Ongoing development of CodeComplete icons in menu.

[Andreas Pakulat]

On 25.05.07 08:05:18, Bogdan Mustiata wrote:
> On Thursday 24 May 2007 17:51:50 Andreas Pakulat wrote:
> > On 24.05.07 16:39:54, Bogdan Mustiata wrote:
> > > On Thursday 24 May 2007 15:20:42 Matt Rogers wrote:
> > > > On May 24, 2007, at 1:13 AM, Bogdan Mustiata wrote:
> > > > > Hi,
> > > > >
> > > > > Is there any development being done in adding icon support in the
> > > > > completion
> > > > > listbox?
> > > > >
> > > > > Thank you,
> > > > >
> > > > > BM
> > > >
> > > > You'll need to be a bit more specific about what you mean exactly.
> > >
> > > Mainly in version 3.4.x, if you edit some code and you use the
> > > autocomplete feature (e.g. hitting control+space), a listbox appears with
> > > various items for completion. The items don't contain an icon to identify
> > > them (like Visual Studio, SlickEdit, etc.) for what they are (e.g.
> > > method, variable, etc.).
> >
> > Differing methods and variables is rather easy:
> >
> > a) methods include the parameter list and parenthesis, while variables
> > don't
> > b) you have a yellowish tooltip at the right of the popup which tells
> > you wether an item is a variable or method.
> 
> I agree, for methods and variables is rather easy. And how do you make the 
> difference between a slot and a method (let me guess, more text like 
> <constructor> or a blue tooltip?),

Why would I need to differ between slots and methods? Oh right, in a
connect statement. Ultimately I'd like to see only slots in the CC box
when I'm inside a connect() and I believe/hope this will happen in
KDev4/

> a property (c#) and a member, and so on. 

We don't support C# in KDev3 and for KDev4 it doesn't look too bright
either.

> Even from this you can tell what is what:
> int x;
> int y();
> <constructor> Z;
> int Z::z();
> 
>  The idea is that in the end the actual pictogram is more distinct to the eye 
> and hence, easier to follow, than scanning over a number of lines.
 
If you want to go as far as differing slots, signals, methods and data
members including their scope you'll need a legend for all those icons.
Which makes it again more or less as usable as some text indicator.

> > > In this sense, is there any work being done at the moment in order to
> > > support icons?
> >
> > See my other reply, impossible in KDevelop3.4 due to limitations from
> > the editor component.
> 
> I really hope that in 4.0 it is taken into account because right now I think 
> KDevelop _is the only_ IDE I know (SlickEdit, Eclipse, anjuta, visual studio) 
> _that doesn't_ support icons (beside vim if you can name it an IDE, but at 
> least vim it has an excuse: it's text mode).

I certainly can't remember icons in eclipse code completion, but as I
said elsewhere (maybe in IRC) KDevelop4 can have this feature if the
editor component considers displaying pixmaps that the code completion
model provides.

> Now, since KDE/KDevelop 3.x is in feature freeze it means that it will take at 
> least five months (KDE 4 final, release of KDevelop 4) until having something 
> working under KDE that might contain this very basic feature. And this 
> assuming the time schedule is respected.

No, KDevelop4 will not be released with KDE 4.0, we're targetting KDE
4.1 currently. You may get something like between alpha and beta when
KDE 4.0 is released.

> This approach in my opinion is simply wrong.

Well, feel free to try to convince KDE maintainers to lift the freeze,
provide patches for Kate and KDevelop to add icon support. We don't have
time to do this in KDevelop3, we need all the free time we can to create
KDevelop4. 

Andreas

-- 
You plan things that you do not even attempt because of your extreme caution.