Re: [PHP-DEV] PHP IDE From: Alex Belits (abelits <email protected>)
Date: 12/02/00

On Sat, 2 Dec 2000, Sebastian Delmont wrote:

> FUNCTIONS THAT DON'T NEED MENTIONING
> - Syntax coloring (with user definable colors)
> - Autoindent

  One more: must run on Unix. Natively.

> REALLY IMPORTANT FUNCTIONS
> - PHP Debugger...

  Debugger as what PHP debugging support does (and connected to the real
host where program works), or debugger where editor tries to match
everything with the source, runs program under what it think, is a
suitable environment? First doesn't need "integration", and second is a
waste of time for developers.

> - Transparent FTP Support (open/save through ftp)
> - Regexp search and replace
> - User configurable tools (i.e. F10- open in browser, F9- open in
> dreamweaver, F5- update in CVS, etc...)
> - Context based help (i.e. F1 shows help on the selected word)

Everything up to this point (except wrong kind of debugger) either is, or
can be done easily in emacs.

>
> NICE-TO-HAVE FUNCTIONS
> - Project view/pane/tree (a list of files and dirs related to a project)

  Gee... one more thing that keeps metadata and breaks when I change
something without its shitty editor (all editors are shitty when I want
to use another one) or want to work from another host.

> - Full CVS integration

  That covers all "project support" that a developer needs. And replaces
"transparent FTP", too.

> - Function lists (list of functions defined in a file or in multiple files)
> - Variable lists

  Waste of time.

> - Multifile search and replace
> - Hyperlinking (right click on a function call to jump to it's definition,
> right click on an include to open the file)

  Can be useful, but encourages unstructured distribution of
functions between files, and usually hard to do without screwing up the
user interface -- going forward usually isn't a problem, but allowing to
go back without filling the screen with windows can be problematic when a
lot of windows jumped multiple times in different order.

> - Autocomplete (start typing a word and a list of completions appears)

  Very annoying in all of its forms.

> - Smart indenting (i.e. add an indent level after typing a {, remove one
> after })
> - Context based syntax coloring (i.e., when the cursor is inside <? ?> tags,
> show HTML in a single color, when outside of php tags, colorize HTML code
> but not PHP code... do the same with strings in php code... SQL syntax a
> plus)

  Probably can be useful, but looks more like eye candy than anything
else.

> - Code folding (i.e. hide/show a { } block... even better if it supports
> HTML open/close tags)

  Usually more confusing than useful.

> - Scripting (use the Zend engine :-)

  If it's not based on existing editor, or new general-purpose editor, or
if developers will put more effort into promoting some particular engine
that is not essential for the base functionality, it will probably take
years to get out of "total crap" development stage. Ex: mozilla, java.

  Please, be realistic -- the last thing we need is one more
Frontpage+Devstudio monster, only for PHP. 

-- 
Alex

----------------------------------------------------------------------
 Excellent.. now give users the option to cut your hair you hippie!
                                                  -- Anonymous Coward

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