Re: Scripting the Eclipse IDE (was: RDi vs SEU)

On 4/20/2015 5:05 PM, John Yeung wrote:

On Mon, Apr 20, 2015 at 3:36 PM, Buck Calabro <kc2hiz@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

The problem isn't the language that is used for scripting as much as the
way the script interacts with RDi. More specifically, with Lpex. The
old Code/400 Lpex had public, published hooks that both Rexx and Java
were able to easily tap into. By easily, I mean that I could cycle
through open tabs with one Rexx operation: godoc next.

You go on to describe (in broad strokes) the process of writing a
proper, full-blown Eclipse plug-in. I wouldn't even bother to call
that "scripting".

The point is that /something/ needs to do all of that housekeeping /
work. The moribund Eclipse Monkey project did a lot of that, exposing
many common tasks in what they called the 'Eclipse Monkey DOM'. The use
of this DOM made it much easier to script Eclipse. It's sort of the
difference between using embedded SQL or writing to the SQL CLI.

You are right; there is minimal advantage to using
a different programming language for that. Likewise, the thing you're
describing for Code/400 would be similarly easy to use regardless of
whether you accessed it with Rexx or almost any other language.

I am still a little surprised that Eclipse has been lacking in this
area for so long.

The Eclipse developers are mostly volunteers, working on the parts they
personally find interesting. Apparently, few Java programmers at that
skill level have an interest in scripting Eclipse itself. I have the
Eclipse Monkey source, but it's pretty opaque to these eyes. Maybe
someday I'll take a couple weeks off of work and sit down and really
work on it.