feat: replace brace matching with property-argument highlighting

- Remove redundant brace matching feature
- Add property-argument highlighting that visually connects template properties with their corresponding arguments when cursor is positioned
- Update documentation to reflect the feature change

Author: willibrandon

CLAUDE.md

@@ -20,10 +20,14 @@ The extension follows a modular architecture designed for performance and mainta
    - `expressionTokenizer.ts` - Tokenizes Serilog.Expressions syntax
    - `stringLiteralParser.ts` - Detects C# string literals (regular, verbatim, raw)
 
-2. **Decorations** (`src/decorations/`) ✅
+2. **Providers** (`src/providers/`) ✅
+   - `navigationProvider.ts` - Code actions for navigating from properties to arguments
+   - `propertyArgumentHighlighter.ts` - Highlights template properties and their corresponding arguments
+
+3. **Decorations** (`src/decorations/`) ✅
    - `decorationManager.ts` - Manages text decorations for highlighting (replaces semantic tokens)
 
-3. **Utilities** (`src/utils/`) ✅
+4. **Utilities** (`src/utils/`) ✅
    - `serilogCallDetector.ts` - Identifies Serilog method calls in C# code
    - `cacheManager.ts` - LRU cache for parsed templates (max 100 entries)
    - `themeManager.ts` - Theme-aware color management
@@ -84,6 +88,8 @@ vsce publish
 - **Theme Management**: Automatic theme detection and WCAG AA compliant colors
 - **Testing Infrastructure**: Jest setup with comprehensive test coverage
 - **Configuration**: Extensive user customization options
+- **Property-Argument Highlighting**: Cursor-based highlighting showing connection between properties and arguments
+- **Navigation Provider**: Code actions to jump from properties to their arguments
 
 ### 🚫 Not Implemented (by design)
 - **Semantic Tokens Provider**: Replaced with decoration-based approach for better control

Example/README.md

@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ Open `Program.cs` in Visual Studio with the Serilog Syntax extension installed t
 Colors automatically adapt for light themes with WCAG AA compliant contrast ratios - darker variants of the same color families for optimal readability on light backgrounds.
 
 ### Interactive Features
-- **Brace matching** when cursor is on `{` or `}`
+- **Property-Argument highlighting** when cursor is on a property or argument
 - **Light bulb navigation** from properties to arguments
 - **Immediate highlighting** as you type (before closing quotes)
 - **Multi-line support** for verbatim and raw strings

README.md

@@ -47,12 +47,12 @@ A Visual Studio Code extension that provides syntax highlighting and enhanced su
 - **Navigate to argument** - jump from template properties to their corresponding arguments
 - Click the light bulb and select "Navigate to 'PropertyName' argument"
 
-### 🔍 Brace Matching
-- **Highlight matching braces** when cursor is positioned on `{` or `}`
-- Visual indication of brace pairs in complex templates
-- **Multi-line support** - matches braces across line boundaries in verbatim and raw strings
-- Press **ESC** to temporarily dismiss highlights
-- Helps identify mismatched or nested braces
+### 🎯 Property-Argument Highlighting
+- **Synchronous highlighting** of template properties and their corresponding arguments
+- Position cursor on a property like `{UserId}` to highlight both the property (including braces) and its argument
+- Position cursor on an argument to highlight it and its template property
+- Includes quotes when highlighting string arguments (e.g., `"userId"`)
+- Helps visualize the connection between template properties and their values
 
 ## Installation
 
@@ -72,6 +72,7 @@ A Visual Studio Code extension that provides syntax highlighting and enhanced su
 
 ### Basic Settings
 - `serilog.enabled` - Enable/disable Serilog syntax highlighting
+- `serilog.propertyArgumentHighlighting` - Enable/disable property-argument pair highlighting when cursor is positioned on either
 
 ### Theme-Aware Colors & Accessibility
 The extension automatically adapts to your VS Code theme with **WCAG AA compliant colors**:

package.json

@@ -42,6 +42,11 @@
           "default": true,
           "description": "Enable/disable Serilog syntax highlighting"
         },
+        "serilog.propertyArgumentHighlighting": {
+          "type": "boolean",
+          "default": true,
+          "description": "Enable property-argument pair highlighting when cursor is positioned on either"
+        },
         "serilog.colors.property": {
           "type": "string",
           "default": "#569CD6",

src/extension.ts

@@ -7,8 +7,8 @@ import { DecorationManager } from './decorations/decorationManager';
 import { CacheManager } from './utils/cacheManager';
 import { Debouncer } from './utils/debouncer';
 import { ThemeManager } from './utils/themeManager';
-import { SerilogBraceMatchProvider } from './providers/braceMatchProvider';
 import { SerilogNavigationProvider, registerNavigationCommand } from './providers/navigationProvider';
+import { PropertyArgumentHighlighter } from './providers/propertyArgumentHighlighter';
 
 export function activate(context: vscode.ExtensionContext) {
     // Create output channel for logging
@@ -35,8 +35,6 @@ export function activate(context: vscode.ExtensionContext) {
     const debouncer = new Debouncer(100); // 100ms delay
 
     // Initialize brace matching provider
-    const braceMatchProvider = new SerilogBraceMatchProvider();
-    context.subscriptions.push(braceMatchProvider);
 
     // Initialize navigation provider
     const navigationProvider = new SerilogNavigationProvider();
@@ -53,6 +51,10 @@ export function activate(context: vscode.ExtensionContext) {
     // Register navigation command
     context.subscriptions.push(registerNavigationCommand());
 
+    // Initialize property-argument highlighter
+    const propertyArgumentHighlighter = new PropertyArgumentHighlighter();
+    context.subscriptions.push(propertyArgumentHighlighter);
+
     function updateDecorations() {
         const config = vscode.workspace.getConfiguration('serilog');
         const enabled = config.get<boolean>('enabled', true);
@@ -373,15 +375,13 @@ export function activate(context: vscode.ExtensionContext) {
     // Listen for cursor position changes to update brace matching
     vscode.window.onDidChangeTextEditorSelection(event => {
         if (event.textEditor === vscode.window.activeTextEditor) {
-            braceMatchProvider.updateBraceMatching(event.textEditor);
         }
     }, null, context.subscriptions);
 
     // Listen for active editor changes
     vscode.window.onDidChangeActiveTextEditor(editor => {
         if (editor) {
             updateDecorations();
-            braceMatchProvider.updateBraceMatching(editor);
         }
     }, null, context.subscriptions);