Enhancing the kdevelop editor (was: Re: Intellisense (tm))

[Daniel C Hanks]

Just a few comments:

On Tue, 22 Jun 1999, Massimo Morin wrote:

> Hi,
> 	about the intellisense, I think it is good, but if I have to use the
> mouse for selecting the method I want to use (from the popup window) to
> me is a waste of time: I can more easly write enterelly the method name
> in the time I move the hand from the keyboard to the mouse and then
> selecting the method.

If the popup is like a drop-down list, you can just use the keyboard
arrows to scroll down through it, or by typing the first few letters it
would scroll through the list automagically by itself to the entry that
matches your keystrokes. To select the item you want, you just hit TAB and
it completes the word.

> Even worse is if the popup window is going to grab the focus: you'll
> never have reed of it until you re-click on the editor!
> 

The little boxes that give you the functino prototype don't grab the
focus, they're just there, and each element of the prototype is hilighted
as you type through the function call. The dropdown boxes that display a
list of possible member functions or member variables can be dispatched by
just pressing the ESC key. 
	At any rate, that's how it works in VC++. I think it would be a
good model to follow if the Kdevelop team were to pursue this idea. And if
it's done right, your fingers never have to leave the keyboard :-)

Anyways, I think it would be a good thing.

Just my thougts,

Dan Hanks