[Language Servers - COBOL first] Have a way to programmatically manage the stopping and starting of Language Servers.

[FALLAI-Denis]

Hi,

Cancel and replace other issues:

• All languages - Command to start Language Server #155
• [ZLanguagesResourceResolver] Ability to pause and start the ZLanguagesResourceResolver component programmatically #529
• "no such file or directory, lstat '<path to workspace subfolder>\.git\shallow.lock'" #622

Description of the enhancement requested

In implementing our development workshop—based primarily on Z Open Editor—we established a mechanism for importing copybooks/includes locally:

• Our programs are stored in Git repositories dedicated to specific applications.
• Copybooks/includes are also stored in dedicated, application-specific Git repositories, separate from the programs; this allows an application to share only its interfaces (copybooks/includes) rather than the programs themselves.
• An application requiring interfaces with other applications declares the list of Git repositories dedicated to those other applications' copybooks/includes.
• The Git repositories dedicated to copybooks/includes are cloned into a folder—declared in the zapp.yaml file—within the consuming application's workspace; this folder is listed in the application workspace's .gitignore file.

The cloning of Git repositories for copybooks/includes is handled by a VS Code extension we developed.
The actual cloning is performed once per repository but is refreshed whenever VS Code starts, whenever the branch of the program repository changes, and upon user request.
Users can also request that all clones be deleted and recreated.

We observe that, even when no program is open in an editor, ZOE monitors the directory specified in zapp.yaml, triggering messages and even exceptions in the ZOE logs.
This likely also slows down the overall performance of VS Code.

To avoid interference between ZOE and our own developments, we would like to have the following capabilities:

• query the active/inactive status of a Language Server (even when no program is open in an editor),
• deactivate/stop a Language Server (this is already possible via ZOE commands),
• reactivate a Language Server.

Thus, before initiating the cloning or refreshing of our Git repositories for copybooks/includes, we would query the status of the Language Servers, pause any potentially active Language Servers, and then reactivate them once our loading operations were complete.

Thanks.

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