| Re: Paths in the Workbench [message #59563 is a reply to message #59471] |
Mon, 31 March 2008 11:44   |
Michael Galloy
Messages: 1114
Registered: April 2006
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Senior Member |
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On Mar 31, 11:03 am, David Fanning <da...@dfanning.com> wrote:
> I have been trying to give it the benefit of the doubt. If I turn
> every feature off (which is pretty much what I have done), then the
> Workbench is a worse editor than the one in IDL 6.4 and with a memory
> footprint 10-12 times its previous size. Please tell me there are some
> redeeming features I've overlooked here. :-(
I think my perspective might be clouded by the fact that I only use
the Workbench about half the time or so. For many small things, I just
use a regular editor (TextMate with the IDL bundle) and the command
line. I use the Workbench for debugging and when I work on larger
projects (that need more help navigating). For those situations, I
find the Workbench extremely valuable. But it's not going to replace
TextMate for all my IDL tasks anytime soon.
My top features (over the Windows DE since the Unix benefits are
greater):
1. I like that I can see the "Outline" view and not have to use a
droplist to see the routines in the current file. Together with the
"Project Explorer" view, it helps orient me. I use the Workbench
occasionally just to navigate through a project better.
2. Clicking on a routine name like a hyperlink to take you to the
definition of the routine. Just hold down the control key (command on
Mac) and click on a routine call.
3. Ability to add third party plugins. ITT VIS can't possibly come up
with all the different features that IDL users want (nor would it be
usable with all those features). This was I can add things that are
very useful for *me* (Subversion integration, C/C++ modes, etc.).
4. I like the Debug perspective. Much of my use of the workbench is
debugging. I'm not sure it has a clear advantage over the old Windows
DE, but I like my layout better and there are several small features
that are useful. (Please add back conditional breakpoints, though.)
My major complaint is the help system. The help is much slower and
doesn't have tabs. I normally keep open the IDL 6.4 help (a silver
lining that nothing changed?). This isn't too bad for me anyway since
I use the command line a lot too.
Mike
--
www.michaelgalloy.com
Tech-X Corporation
Software Developer II
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