This module converts ApiAnns into Anns by traversing a structure created by the Annotate module.

Structure of an Annotation

As a rule of thumb, every located element in the GHC AST will have a corresponding entry in Anns. An Annotation contains 6 fields which can be modifed to change how the AST is printed.

Layout Calculation

In order to properly place syntax nodes and comments properly after refactoring them (in such a way that the indentation level changes), their position (encoded in the addEntryDelta field) is not expressed as absolute but relative to their context. As further motivation, consider the simple let-into-where-block refactoring, from:

foo = do
  let bar = do
        x
        -- comment
        y
  bar

to

foo = do
  bar
 where
  bar = do
    x
    -- comment
    y

Notice how the column of x, y and the comment change due to this refactoring but certain relative positions (e.g. the comment starting at the same column as x) remain unchanged.

Now, what does "context" mean exactly? Here we reference the "indentation level" as used in the haskell report (see chapter 2.7: https://www.haskell.org/onlinereport/haskell2010/haskellch2.html#x7-210002.7): addEntryDelta is mostly relative to the current (inner-most) indentation level. But in order to get better results, for the purpose of defining relative positions a the offside-rule is modified slightly: Normally it fires (only) at the first elements after whereletdo/of, introducing a new indentation level. In addition, the rule here fires also at the "let" keyword (when it is part of a "let-in" construct) and at the "if" keyword.

The effect of this additional applications of the offside-rule is that any elements (more or less directly) following the "let" ("if"") keyword have a position relative to the "let" ("if") keyword position, even when the regular offside-rule does apply not yet/not anymore. This affects two concrete things: Comments directly following "let"/"if", and the respective follow-up keywords: "in" or "then"/"else".

Due to this additional indentation level, it is possible to observe/obtain negative delta-positions; consider:

foo = let x = 1
  in x

Here, the in keyword has an annEntryDelta of DP (1, -4) as it appears one line below the previous elements and 4 columns left relative to the start of the let keyword.

In general, the element that defines such an indentation level (i.e. the first element after a whereletdo/of) will have an annEntryDelta relative to the previous inner-most indentation level; in other words: a new indentation level becomes relevant only after the construct introducing the element received its annEntryDelta position. (Otherwise these elements always would have a zero horizontal position - relative to itself.)

(This affects comments, too: A comment preceding the first element of a layout block will have a position relative to the outer block, not of the newly introduced layout block.)

For example, in the following expression the statement corresponding to baz will be given a annEntryDelta of DP (1, 2) as it appears 1 line and 2 columns after the do keyword. On the other hand, bar will be given a annEntryDelta of DP (1,0) as it appears 1 line further than baz but in the same column as the start of the layout block.

foo = do
  baz
  bar

A useful way to think of these rules is that the DeltaPos is relative to the further left an expression could have been placed. In the previous example, we could have placed baz anywhere on the line as its position determines where the other statements must be. bar could have not been placed any further left without resulting in a syntax error which is why the relative column is 0.

annTrueEntryDelta

A very useful function is annTrueEntryDelta which calculates the offset from the last syntactic element (ignoring comments). This is different to annEntryDelta which does not ignore comments.