the heart of a task is the ability to execute a command line, then capture and process the results. And, of course, to do this in a generic manner that can be applied to many different tools.

As a starting point, let's go through ...