Yes, you are missing something. Likely because I wasn't clear enough about why I want this. I have multiple environments that I am developing for, usually concurrently. Each environment needs a different library list. When I open a source, I can indeed select the connection I want to use, and if I pay enough attention to do that up front, then I am ok, but I don't have to do it every time, and usually it doesn't matter which environment I am compiling for because all of my environments have a single core set of libraries. But each has its own customization library. Usually the files in the customization libraries are different, and if I try to compile in the wrong one it is more evident, but now and then I have the same file in two environments which are slightly different, and it matters which one I am compiling in. If I didn't make sure I got the connection correct up front, I am doomed because by the time I get to compiling I either explicitly set the connection and it is correct, or I didn't look at the connection and I don't know what it is set to. And now I can't find out either.
I just opened a source using Ctrl-Shift-A. I know the connection is correct because I checked it on opening. But there is now nothing in the IDE that tells me what connection it is using. Well, that is not totally correct, I did find that using Source->Verify will tell me the connection if there are messages. It would ne nice if the Properties view would tell me, but I can't reliably get the properties view to display anything about the active source. What would be even better would be the ability for me to apply a connection to a given source, and have the IDE either tell me that I am compiling using a different connection, and give me a chance to change it, or something like that. It could be behind the scenes most of the time. But confusion is what you are getting right now. Confusion that will keep SEU users in their SEU seats.
Here is how this feature could work. Create a new source, or open it for the first time, the connection is stored in some metadata attached to the source library/file/member. Next time I open this source with the wrong connection, it gives me the chance to switch connection (if the saved connection still exists), or use the current connection. If I stay with the current connection (or the saved connection does not exist), then that new connection is stored in the metadata. In any case the connection for the source remains accurate behind the scenes, and the IDE tells me is something doesn't look quite right.
Otherwise I would like a simple way, connected to compile, to determine which connection I will be compiling with. I could just be some text at the top of the compile menu that tells me the connection for the source I am about to compile. The compile menu options are greyed out if a source is not selected, so I know that menu is already attached in some way to the source view. It doesn't have to be a selectable menu option, just an information line that says something like Connection:________.
Neither of these enhancements would add to any confusion that an SEU user might have. In fact, I believe either of these would alleviate some of the confusion, and make RDi easier to adopt.
Mark Murphy
STAR BASE Consulting, Inc.
mmurphy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
-----"Voris, John" <john.voris@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: -----
To: "wdsci-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx" <wdsci-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
From: "Voris, John" <john.voris@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: 01/08/2014 11:52AM
Subject: [WDSCI-L] SQL Strangeness
For the WDSC group,
I just spent several hours trying to determine why a compile would not work from RDi. Turns out it was trying to compile under the wrong connection. It just uses the connection used to open the source. In my case > the connection I opened the source under allowed editing the source, but not compiling correctly. It would be useful if the compile menu or prompt dialog displayed or allowed selecting a connection for the compile.
. . . I don't always remember to set that field as it is usually what I want, but I probably opened it last week, and didn't remember. I am asking for a new feature here.
Sounds like you are requesting flexibility that is just not necessary.
For those new programmers coming from SEU who find RDi/RDp/WDSC just too complex, another popup screen to confirm something that should have been set before editing your source seems like an excessive double-check to me. (Even I who have a huge amount of members open in RSE Remote System Explorer, can see the filter and the connection I am using if I scroll up far enough.)
Am I missing something ?
- John Voris
midrange.com
