I'm curious if there's a way to have my coding environment enforce a specific formatting style, particularly for keeping certain lines of code in a single line. I find it easier to read and less scrolling is required. For instance, instead of formatting code that looks like this:
IconButton(
icon: const Icon(Icons.edit),
tooltip: 'Edit timer',
onPressed: () => _openEditScreen(context, timer),
),
I'd prefer it to be formatted like:
IconButton(icon: const Icon(Icons.edit), tooltip: 'Edit timer', onPressed: () => _openEditScreen(context, timer),)
This isn't just for Flutter; I feel the same way about Python, C++, and other languages. However, when I give instructions to LLMs to format code that way, they often don't follow my requests, and despite my efforts to format it manually, the IDE or LLMs seem to revert it back to multiline formatting. I've checked IDE settings, but I can't find options that support this type of formatting. Is there any way to enforce single-line formatting where appropriate, or is there a tool or extension that could be created for this purpose?
2 Answers
Yeah, trying to make LLMs output code a certain way can be like herding cats! They’re not designed to conform to strict formatting rules, so you might have to get creative. As for your IDE, definitely check if there’s a way to set formatting rules. Some IDEs let you control their behavior through plugins or extensions—maybe that’s the way to go? It might be a good extension idea, and you'd probably not be alone in wanting that functionality!
It sounds like you're dealing with a classic problem in coding environments. Some IDEs do allow you to tweak formatting rules, so take a look at your settings. For example, in VS Code, you might not have found the exact option, but you can customize formatting rules in your settings.json. It's a bit tricky, but worth a shot. As for LLMs, they really don’t have hard-set formatting rules like IDEs do, so you might need to run a script post-generation to format it the way you want. Unfortunately, automating this perfectly is tough, especially in languages like Python where line breaks can alter the code's meaning.
I appreciate the feedback! It seems like making an extension could fill a gap here. I'll look into whether there are existing ones or how to create one myself. Thanks!