[Dev. Diary] My Java IDE

[MikeS]

[October 11,2004]
http://[img]http://www.freewebs.com/mikessss/JavaIDE.JPG[/img]

Well, here's a small Java IDE I'm working on. It's for beginners like me who only need the barebone basic functionality. It'll probebly slowly grow, but I want to keep it as simple as possible.

It isn't being made in Java at the moment, but I'm considering a port as soon as I finish it up. Right now it'll only run fully on Windows. (Some bugs in Linux version)

Right now it's not much of an IDE.

Plans for tomorrow.
-Add keyword and variable highlighing.
-Implement Small Spell Checker(10 words or so), to test functionality.
-Add the projects panel for notes etc.
*Note* Since I don't want to clutter up the java source with notes, the project notes will have to be saved to a seperate file and loaded manually.

I'll keep you posted on this topic as often as possible. Feel free to comment on any functionality you'd like to see.(K.I.S.S)

[phazer]

I'm just curious why someone would create an IDE themselves when there are hundreds of free ones available on the net? And why don't you code it in Java?

[MikeS]

I'm just curious why someone would create an IDE themselves when there are hundreds of free ones available on the net?

So you can improve. Think of it like this, there's thousands of different car types out there, so why in the world do they keep making more? Well the anwser is simple, because with each make it becomes better. In other words, my IDE may be simple for now, but it'll slowly grow better if I can stick with it. So far it's also been a fun project, as I've gotten much better with parsing text.

Just think of it this way. If 5 years ago, or whenever, the creators of the netbeans ide created a poll on this forum asking if we wanted a new Java IDE, and everyone anwsered "don't re-invent the wheel", then would we have netbeans today?

So that's why.

And why don't you code it in Java?

Well, since I'm just learning Java I figure it'd be best to program my IDE in another language I'm already familiar with (PureBasic in this case). I don't want to get into complicated stuff like this with Java until I'm more experienced, so PB serves as the best tool for the project. Eventually I would like to port to Java once it's finished so it'll run on all platforms.

Thanks for your questions.

Games published by our own members! Check 'em out!

[MikeS]

[October 12,2004]

http://[img]http://www.freewebs.com/mikessss/Spell.JPG[/img]

Success! Lots of great work accomplished in just a few short hours.

First thing as you notice from the top, I implemented the spell checker. It's very basic, but it can be easily built upon.

Second thing is I added a project notes panel as you'll see to the very right. As mentioned before, the project notes will have to be saved as a seperate file most likely so the Java code doesn't get too cluttered.

Third and final thing is you can now open up the CLI (Command Line Interface) from the IDE itself. Bad news is you can only do this in Windows, so I'll need to make some kind of projects tab for Linux users to manually add details in(This might also benefit Windows users anyway).

To-Do List:
-Add keyword and variable highlighing.
-Create projects window for Linux users to access CLI.
-Add more words for the spell checker.  
-Give users the option to reject or ignore the spelling corrects. (Just incase you want to write about teh magik box.)  

Well that's all for tonight. Tomorrow will be a busy day for me, so I'll try to cram a few minutes in to work on this IDE.

[blahblahblahh]

In terms of learning how to program Java, writing an IDE *in java* would be an excellent exercise. It exposes you to lots of problems and gives you some great feelings of progress.

However, it will take you approximately ten years to make an IDE that is as good as the 100% free Eclipse is right now - by which time eclipse will be miles ahead (and there are other competing IDE's that are equally advanced and eqaully free; look at the poll in this category about what IDE's people are using to get some pointers). So...you ought to cast aside any and all thoughts that your IDE is going to be useful long-term.

/me Speaking as moderator: this forum is NOT for people to run blogs about random java projects; there are good sites for that (even an official one connected to this site - visit the PROJECTS link on the blue navbar above...or try sourceforget.net). If you want to carry on this thread here you will need to justify it in terms of "games development". IDE's are a perfectly valid topic for this category, but ONLY if they are going to be used by other games developers. Since it is clearly not going to provide a new IDE of any use to other games developers, it doesn't seem appropriate for the category. Perhaps it would find a home in Newless Cluebies or some other category here? If you want it moved to another category, send me a message on this forum (click on my name) and tell me where you want it moved and why, and I'll move it for you.