[Info-vax] improving EDT

[Arne Vajhøj]

On 11/18/2016 2:37 AM, David Froble wrote:
> Craig A. Berry wrote:
>> I resisted for some years the trend toward autocomplete, syntax
>> highlighting, on-the-fly type checking, standardized formatting,
>> applying the same edit to multiple lines at once, debugging within the
>> editor, etc. It is pretty hard to learn this stuff when you learned the
>> EDT keypad with your ABCs decades ago, but it's also hard to do without
>> once you make the effort.
>>
>> Example: when you type
>>
>> %INCLUDE "XYZ.INC"
>>
>> in one of your BASIC programs, what if the editor put a red squiggle
>> under "XYZ.INC" if it couldn't find the file, letting you know
>> immediately that you had a typo? You wouldn't have to wait until you try
>> to compile it to see the problem. LSE was a step in the right direction,
>> but still separated compilation from editing.
>>
>> So then multiply that times a hundred because there are dozens of
>> productivity boosters in a modern editor that the native VMS editors
>> don't do. Whether this is "enough advantage" for you personally is
>> something only you personally can determine. But marketing any system
>> today without these capabilities would just be embarrassing.
>
> Reasonable.
>
> I've had many criticize me for not declaring all variables.  My response
> has been "that's the compiler's job, why should I do such work?".
> Nothing different in having tools that attempt to do the grunt work for
> you.

Some languages encourage that - other do not.

> I also do some Visual Basic work at times.  I'm not so sure that I like
> it when something that thinks it knows more of what I'm doing than I do
> causes interruptions.  For example, in the middle of typing something, I
> decide I need to look elsewhere.  The damn thing has to nag me about the
> incomplete verb or whatever, and it is an interruption in what I'm
> concentrating on, and actually a detriment rather than help.  Some might
> roll eyes at this, but for me it's not trivial.
>
> I guess that what is helpful to some isn't necessarily helpful to others.

Most IDE's/editors today mark problems with the code and provide a way
to get the details of the problem. Insisting on something being fixed
right away is not common.

Arne