Macros are done! Really??
In the Aurora map,
http://www.intellij.net/eap/products/idea/aurora.jsp
, macros are indicated as "Done",
although you recognized :
"I agree it lacks of usability but it's the way it works. "
http://www.intellij.net/tracker/idea/viewSCR?publicId=15388#558736
I wonder : why did you bother to put macros in Aurora map if, obviously,
you don't believe in them?
IMHO, sooner or later, you'll have to provide a minimal macro language
facility, with flow control and access to editor api (caret pos,
selection, ...). Plugins are not the silver bullet.
Alain
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I notice a lot of test tools use JPython as a scripting language. Maybe that would work...
Rayz wrote:
While I'm usually all for Python, something like BeanShell would
probably be more appropriate.
Ciao,
Gordon
--
Gordon Tyler (Software Developer)
Quest Software <http://java.quest.com/>
260 King Street East, Toronto, Ontario M5A 4L5, Canada
Voice: 416-643-4846 | Fax: 416-594-1919
I find the current implementation very useful. For one-off, repetitive
tasks, it's great.
--
Jordan Zimmerman
http://www.jordanzimmerman.com
Jordan Zimmerman wrote:
> I find the current implementation very useful. For one-off,
> repetitive tasks, it's great.
Well, maybe if it were richer in features, you wouldn't limit yourself
to using it for one-offs.
This one
http://www.intellij.net/tracker/idea/viewSCR?publicId=15388
is trivially simple, but it's already out of IDEA's reach.
You can't ask users to write a plugin, each time they want to customize
IDEA to better suit their needs and/or habits.
You can't ask JetBrains to satisfy any single customization/improvement
request.
People will always keep asking for crazy but legitimate customization
modifs. A macro language would make both sides happy.
Alain
What is it about java and the openAPI that makes it unsuitable for "macros". I have not used them in other tools, so I am not that familiar with the benefits.
But I would think that a trained java developer using java would be more effective then learning a new scripting language.
Perhaps the problem lies not with the lack of a scripting language, but the lack of something in the Open API (or its ease of integration).
Mike
Michael Kirby wrote:
> What is it about java and the openAPI that makes it unsuitable for
> "macros".
Provided you can record macros in live mode, and later edit their script, ..
Creating a new macro ..
Editing a macro ..
Using a new macro ..
takes only a few seconds.
If you made an error, you only lost a few seconds.
If you change you mind, it will only take you a few more seconds.
Creating a new plugin ->
- create a new plugin project
- write and compile valid java code, using a complex api
- deploy the plugin
- restart IDEA
=> takes 1 hour
Scripting languages are much much better for one-offs, and quick try-outs.
Alain
So it sounds like the biggest benefit is being able to record actions in a programmable language, and change them without restarting IDEA.
If you could record a macro as a set of java calls in a plugin that could be re-deployed without restart IDEA (something I have wanted anyway), would that fit the bill?
Mike