VSCode updates

Author: johnml1135

.vscode/extensions.json

@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@
   "unwantedRecommendations": [
     // These are great for SDK-style / dotnet-first repos, but FieldWorks is MSBuild + native-heavy.
     // When enabled here, they tend to drive builds/tests via `dotnet build`, which fails on .vcxproj.
-    "ms-dotnettools.csdevkit",
-    "ms-dotnettools.csharp"
+    "ms-dotnettools.csdevkit"
   ]
 }

.vscode/settings.json

@@ -77,9 +77,10 @@
   // Exclude external NuGet package tests (SIL.LCModel.Tests, etc.)
   // These test liblcm internals, not FieldWorks code, and have dependency conflicts
   "dotnet.unitTests.testCaseFilter": "FullyQualifiedName!~SIL.LCModel.Tests&FullyQualifiedName!~SIL.LCModel.Core.Tests&FullyQualifiedName!~SIL.LCModel.Utils.Tests",
-  // Auto-build works because Src/Directory.Build.props sets OutputPath to Output/$(Configuration)/
-  // This means dotnet build outputs to the same location as ./build.ps1
-  "dotnet.automaticallyBuildProjects": true,
+  // FieldWorks is mixed native/managed and uses scripted build orchestration.
+  // Keep C# extension active for language services, but avoid background auto-build churn.
+  "dotnet.preferCSharpExtension": true,
+  "dotnet.automaticallyBuildProjects": false,
   // Git Graph extension settings
   "git-graph.dialog.merge.noFastForward": false,
   "git-graph.dialog.merge.squashCommits": false,

Docs/vscode-stability-profile.md

@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+# VS Code Stability Profile (FieldWorks)
+
+This repository is a mixed native + managed solution (C++ + .NET Framework `net48`) with traversal orchestration in `FieldWorks.proj`.
+
+## Supported inner-loop in VS Code
+
+- Use `ms-dotnettools.csharp` for C# language services (IntelliSense, navigation, diagnostics).
+- Do **not** use C# Dev Kit (`ms-dotnettools.csdevkit`) in this workspace.
+- Use `ms-vscode.cpptools` for C/C++ editing and IntelliSense.
+- Build and test through repo scripts/tasks:
+  - `./build.ps1`
+  - `./test.ps1`
+
+## Workspace settings rationale
+
+- `dotnet.preferCSharpExtension=true` ensures .NET Framework projects are handled by the C# extension path.
+- `dotnet.automaticallyBuildProjects=false` avoids background build churn/conflicts in large mixed-language solutions.
+
+## Test/build authority
+
+- **Authoritative:** `./build.ps1` and `./test.ps1`
+- **VS Code Test UI:** optional/lightweight only.
+- **Visual Studio Test Explorer:** preferred for complex .NET Framework test discovery/debugging.
+
+## Native toolchain note
+
+If `cl` is not found in a terminal, initialize the Visual Studio developer environment (or run through the repo scripts, which do this for you).