Allow extensions to create file based output channel

[sandy081]

Allow extensions to create an output channel based on a file. For example, if an extension is logging into a file and if the extension wants to show those logs in the output channel, this will help you create an output channel streaming from that log file.

[TomasHubelbauer]

@sandy081 Can you clarify what this would actually allow the extension authors to do? Something like treating output channels as files where changes to the file would get reflected in the output channel contents (allowing us to rewrite already output content)?

[sandy081]

@TomasHubelbauer Updated the description.

[TomasHubelbauer]

@sandy081 is it feasible for this to be developed by an external contributor? Is it easy enough? To me it sounds like a file system watcher on the file and some hooks the the Output channels APIs could do the job. If I'm correct, would you mind posting some pointers in the code the community could use to try and pick up this work?

[sandy081]

@TomasHubelbauer Yes this is easy to implement. We already have file based output channels internally. This is only to expose it as an API.

Since it is an API we have some protocols to follow, we would need extension authors requiring for this feature with proper use cases. Since there are no real time requirements from extension authors, I would keep this on hold until we get some.

[TomasHubelbauer]

Please check out rust-lang/vscode-rust#306 (comment) for one possible use case.

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