Language Server Protocol (LSP) is a communication protocol between an editor or an IDE and a language server that provides language-specific features such as code completion, error checking, and symbol search.
The Language Server Protocol is used by many popular editors and IDEs, and is supported by many programming languages.
Using the Language Server Protocol, editors and IDEs can provide consistent language features across multiple programming languages and language servers, without having to implement language-specific functionality themselves. This allows for faster and more efficient development, as developers can use their preferred editor or IDE and still have access to advanced language features.
The LSP defines a set of standard JSON-RPC methods that the client and server can use to communicate. These methods include:
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initialize: Iinitialize the language server and configure it. -
shutdown: Shut down the language server. -
textDocument/didOpen: Notify when a document is opened. -
textDocument/didChange: Notify when a document is modified. -
textDocument/completion: Request code completion suggestions. -
textDocument/hover: Request information about a symbol. -
textDocument/references: Request references to a symbol.
The Language Server Protocol is an open standard. The protocol is implemented in a client-server architecture, where the client is an editor or IDE that supports the LSP, and the server is a language server that provides language-specific functionality.