CodeBench alpha

This seems nice:

http://www.amigans.net/modules/myalbum/photo.php?lid=175

@orgin


WOW !!!
It is available a version for beta testing??

@orgin

Colored syntax higlighting pleeez.....
I guess it'll cost some. Any estimates?

Jack

@Jack

I'm adding the highlighting now, I know how important some of you think it is

Simon

@clros

Not yet, which is why it's labelled "Codebench ALPHA" :)

Simon

@orgin

Yes very nice.

The next step would be a RAD so that developers can use their time working on important code instead of fiddling with GUI coding...

@Rigo

Looks really good!

Is the debugger controlable from the editor (breakpoints and stepping and so on)?

@Menthos

The C/C++ plugin will use a graphical front end to gdb, and as such will be controllable directly from the gui.

Simon

@Rigo

Wow!

Looks really cool... :-O

Is this a sort of IDE for OS4 then?

When did you start work on this?

Alex.

@DBAlex

CodeBench is a plugin driven management system designed for OS4. Currently I have the C/C++ and PHP/HTML plugins working. Technically any language should be able to be supported provided a plugin exists for it.

And before anyone asks, no, it can't be backported to 68K as it relies too heavily on OS4.x features (updated Reaction classes, DOS, Intuition etc)

I have been working on this, now and then, for quite some time, and it has been able to compile itself, and the OS4 source code for a good while now.

Simon

@Rigo

It seems very promising !! ATM I'm using CubicIDE the only thing that I miss is a graphical debuger (and a stable gdb port also ). I like particularily the fact that contrary to what most of the other existing IDE (any platform) do, CubicIDE is relying on *standard Makefiles* to build, this allows to build projects even when not having access to the IDE (cross compilation for example), that's really an important feature in my eyes and is not an option : *use standard building system*. And BTW parsing/generating of makefiles is not so difficult

Great work

@abalaban

CodeBench (using the C/C++ plugin) generates makefiles for you. These are standard makefiles that can be used with the OS4 port of Make.

It also currently generates up to 3 levels of dependancies in the makefiles too, so they are quite comprehensive. As you say, you can simply "Make" the makefiles that are created, but I doubt you will want to code, on OS4, without it once you get used to it.

The editor features things like automatic function discovery and tracking, so you can simply highlight a user function in the source and select "Go To Function" and it will take you to that functions code. All functions in the current file are also available in the "Quick Link" window, so you can simply click it to go there.

User definable labels are also supported for instant "Bookmarks" in the current file, and again are available from the "Quick Link" window.

There are many other features, of which I should really sit down and write a full list, but the project wide search (and replace) is very handy, and the search results window shows you which file, which function and at what line the hit was found, plus it allows you to jump there by simply clicking the item in the results pane.

During development, there have been a few times where I have rendered CodeBench unusable, and having to resort to other methods of editing code has made me appreciate just how ueful CodeBench really is. I find it extremely awkward to code without it.

Simon

@Rigo
It sounds really really great !! I'm eager to be able to test it. I guess such a huge tool would not be freeware and i hope the price will not be too huge, maybe the plugin concept will enable you to cut it down into smaller packages in order to have a wide price range.

I wish you all the best in this project !

PS: The other advantage of using makefiles is that in no time you can import an alien project in the IDE and have it building.

@abalaban

Well, the idea is to have a limited version with a C/C++ plugin (preconfigured for the AmigaOS 4 SDK) available to be distributed with the next SDK update.

This will then give SDK customers an instantly available common base to start working. Whether this happens is another matter, there is still a lot of work to do.

Access to the full product, which will enable some features not in the limited version, and any plugins that may be finished, will be a commercial purchase. Pricing is yet to be determined, but I'm not intending on pulling anyones pants down with the cost!

As for importing existing projects, the project window makes that very easy. Simply create a new project, and set up the base data required. Then simply select "Add Files" and multiselect all the source, header and data files required for the project. They will be put into their correct categories automatically for you. Then hit "Build"!

I have tried to make this system as painless as possible, and so far it seems to be working as expected. I am able to pull files from the OS4 CVS, and create a project as described above, and it has worked everytime so far.

Simon

@Rigo

Quote:

OMG That *is* a news !!! Such a thing available as a limited version for free with the SDK ??? For such a generosity you either be God, either rich, either completely mad
I hope this will happen, because this might be an incentive factor to have new developpers to start coding.

@abalaban

Exactly, by offering something on this scale with the SDK should hopefully encourage some new blood.

Simon

@Rigo

Yeah, this is a really promising project. Well done, man.

Quote:

Does this also work for other definitions, e.g. can you click on a variable usage and be taken to the place where it is being defined? And can you let the IDE search for and list all usages of a given definition across multiple files in a project?

These are some features I find adding vastly to my productivity in VS at work (you can say lots of things about MS, but I have to admit VS is in many ways a benchmark).

Best regards,

Niels

@nbache

ome of the things VS has in it's favour is that it is designed to be used for one purpose, CodeBench is designed to be as general as possible to accommodate any language. While certain language specific stuff can be implemented by the plugins, the complxity is limited by the fact that it is just a plugin, and cannot replace all IDE functionality.

Things like variable definition tracking etc are beyond the scope of this application, and are the job of the preprocessor. In order to implement what you mention would mean practically writing my own preprocessor. Sadly, that is not going to happen.

I'm adding features all the time, and in it's current state it is more than usable. My goal is to add the last remaining couple of things, then freeze the development. Concentrate on fixings outstanding issues, and get it releasable.

Simon

@Rigo

Quote:

Woo-hoo! A way to create makefiles without having to learn Greek (no offence Mikey_C)

Quote:

I'm so used to using a combination of NotePad and the Shell, that I'm liable to drown in all the functionality.

It looks really good though.

Chris