cli / generate_keywords

generate_keywords is a development utility that generates a JSON file containing metadata for all LPC efuns (external functions).

Usage

./generate_keywords

Description

This tool extracts information about all available efuns from the compiled FluffOS driver and generates a keywords.json file containing structured metadata about each function. This file is useful for:

• IDE Integration: Language servers and code editors can use this file to provide autocomplete and type hints
• Documentation Generation: Automated documentation tools can extract function signatures
• Static Analysis: Code analysis tools can validate LPC code against available efuns
• API Reference: Developers can query available functions and their signatures

Output Format

The tool generates a keywords.json file in the current directory with the following structure:

[
  {
    "name": "function_name",
    "type": "efun",
    "returns": "return_type",
    "min_args": 0,
    "max_args": 2,
    "args_types": [
      ["type1", "type2"],
      ["type3"]
    ]
  },
  ...
]

Output Fields

• name: The efun name
• type: Always "efun" for external functions
• returns: The return type of the function
• min_args: Minimum number of required arguments
• max_args: Maximum number of arguments (-1 for variadic)
• args_types: Array of argument type possibilities for each parameter position

Example Output

[
  {
    "name": "write",
    "type": "efun",
    "returns": "void",
    "min_args": 1,
    "max_args": 1,
    "args_types": [
      ["mixed"]
    ]
  },
  {
    "name": "hash",
    "type": "efun",
    "returns": "string",
    "min_args": 2,
    "max_args": 2,
    "args_types": [
      ["string"],
      ["string"]
    ]
  }
]

Requirements

• Must be run from the FluffOS build directory
• Requires write permissions in the current directory
• The driver must be successfully compiled with all packages

Use Cases

VSCode/Language Server Integration:

// Language server can parse keywords.json to provide:
// - Autocomplete for efun names
// - Parameter hints
// - Type checking

Documentation Automation:

# Generate keywords.json then process it
./generate_keywords
node doc-generator.js keywords.json > efun-reference.md

See Also

• driver - Main FluffOS driver executable
• lpcc - LPC compiler utility

Notes

• This is a development/build tool, not needed for runtime operation
• The output reflects the exact efuns available in the compiled build
• Package-specific efuns only appear if their packages are enabled
• Run this after any build configuration changes to update the keywords