[Novalug] IDE usage and putting comments in code

gregory pryzby greg@pryzby.org
Fri Sep 21 08:35:09 EDT 2007


First, this is meant as a discussion, so please don't take offense
(since my writing has been criticized as being 'harsh' lately).

On Fri, Sep 21, 2007 at 08:05:28AM -0400, Kevin Dwyer wrote:
> On Thu, Sep 20, 2007 at 01:48:58PM -0400, gregory pryzby wrote:
> > eclipse is an ide so can be seen as a crutch. but it available
> > everywhere and I think is probably less of a crutch than vim or emacs.
> > vi and ed are definitely NOT crutches ;)
> 
> Hmm, vim/emacs is a crutch but eclipse is not?  Eh?

vi and ed are on every unix system as shipped. 

vim and emacs are usually there, but not always. 'back when i was a
young whippersnapper, you had to send away for emacs on QIC and build
and install an environment to build emacs'. so they are closer to
eclipse in that manner-- not installed by default on systems.
 
> Every now and again I try whichever IDE is in vogue and I often come to
> the same conclusion.  They may offer a wealth of extra information at
> your mouse click, but they just slow me down.

If you have to use a mouse, u are slowed. There are keybindings or the
ability to bind keys in most apps.
 
> I want to liken the difference in speed to the action on a guitar.  When
> you play a PRS (Paul Reed Smith - expensive, beautiful guitar), it's
> like your fingers are unstoppable.  The action on most IDEs is poor and
> unresponsive.  I usually don't have 3GB of RAM and the latest processor
> so things like eclipse will lag on me.  emacs and vim fly.

emacs flies? maybe in a minimal install, but install it all and it is
huge. 
 
> The issue of power has been one for me too.  I can do a lot
> *accidentally* via the keyboard in command-mode in vim that is not
> possible in most IDEs.  IDEs hamstring me.  They also force me to use a
> mouse more often than I'd like while writing code.

that is a knowledge issue-- keybindings are available.
 
> So, since emacs doesn't provide me with the informational overload of
> most IDEs, I tend to stick to documentation.  Umbrello does a decent job
> of drawing class diagrams for C++.  pydoc/ipython are pretty helpful
> aids for figuring out what you want to do in python.  javadoc obviously
> works (I haven't done Java in a long while).
> 
> BTW, emacs does have the completion thing too.  It's not nearly as
> intelligent as the ones in IDEs, but it works for simple stuff.  I
> rarely use it; I think some people just get into the habit of
> completing so it's there in that case.

most editors have completion-- I had it in VI and hot tags (ctags). 

I use vi/vim and am happy. I have used an eclipse rcp (program written
for a special purpose using the eclipse framework to get the window
management stuff) and like it also. 

 

-- 
greg pryzby                              greg at pryzby dot org
fingerprint: 8A1A DB90 869F 5DD1 D6E9 EEB6 C156 6B04 849F A86F
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