Rename default debugging configuration

[qubitron]

Environment data

VS Code version: 1.18.1
Python Extension version: 0.9 release candidate
Python Version: Python 3.6.3
OS and version: Windows 10

Actual behavior

Start debugging fails with output in the debug console:

  File "c:\dev\productionready-django-api\.vscode\launch.json", line 2
    // Use IntelliSense to learn about possible attributes.
     ^
SyntaxError: invalid syntax

After changing to python: django in the debug dropdown debugging works, and continues working even after switching back to "Python" configuration.

Expected behavior

Debugging works

Steps to reproduce:

• Set up the sample app environment on windows:

git clone github.com/gothinkster/productionready-django-api.git
py -m venv env
env\scripts\activate.bat
pip install -r requirements.txt

• Click start debugging, launch.json file is generated
• Click start debugging again to start debugging

Logs

Output from Python output panel

Output from Console window (Help->Developer Tools menu)

[DonJayamanne]

Looks like you had the launch.json file opened when you clicked the debug icon.
When clicking the debug icon and using the Python debug configuration, the debugger will try to launch the currently active file in Python. I.e. it will try to run launch.json in Python, and that doesnt work, hence the error.

Please open a pythin file when debugging using the Python configuration.

If this isn't intuitive let's discuss that separately

[DonJayamanne]

Let me know how this goes

[qubitron]

Yes, this was the issue... caused by the fact that the .json file is created and it gets the main focus. I do think it's unintuitive, and could potentially confuse new first time users.

When you click start debugging it might make sense to prompt you to pick your debugging configuration, and not pop up the .json configuration by default. It might also make sense to name the "Python" configuration to be "Current Python File", so it's obvious that clicking play will attempt to debug whatever file the user has open.

[brettcannon]

Short of the file/configuration rename I believe everything else is a VS Code issue. I've tweaked the title to reflect what is being asked of the extension.

[DonJayamanne]

When you click start debugging it might make sense to prompt you to pick your debugging configuration, and not pop up the .json configuration by default

Unfortunately this is out of our hands.
What I could do is, check if the current file (defined in the setting program) is launch.json if is so, then display a specific error message for this. I.e. you'd end up with something like this:

I could also is check if file extension is .py, but this woudl be wrong. as in the case of debugging flask apps, the setting program points to an executable.

[DonJayamanne]

Further to this, I believe we could improve the UX by displaying a file picker (using new VS Code API) or similar UI based a condition (such as active file is launch.json or active file is in the workspace but not a python file).

[qubitron]

@DonJayamanne is it possible, the first time when clicking "Start Debug" and no launch.json file is present, to ask which debug configuration the user wants? Then:

• Generate the launch.json in the background with all configurations
• Make the selected configuration the default
• Start debugging using the selected configuration

This has the added benefit of being a single click (+ selection of configuration) to start debugging the first time. How about also renaming the default configuration to "Python: Current File", so it is explicit about what the default debug config does.

[qubitron]

Chatted with Don, we agreed changing the default configuration name to "Python: Current File" would help here.

[DonJayamanne]

The change was no correct, we need to make changes to the localization files as well (at least for english).