[Zope-dev] How should an ideal Zope IDE look like?

[Andre Meyer]

So, I give it a try and submit a "wish list" for an ideal IDE for 
Python/Zope.

Maybe some words about the IDEs I have been working with, so you can 
track where the features I wish to have come from: I used CodeWarrior, 
NetBeans, jEdit for both Java and Python/Zope, Boa Constructor and 
Eclipse with several plugins (like Omondo UML plugin, TruStudio and PyDev).

And here comes the list of features:

- Syntax coloring (standard everywhere) for python and zpt/xml/html/css 
code.

- Commenting/uncommenting code (any hope Python will ever offer 
multi-line comments?).

- Auto-completion for python and zpt/xml/html/css, incl. parameter 
editing. One should be able to specify the path to modules: for example 
I have a Python installation and a Zope installation with Python 
offering different modules.

- Show declaration: jump to definition of classes/instances elsewhere in 
the code using a context menu.

- Refactoring: actions, such as renaming a class, method or module and 
modify all references in the rest of the code; move classes and methods 
up or down in the class hierarchy. Eclipse supports this for Java and it 
saves a LOT of time,

- Unit tests with reporting.

- Folding: show/hide parts of the source code (like in jEdit).

- Split windows.

- Project management.

- CVS/Subversion integration.

- Search/replace, incl. regex in open files, project,

- Compare and edit files/folders (diff, meld).

- Drag&drop editing.

- Multi-threaded debugging.

- Outline: display classes, methods, attributes of a source file.

- Class/method popup.

- Bookmarks.

- Class browser: multi-part window for browsing and editing classes and 
their methods and attributes. Similar to the NeXTstep file browser and 
the Java Browser perspective in Eclipse.

- UML editor (incl. code generation and reverse engineering). Eclipse 
has several UML plugins and offers a language-independent modelling 
framework (EMF) that supports code generation. This could be adapted for 
Python.

- Design patterns, templates: not found anywhere, yet, but might be an 
interesting feature, especially for Zope development, where we have a 
lot of recipes that need to be applied often.

- Pydoc integration: show the docs simultaneously with the code.

- ZPT debugging, sensible error messages.

- ZODB inspection: give insight into what is actually stored in the ZODB.

- Ftp, WebDav

- Launching/restarting Zope locally and remotely.

- Python and Jython support.

- Live error tracking (while typing).

- Task management.

- Calling trees: who calls whom and who is called by whom?


Well, there is certainly more, but this is a start... ;-)

One could start from Eclipse/PyDev (http://pydev.sourceforge.net/) and 
add features. Does anybody (Martin) have concrete plans to do this?

Also look at 
http://www.python.org/cgi-bin/moinmoin/EclipsePythonIntegration 5 for 
more ideas.

kind regards and success
Andre


Martin Kretschmar wrote:

>Hello,
>
>it looks as if some people are missing a nice Zope IDE.
>
>So I would like to have your oppinions on what an ideal
>Zope IDE should look like and what technologies it should
>be built on.
>
>Regards,
>         Martin
>
>
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-- 
Dr. Andre P. Meyer                        http://home.hccnet.nl/a.meyer/
TNO FEL Command & Control and Simulation, http://www.fel.tno.nl/div2/
Delft Cooperation on Intelligent Systems, http://www.decis.nl/