From: Berndl, K. <kla...@sd...> - 2004-02-22 18:44:53
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In gnu.emacs.sources one has asked for a better description what is ECB, especially compared to Emacs and its standard-tools like etags or imenu... Here is the thread and the questions of him: a criticism of the following: > General description of ECB: > --------------------------- > ECB stands for "Emacs Code Browser" and is a source-code-browser for > (X)Emacs. It is a global minor-mode which offers a > language-independent and complete IDE (Integrated Development > Environment) within one Emacs-frame. Isn't this basically what Emacs is? (Apart from the minor-mode and single frame bits.) > It displays a couple of windows .... At this point in learning about ECB, I'd rather hear about its capabilities; the window configuration is more of a distraction. > .... that can be used to browse directories, files and file-contents > like methods and variables. I'm still wondering what "browse" means here: After all, Emacs, with dired, CC Mode, Etags, Ediff, grep, and so on is pretty good at browsing anyway. What does ECB offer that standard Emacs doesn't have? > It supports source-code parsing for semantic-supported languages ..... "languages supported by the `semantic' package" might be clearer here, making it explicit that `semantic' is a name, not an adverb. > .... like Java, C, C++, Elisp and Scheme as well as for source-types > supported "only" by imenu or etags (e.g. perl, TeX, LaTeX etc.). In > addition it offers (optional) a durable "compile-window" at the bottom > of the frame which is used to display all help-, grep-, compile- and > etc.-output. The rest of the frame is called the "edit-area" which can > be divided in several (no limit) edit-windows which are used for > editing of sources. Deleting some of the edit-windows does neither > destroy the compile-window nor the browsing-windows. After reading this, I'm still puzzling over what ECB is. What will it do for me? ECB is surely more than a way of arranging windows within a frame. What is its essence? Here it is what Kai Grossjohann has answered: > ECB also provides special windows. > > ECB shows the directory tree in one window, the list of source files > in the current directory in another window, the list of functions (or > classes, or methods, ...) in another window, a list of recently > visited files in yet another window, and so on. > > The idea is that Emacs is good at editing text, and you can do M-x > imenu RET to move around in the current buffer. But what Emacs by > default does not do is a side-by-side display of various bits and > pieces of information that you might need. Thanks Kai, for this pretty good explanation. Maybe the underlying reason why the announcement-description about ECB doesn't point out the essence of ECB in a well understandable form is my own poor English - but until today i thought in conjunction with the attached "ascii-screenshot" the announcement-text describes the essence of ECB - obviously a miscalculation ;-) Ok, maybe one of the users of ECB can provide a short description what is ECB compared to Emacs and its standard-tool like egrep, imenu etc... Though IMHO Kais description is already pretty good - but some other opinions would not be amiss ;-) Thanks to all in advance, Klaus Klaus Berndl mailto: kla...@sd... sd&m AG http://www.sdm.de software design & management Carl-Wery-Str. 42, 81739 Muenchen, Germany Tel +49 89 63812-392, Fax -220 |