IntelliSense

RDT provides full IntelliSense support for SAMO model elements — autocompletion suggestions as you type and go-to-definition navigation with Ctrl+Click.

How It Works

When the extension activates, it scans all model.xml files in your workspace and builds an in-memory index using a Trie data structure for fast prefix-based lookups. This index is automatically updated whenever a model.xml file changes.

Autocompletion

Autocompletion activates when you type a SAMO identifier prefix — ft_, cl_, cf_, or at_ — and when you type a dot (.) after a feature type or code list ID to access its attributes or columns. You can also invoke it manually with Ctrl+Space.

Feature Types (ft_)

Type ft_ followed by any characters to see matching feature types.

Each suggestion shows:

• Label: ft_identifier - Human Readable Name
• Detail: The feature type name
• Documentation: Number of attributes defined

GIF needed

Ft_ autocompletion — typing ft_fa and seeing ft_farm, ft_facility etc.

Example:

ft_fa|  ← cursor here

Suggestions:

ft_farm - Farm
ft_facility - Facility
ft_factory - Factory

tip

Results are sorted alphabetically and limited to 100 suggestions per query. Narrow down with more characters if your model is large.

Feature Type Attributes (ft_xxx.at_)

After typing a complete feature type ID followed by a dot (.), RDT suggests all attributes belonging to that feature type — including inherited attributes from parent feature types.

Each suggestion shows:

• Label: at_identifier - Attribute Name
• Detail: Attribute name
• Documentation: Data type and description (if available)

GIF needed

Dot-triggered attribute completion — typing ft_farm. and seeing at_name, at_area etc.

Example:

ft_farm.|  ← cursor here

Suggestions:

at_name - Name              (inherited from ft_base)
at_area - Area in Hectares
at_owner - Owner Reference

When you type ft_farm., you see at_name, at_description, at_created_date (inherited) plus at_area, at_owner (own attributes).

Code Lists (cl_)

Type cl_ to see available code lists.

Each suggestion shows:

• Label: cl_identifier - Code List Name
• Detail: Code list name
• Documentation: Number of columns and values

GIF needed

Cl_ autocompletion

Code List Columns (cl_xxx.col_)

After a complete code list ID and a dot, RDT suggests columns of that code list.

GIF needed

Cl_xxx. column completion

Example:

cl_country_codes.|  ← cursor here

Suggestions:

col_iso - ISO Code
col_name - Country Name
col_region - Region

Filtered Code Lists (cf_)

Filtered code lists reference a base code list with additional filtering. Type cf_ to see available filtered code lists.

When you type cf_xxx., RDT resolves the underlying base code list and shows its columns.

GIF needed

Cf_ completion and dot-column access

Attributes (at_)

Type at_ to search across all attributes in the entire model, regardless of which feature type they belong to.

Each suggestion shows:

• Label: at_identifier - Attribute Name
• Detail: Attribute name
• Documentation: Owning feature type and description

GIF needed

At_ global attribute search

Summary Table

Trigger	What It Completes	Includes Inherited?	Max Results
ft_ + chars	Feature types by prefix	N/A	100
ft_xxx.	Attributes of ft_xxx	Yes	All
cl_ + chars	Code lists by prefix	N/A	100
cl_xxx.	Columns of cl_xxx	N/A	All
cf_ + chars	Filtered code lists by prefix	N/A	100
cf_xxx.	Columns of base code list	N/A	All
at_ + chars	All attributes by prefix	N/A	100

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Go-to-Definition

Hold Ctrl and click (or press F12) on any SAMO identifier to jump to its definition in the corresponding model.xml file. Use Alt+Left Arrow to navigate back to your previous position.

Supported Elements

Pattern	Element	XML Tag
ft_*	Feature Type	<ber:featureType id="...">
cl_*	Code List	<ber:codeList id="...">
at_*	Attribute	<ber:attribute>, <ber:derivedAttribute>, <ber:systemAttribute>
ca_*	Code List Column	<ber:column>, <ber:codeListColumn>

GIF needed

Ctrl+Click on different element types — ft_, cl_, at_, ca_ — each jumping to the correct model.xml location

How It Works

When you trigger go-to-definition:

1. The word under the cursor is matched against a regex pattern (e.g., ft_[\p{L}0-9_]+ for feature types)
2. All model.xml files in the workspace are searched for the matching XML element
3. The editor opens the file and scrolls to the exact line

Performance

The definition search engine uses an optimized strategy with:

• Content caching — file contents are cached with mtime-based invalidation
• Large file chunking — files over 10,000 lines are processed in 65KB chunks to prevent memory issues
• Streaming processing — files over 100,000 lines use a streaming approach

info

If a definition is not found in any model.xml file, RDT shows an informational message: "Element not found in any model.xml files".

Special Cases

• Root Feature Type (ft_5000002): Shows an information message instead of navigating, as this is a built-in system type without a user-editable definition.

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Model Scanning

Initial Scan

When the extension activates, it performs a full workspace scan:

1. Finds all model.xml files using glob pattern **/model.xml
2. Parses each file using fast-xml-parser
3. Extracts: feature types (with attributes), code lists (with columns/values), filtered code lists
4. Builds Trie indices for prefix-based search

Live Updates

A file watcher monitors all model.xml files. When you save changes to a model file:

1. The watcher detects the change
2. The affected file is re-parsed
3. The index is rebuilt with updated data

tip

If IntelliSense feels stale (e.g., after a Git branch switch), you can reload the window (Ctrl+Shift+P → "Developer: Reload Window") to force a full rescan.