[Oorexx-devel] ooRexx-API-Prerequisites for tackling an ooRexx development environment

[Rony G. F. <Ron...@wu...>]

Seeing that there is activity in creating/updating/enhancing
Eclipse-based ooRexx editors, one possible track would be to then use
the existing Eclipse infrastructure and plugins to devise an ooRexx
GUI-development environment (GDE).

If such an "ooRexx-GDE" is to be developed, which may well take a lot of
time, there are a few prerequisites to the native ooRexx APIs.

This posting just tries to kick off ideas, discussions, by suggesting to
think of initial ideas/prerequisites that would be helpful/mandatory in
order to create a workable, attractive GDE.

    * Set of debug APIs for
          o allow activating/deactivating debugging interactively and/or
            from Rexx code
          o single-stepping
          o stepping-in
          o stepping-out
          o tracing & watching & editing attributes
          o tracing & watching & editing variables
          o tracing & watching & editing message invocations, including
            watching & editing arguments
          o tracing & watching & editing return values from routines,
            methods
          o tracing & watching routine invocations
          o tracing & watching call/requiring of Rexx packages
          o define conditions that allow turning on/off any of the above
          o being able to go back in time (and states)
          o some URLs
                + General Window-Debugging
                  <http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms679303%28VS.85%29.aspx>
                + Java Virtual Machine Tools Interface
                  <http://java.sun.com/javase/6/docs/technotes/guides/jvmti/>
                + WebSphere debugging support
                  <http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/wpc/v5r3m2/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.wpc.doc/javaapi/japi5.html>

    * Set of profiling APIs
          o allow activating/deactivating profiling interactively and/or
            from Rexx code
          o keeping timing information (start, end, duration)
          o keeping invocation/change counters for all of the above
            watchable 
          o some URLs
                + .Net-overview
                  <http://www.blong.com/Conferences/DCon2003/Internals/Profiling.htm>
                + Opensource profilers
                  <http://java-source.net/open-source/profilers>
                + Commercial Java/.Net
                  <http://www.yourkit.com/features/index.jsp>
                + JIP --- The Java Interactive Profiler
                  <http://jiprof.sourceforge.net/>


Of course, any core functionality that can be defined, implemented and
made avalable via the native APIs would be highly welcome, as it would
allow to start to develop the core of an ooRexx-GDE. Having no base
debug APIs at all inhibits creation of and experimenting with
ooRexx-GDEs at all.

---rony