LC 8 Property Inspector

[Richard Gaskin]

Mark Waddingham wrote:
> On 2015-10-10 22:12, Richard Gaskin wrote:
>> Weirdest: Replace the IDE with the best of community components
>> ---------------------------------------------------------------
>> Like the "Weirder" option above, this would be independent of the
>> product build, but would open the door for anyone to do whatever they
>> want.  Bjornke's BVGDocu could replace the Dictionary, Peter's
>> lcStackBrowser could replace the App and Proj browsers, your GLX2
>> editor could replace the Script Editor, etc.
> ...
>> It's like the thing I like most about Linux:  although people in the
>> Linux world enjoy arguing about darn near everything, the fact is
>> there's actually little to argue about since the system is so flexible
>> and has so many components available there's no reason why everyone
>> can't have exactly what they most desire.
>
> The obvious option (which is the one we have been working towards in the
> LC8 IDE) is that the IDE becomes a 'framework'. It provides well defined
> extension points, well defined APIs for building IDE components, and a
> well defined mechanism to ensure that changes flow properly so all
> components are kept synchronized.
>
> The IDE framework has to be the arbiter which ensures that two distinct
> IDE components (which could be written and maintained by people who
> never speak to each other) can happily co-exist with each other in an
> end-user's install.

That's an obvious option if we assume there must be only one IDE.  And 
from the company's perspective that's a useful assumption, at least in 
as much as they need to provide at a solid basic toolkit to accompany 
the engine.

The community, however, has more flexibility.

There used to be three IDEs for this engine, and Python, Ruby, and 
others have far more.

I've been using my own tools within every xTalk IDE I've used, and as 
long as frontScripts work and we pass messages as good citizens do, 
there's an opportunity to have LESS dependence on a large IDE framework 
rather than more.  Or if we were to be thorough, a fairly slender one.

Tools can be entirely self-contained and fully interchangeable, even 
open at the same time, using nothing more than what the engine has 
provided for years.

The only questions here are:

1. How do we open them?  Currently third-party tools are relegated to 
the Plugins submenu, but crafting a launcher tool rack is simple stuff, 
and equally simple to just hide the current IDE's toolbar (which I've 
been doing for years - I go weeks at a time without ever seeing it).

2. Make sure the current IDE stays out of the way. This is the harder 
part, but not insurmountable, and since the goal of this "Weirdest" 
option is to encourage a new community-based exploratory playground of 
an IDE, ultimately the monolithic product version would be replaced over 
time within this one anyway, at least among the weirdos who like such 
things.  And given the number of good tools in the community right now, 
it seems there are more than a few weirdos among us. :)

This "Weirdest" option isn't for everyone, and that's very much the 
idea, that IDEs are simple enough in a language as flexible as LiveCode 
that we can several for every taste.

--
  Richard Gaskin
  Fourth World Systems
  Software Design and Development for the Desktop, Mobile, and the Web
  ____________________________________________________________________
  Ambassador at FourthWorld.com                http://www.FourthWorld.com