From: Chris M. <ch...@cl...> - 2004-10-29 23:25:40
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My own $0.02. I use jEdit frequently, though mostly for Ruby files and other non-Java files. Sometimes it's handier for a Java edit than Eclipse. Eclipse is a complex monstrosity, but man, it's got some good stuff in there. Perhaps there are jEdit equivalents for all of the following, I probably haven't kept up (if there are, I'd be interested in knowing): - Call Hierarchy: show the entire call tree into or out of any method. About to do that bug fix? Want to know where else this method is called and what side-effects you might be introducing. This is priceless to me (I even hacked on a graphviz view of the hierarchy, more below). - Refactorings and Quick Fixes: need to rename a class? Push it into another package? Eclipse handles it all for you in all classes concerned with the change. Want to extract duped code into its own method (and have Eclipse find all the other duped places automagically)? Eclipse has numerous quick-fixes: replace a try/catch with a throws or vice-versa. When throws are automatically done, javadocs are updated automatically. Create local var declarations or a new member declaration. Rename a var or member by typing a new name in place and watch it change in every other instance at the same time. Auto-create un-implemented methods from the interface the class implements ... Oodles of good stuff in this category. - Embedded JUnit GUI is real nice. - Local History: every save of a file is kept in a local revision system, so if you forgot to commit to CVS frequently enough, Eclipse helps you out, allowing you to diff against previous saved files, or even just diff the current method you're in. - Intelligent Search: show me every place that I write to a certain member variable. Show me every class that implements this interface. Show me every call to this method. Show me every call to any public method. Show me all JUnit tests on the current method. - Typical IDE stuffs: code complete, code navigation (jump to implementation, jump to super, etc). And Eclipse has setup shop really well. One of the coolest coding experiences I had recently was using Eclipse to connect to the Eclipse CVS repo, pull the latest release of the IDE code, was able to rebuild a bit-for-bit duplicate of the .jars I downloaded from their website without any hassle, hacked on the source code, ran a /new/ instance of Eclipse itself from the first instance of Eclipse to debug my hacks and then wham, I've got a customized IDE. It couldn't have been simpler (though I /should/ have done what I did as a plug-in, but I couldn't seem to figure that out, so nothing's perfect :-). One big thing I miss in Eclipse is folding. 3.0 has it, but it seems pretty weak compared to jEdit which is really quick and painless to use. I also miss the instant Hypersearch in the current file I can get with jEdit when I have a word highlighted. I can get that with a valid Java member, but not arbitrarily any piece of text. Anyway, just wanted to plug Eclipse in addition to jEdit. I use 'em both. I also Ultra-Edit, mostly when I need to work with a 50MB log file or somesuch. Be a craftsman, use as many great tools as you can. -- Chris http://clabs.org |