From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-2.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,MAILING_LIST_MULTI autolearn=unavailable autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,629e11b80bdec45d,start X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2001-05-09 10:17:14 PST Path: newsfeed.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!news.tele.dk!193.251.151.101!opentransit.net!jussieu.fr!enst!enst.fr!not-for-mail From: "Beard, Frank" Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: RE: powerful editors versus IDEs (was: License to Steal) Date: Wed, 9 May 2001 13:15:10 -0400 Organization: ENST, France Sender: comp.lang.ada-admin@ada.eu.org Message-ID: Reply-To: comp.lang.ada@ada.eu.org NNTP-Posting-Host: marvin.enst.fr Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" X-Trace: avanie.enst.fr 989428627 87891 137.194.161.2 (9 May 2001 17:17:07 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@enst.fr NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 9 May 2001 17:17:07 +0000 (UTC) To: "'comp.lang.ada@ada.eu.org'" Return-Path: X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2448.0) Errors-To: comp.lang.ada-admin@ada.eu.org X-BeenThere: comp.lang.ada@ada.eu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.3 Precedence: bulk List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: comp.lang.ada mail<->news gateway List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Errors-To: comp.lang.ada-admin@ada.eu.org X-BeenThere: comp.lang.ada@ada.eu.org Xref: newsfeed.google.com comp.lang.ada:7385 Date: 2001-05-09T13:15:10-04:00 Kent, I certainly agree with most of your comments. However, the ObjectAda (for Windows) IDE does allow you to use a different editor, but its editor is adequate. I tried numerous editors without finding one I liked better, so I gave up trying to find a better one. It has most of what I consider to be necessary features: - the standard search/replace - auto formatting - color coded identifiers (reserved words, comments, etc.) - multi-line indent/unindent and auto-indent - multi-line comment/uncomment - find in files the allows you to click on the entry to jump to the location in the file - bookmarks - go to definition/completion (browse), unfortunately it has a limitation. You can browse forward all you want, but it will only pop back one level. I'm hoping they will have a fix for that soon. I miss the repeat function in emacs, where you could repeat an action anywhere in a file. That would definitely come in handy when we have to add an update comment to the end of every line that we modify. But I hate the way you open a file in emacs. I like the GUI approach of popping up an Open Dialog box to allow you to browse to a file. ObjectAda has a Project window that lists all the files included in the project. Simply double click the entry and it opens it. If the file is not part of the project, then the Open Dialog is an easy way to find and open it. > I find it much easier to keep an editor window > open, and build my software with _my_ choice of > editors, importing the code fresh into the IDE > with each edit and paying the penalty of no > incremental compilation or whatever This usually isn't a problem with ObjectAda until the project starts getting large. And even then, you can open another copy of ObjectAda as an editor only. That way the copy that's opened as the project for compilation doesn't do the internal validation, but you do lose the "go to completion" capability, because it will only browse on files that are part of the project. I don't think I tried vim. Where can I find it? Does it work on Windows NT? Thanks Frank -----Original Message----- From: xanthian@well.com [mailto:xanthian@well.com] Sent: Saturday, May 05, 2001 4:26 AM To: comp.lang.ada@ada.eu.org Subject: Subject powerful editors versus IDEs in software development Re: License to Steal References: > I prefer a GUI oriented IDE with some power. I > miss some of the features of both editors, but > not nearly enough to ever go back. > Frank I'm a bit confused; how could you describe an IDE as "with some power" if it doesn't even provide for dropping through to your power editor of choice? [I'm a vim() fan myself, having outgrown both vi() and emacs(), but that's not really relevant to the larger issue of being captive to wimpy editing tools when writing software.] The StarLogo language in which I'm presently writing code (don't ask) also has an IDE, also has a "wimpy to the point of provoking suicidal impulses" editor. I find it much easier to keep an editor window open, and build my software with _my_ choice of editors, importing the code fresh into the IDE with each edit and paying the penalty of no incremental compilation or whatever, than I do trying to work with an editor roughly as feature free as MS-Notepad. After all, typical compilers are lightning fast today, so almost all of the _time_ I spend in software development is spent editing, whether of code or docs, so editing is where I want the most powerful assistance from my choice of tools. In my experience with several integrated development environments, IDE developers have too many things on their plates to also develop the world's best editor, whatever that might be, as part of their tool, and the embedded editor more often smacks of being an afterthought. I suppose this is back to the Unix concept of a suite of tools each of which does one thing well and has a simple integration technique, being more usable than a monolithic tool that does lots of things tolerably. Which is of course a religious issue. All of which are only opinions, but ones based on grunches of carpal tunnel syndrome risk taking over almost 41 years. Cheers! xanthian. -- Kent Paul Dolan -- Posted from smtp.well.com [208.178.101.27] via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG _______________________________________________ comp.lang.ada mailing list comp.lang.ada@ada.eu.org http://ada.eu.org/mailman/listinfo/comp.lang.ada