RE: WDSC 6 vs Ctrl-Shift-I

> From: Jeff Crosby
> 
> > New sequence for the old Ctrl-Shift-I is Ctrl-Shift-A - who
> > knows why this was changed? I long for the good old days
> > before Java and open source, when things did not just change
> > willy-nilly. I hope IBM had a good reason.
> 
> I agree.

Backwards compatibility.  Something the iSeries is famous for, and
something that was beaten into my skull over decades of software
development.  And something that sadly is no longer as important as it
used to be.  In this modern world programmers think nothing of making
changes to their package that completely invalidate the previous
package.  This is because these newer programming philosophies, from of
"extreme programming" (happily THAT particular buzzword died the quick
ignominious death it deserved) to drag-and-drop coding, nobody DESIGNS
anymore... they code until they reach a breaking point, then they fix
the code and call it "refactoring".

By the way, Java actually does a very good job of being backward
compatible; there are very few people I know of who can cite instances
of Java version to version incompatibility that caused them major
inconvenience.  For the most part, those who had such problem were
making very ... creative ... use of the language <g>.  And the Eclipse
folks really do try to minimize their version delta impact of change.
They're not perfect, but they're a darn site better than the majority of
the other Open Source projects.


> Don't get me wrong on what I am about to say, because I love using
WDSC
> for my iSeries editing, but-

Me too!


> Does anyone else think the whole WDSC thing is getting so
> complex/complicated that the average schmoe (like me) can no longer
figure
> out how to do the simple things, until some other average schmoe
stumbles
> across it?

We need a quick reference guide.  A simple, easy to use UI that pops up
the basic commands grouped in functional blocks, with the menu that gets
you to the command and the keystroke for the accelerator.  The one that
killed me for the longest time was the fact that "Rename" was under
"Refactor".  I know that was important to someone, but it just didn't
make my life as a programmer easier.


> When WDSC 6 was released, it baffled me that at least 3 reviews I read
> about
> it led off by stating it looked better because the corners of tabs
were
> rounded.  Huh?  Why is that important?  Maybe it has become so
complicated
> that's all a reviewer has time to say with certainty before deadline.

Hah.  This is actually not entirely offbase, although it's a little
simpler than that, at least for me.  I have had so much problem just
GETTING the product, much less using it in-depth, that my functional
review won't be out until a week from Monday.  However, I already knew
most of the look and feel issues because WDSC6 is based on Eclipse 3.0,
and I've been able to play with Eclipse 3.0 for quite some time now.  In
fact, Eclipse 3.0 is already quite old news, with 3.1 out and 3.2 in the
oven, so if somebody tells you about the "new" look and feel for WDSC6,
that's a tiny bit disingenuous.

The real new things for WDSC6 are the documentation and the actual
changes to the RSE and LPEX editors.  I'm just learning the new
features, but I can tell you that the Rational collaboration has results
in an impressive help and tutorial section.

They've also completely taken over the branding; the "Rational" moniker
is everywhere, from the splash screen on up.  But from what I
understand, they've gone a long way towards really cleaning up the
installation procedures, and if that's true, they deserve a lot of
kudos.


> Don't mind me.  Just some 7am ramblings after not enough sleep. <g>

Me too.  I'm on NST (negative sleep time).  It's a great way to add
hours to the day.  Sleep -6 hours, and voila, you get 30 hours in a day!

Joe