Editor

[Charles]

As a developer, whether using TextMate or Visual Studio, it's very common to know the name (or part of the name) of a file you want to switch to. TextMate has a built-in feature for this that cuts down the amount of time to get to that file as compared to an "open file" dialog or drilling down in a treeview for the project. It works like so:
-- you hit Command+T (which is touch type-able on a Mac keyboard)
-- a modal dialog comes up with a list of all project files sorted in MRU order
-- you immediately type a few letters of the filename
-- as you type each letter, the list is slimmed down to only those files that match
-- often you get down to the file you want with just 3 - 5 letters
-- you hit Enter when the first match is what you want
-- or you hit down arrow one or more times if you see what you want further down and you just want to pick it
-- you can use the mouse too but the keyboard is faster

So, for example, if I'm working on Cobra and I want to open CobraWorkspace/Source/BackEndClr/ScanClrType.cobra, I will just touch type:

Command+T scan Enter

It's very fast.

Since the list is sorted by MRU order, you can also switch to your last file with Command+T Enter.

A key point is that the list is slimmed down with each keystroke in real time so that you can see at what point you have zeroed in on what you are looking for.

They also put emphasis on the capital letters of the base name which would be "sct" for "ScanClrType". I didn't learn about this until I was already using the feature and tend not to make use of it, but maybe it's useful.

The menu item is called "Go to File...". You can find docs and a screen shot in section 2.3 at the end of http://manual.macromates.com/en/working_with_multiple_files.

This is a favorite feature among TextMate users.

In Visual Studio land, someone finally got around to producing a well executed version of this called SonicFileFinder.

My post here is primarily for future efforts. I hope I don't distract you from more core tasks that come before this.

[Charles]

So what's the name going to be called? And are we billing this as an IDE or Editor?

Possible names that come to mind:
-- Fang
-- Naja (suggested by someone in the web framework discussion)

[torial]

I'm billing it as an IDE. Don't have a name, so have registered it as "Cobra IDE"

I'm definitely open to suggestions. I've always been tempted by something like CobraCommander, but I'll refrain from GI Joe references.

[Charles]

Well plus that's my nick on IRC.

[torial]

I'll go with "Naja". I will make a wiki entry after I've published the project on Codeplex.

[torial]

This is highly experimental, and only one-way (ie, I can't load anything). Doesn't support complex controls, or events yet. But thought it'd be fun to show. (I'll focus more on project support now )

IDE Forms Designer

IDE_Designer.png (62.56 KiB) Viewed 12562 times

Notice that the properties are not yet Cobra cased. That still needs to happen. But here's the generated code...

Forms Designer Output

IDE_Designer_Output.png (66.99 KiB) Viewed 12562 times

[RIGHT_THEN]

But thought it'd be fun to show.

it is fun to see

Thanking_You
RIGHT_THEN

[Charles]

Definitely interesting stuff. I have some Cobra-casing code for members in the compiler or lying around somewhere. I'll see about pushing it to the std lib so it can simple by reused.

[Charles]

The code I'm referring to is in the compiler under CobraWorkspace/Source/Utils.cobra. It's not as trivial as just lower casing the first letter.

If you're referencing Cobra.Lang.Compiler.dll, you should be able to invoke it with:

trace Utils.cobraNameForSharpMemberName(memberName)

Let me know if you have any problems or questions.

[torial]

Thanks - I've incorporated that function, and now just have general Forms Generation issues to resolve Although it will take a back seat to Project support... hopefully will have that done in the next 10 days or so.

The two forefront issues left with the Forms Designer (one-way):
* Complex Controls like Tabs
* Color settings are not staying

I also need to evaluate enums handling, to make sure I'm doing that correctly.