Improve VSCode detection in configure_vscode.py

This commit improves the reliability of the `configure_vscode.py` script
on macOS by improving the detection mechanism for the Visual Studio Code
CLI command (`code`). It introduces a fallback mechanism to locate the
`code` executable in common installation path for macOS, addressing the
issue where the VSCode CLI might not be found in PATH variable.

Additionally, the commit refines error handling by providing clearer error
messages for unknown exceptions during the extension installation process.
This ensures that users are better informed about the nature of the error,
facilitating easier troubleshooting.

scripts/configure_vscode.py

@@ -6,10 +6,11 @@ development and installs recommended extensions from '.vscode/extensions.json'.
 
 import os
 import json
+from pathlib import Path
 import subprocess
 import sys
 import re
-from typing import Any
+from typing import Any, Optional
 from shutil import which
 
 VSCODE_SETTINGS_JSON_FILE: str = '.vscode/settings.json'
@@ -84,7 +85,7 @@ def install_recommended_extensions() -> None:
         if not extensions:
             print_skip(f"No recommendations found in the {VSCODE_EXTENSIONS_JSON_FILE} file.")
             return
-        vscode_cli_path = which('code') # More reliable than using `code`, especially on Windows.
+        vscode_cli_path = locate_vscode_cli()
         if vscode_cli_path is None:
             print_error('Visual Studio Code CLI (`code`) tool not found.')
             return
@@ -92,11 +93,23 @@ def install_recommended_extensions() -> None:
     except json.JSONDecodeError:
         print_error(f"Invalid JSON in {VSCODE_EXTENSIONS_JSON_FILE}")
 
+def locate_vscode_cli() -> Optional[str]:
+    vscode_alias = which('code') # More reliable than using `code`, especially on Windows.
+    if vscode_alias:
+        return vscode_alias
+    potential_vscode_cli_paths = [
+        '/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/bin/code' # macOS VS Code may not register 'code' command in PATH
+    ]
+    for vscode_cli_candidate_path in potential_vscode_cli_paths:
+        if Path(vscode_cli_candidate_path).is_file():
+            return vscode_cli_candidate_path
+    return None
+
 def remove_json_comments(json_like: str) -> str:
     pattern: str = r'(?:"(?:\\.|[^"\\])*"|/\*[\s\S]*?\*/|//.*)|([^:]//.*$)'
     return re.sub(
         pattern,
-        lambda m: '' if m.group(1) else m.group(0), json_like, flags=re.MULTILINE,
+        lambda m: '' if m.group(1) else m.agroup(0), json_like, flags=re.MULTILINE,
     )
 
 def install_vscode_extensions(vscode_cli_path: str, extensions: list[str]) -> None:
@@ -123,6 +136,12 @@ def install_vscode_extensions(vscode_cli_path: str, extensions: list[str]) -> No
                 f"Visual Studio Code CLI tool not found: {vscode_cli_path}."
                 f"Could not install extension: {ext}",
             ]))
+        except Exception as e: # pylint: disable=broad-except
+            print_error(' '.join([
+                f"Failed to install extension '{ext}'.",
+                f"Attempted using Visual Studio Code CLI at: '{vscode_cli_path}'.",
+                f"Encountered error: {e}",
+            ]))
     total_extensions = len(extensions)
     print_installation_results(successful_installations, total_extensions)