TL;DR:
I am trying to create a foreign interface, but I get compile errors. My F# skills are not yet equal to the task.
I have written a Photoshop script and now I am trying to convert that script to Fable (F#) for my own F# practise.
Sidenote: I am very new to F# but I have a good C# background.
To use the photoshop script library I need to define it as foreign interfaces (http://fable.io/docs/interacting.html). I am trying to implement a small class first for testing purposes. Namely the UnitValue class (see https://wwwimages.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/products/indesign/pdfs/JavaScriptToolsGuide_CS5.pdf p.230)
My attempt:
#r "node_modules/fable-core/Fable.Core.dll"
open System
open Fable.Core
[<Global>]
module Photoshop =
[<Erase;StringEnum>]
type PSUnit =
| [<CompiledName("in")>] Inches
| [<CompiledName("ft")>] Feet
| [<CompiledName("yd")>] Yards
| [<CompiledName("mi")>] Miles
| [<CompiledName("mm")>] Millimeters
| [<CompiledName("cm")>] Centimeters
| [<CompiledName("m")>] Meters
| [<CompiledName("km")>] Kilometers
| [<CompiledName("pt")>] Points
| [<CompiledName("pc")>] Picas
| [<CompiledName("tpt")>] TraditionalPoints
| [<CompiledName("tpc")>] TraditionalPicas
| [<CompiledName("ci")>] Ciceros
| [<CompiledName("px")>] Pixels
| [<CompiledName("%")>] Percent
type PSUnitValue =
abstract ``as``: PSUnit -> float
abstract ``value``: float with get, set
abstract ``type``: PSUnit with get, set
let UnitValue : PSUnitValue = jsNative
open Photoshop
let test = new UnitValue();
test.``value`` = 12.0;
test.``type`` = Unit.Centimeters
Console.WriteLine (test.``as`` PSUnit.Millimeters)
During compilation I get:
C:PsScripts>fable test.fsx
fable-compiler 0.7.28: Start compilation...
F# project contains errors:
C:PsScriptstest.fsx(L35,15) : error FSHARP: The type 'UnitValue' is not defined
C:PsScriptstest.fsx(L36,0) : error FSHARP: Lookup on object of indeterminate type based on information prior to this program point. A type annotation may be needed prior to this program point to constrain the type of the object. This may allow the lookup to be resolved.
C:PsScriptstest.fsx(L37,0) : error FSHARP: Lookup on object of indeterminate type based on information prior to this program point. A type annotation may be needed prior to this program point to constrain the type of the object. This may allow the lookup to be resolved.
C:PsScriptstest.fsx(L37,21) : error FSHARP: The field, constructor or member 'Centimeters' is not defined
C:PsScriptstest.fsx(L39,19) : error FSHARP: Lookup on object of indeterminate type based on information prior to this program point. A type annotation may be needed prior to this program point to constrain the type of the object. This may allow the lookup to be resolved.
C:PsScriptstest.fsx(L39,0) : error FSHARP: A unique overload for method 'WriteLine' could not be determined based on type information prior to this program point. A type annotation may be needed. Candidates: Console.WriteLine(buffer: char []) : unit, Console.WriteLine(format: string, [<ParamArray>] arg: obj []) : unit, Console.WriteLine(value: bool) : unit, Console.WriteLine(value: char) : unit, Console.WriteLine(value: decimal) : unit, Console.WriteLine(value: float) : unit, Console.WriteLine(value: float32) : unit, Console.WriteLine(value: int) : unit, Console.WriteLine(value: int64) : unit, Console.WriteLine(value: obj) : unit, Console.WriteLine(value: string) : unit, Console.WriteLine(value: uint32) : unit, Console.WriteLine(value: uint64) : unit
My expected output would be something like:
var test = new UnitValue();
test.value = 12;
test.unit = "cm";
console.log(test.as("mm"));
For those who would like to know how the UnitValue
class looks and don’t want to look it up in the pdf, here I defined it in C#:
public class UnitValue
{
// Static baseUnit not yet implemented in Fable
public static UnitValue baseUnit { get; set; }
// Constructors not yet implemented in Fable
public UnitValue(float value, string unit) { }
public UnitValue(string valueUnit) { }
public string type { get; set; }
public float value { get; set; }
public float @as(string unit) { throw new NotImplementedException(); }
// I don't use convert in my scripts, so not yet implemented in Fable as well
public UnitValue convert(string unit) { throw new NotImplementedException(); }
}
2
Answers
With the help from Eugene Tolmachev:
Working(ish) code:
Output
I don't know what the
export
keyword is doing here, or why there isn't anew
keyword for the UnitValue, but it compiled and looks in the direction of what I want....Onwards!
I now have the
new
keyword in my output:And usage now is:
You are binding a variable
UnitValue
, not declaring an alias for a type (not sure if that was the intent).types and values, just like in C# have different scopes, so as far as compiler is concerned the type is not declared.
jsNative
is just a shorthand for “throw”, it’s intended for imported JS constructs, but you are not importing any. See http://fable.io/docs/interacting.htmlsince JS lacks types, if the interop is the intent, you actually have to define the type in F# yourself.
if interop is not an intent, then write a normal F# code, without any Fable attributes, fable will take care of the rest.
Adding the comment answer here for the formatting:
UnitValue needs to be a function (constructor):
then you could call it:
Also checkout this post for a bit of a background on bindings.