Re: [ajdt-dev] AspectJ Outline View?

[Matt Chapman <MCHAPMAN@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Ron Bodkin wrote on 24/06/2005 20:25:23:
> I’m trying out the latest developer build of AJDT with Eclipse 3.1
> RC3. I no longer see the AspectJ Outline view. I prefer to use that
> rather than the cross references view (and think it will be easier
> for new AspectJ developers if using it were still the default). Is
> this view no longer being provided, or do I just not see the option
> to enable it?

Hi Ron,

I wondered if anyone would spot that :)

Its removal was deliberate, for many reasons:
 - it only updates after a build, which is inconsistent
with other outlines in eclipse which all update as you type
 - it breaks the convention of eclipse outline
views by containing more than the structure of the current document
 - for large source files with lots of crosscutting
it becomes cluttered
 - it requires making the AspectJ editor the
global default for .java files, which is for many an overly-invasive change
 - the information it provided is available by
other means: the orange image decorator, the two-way advice markers, the
cross references view, and the in-place cross references view
 - it's full of bugs
 - we don't have the resource to support multiple
outline views

Based on feedback we're received the AJDT 1.2 approach
of integrating more closely with eclipse, such as using the standard outline
view, is going down well. New AspectJ developers are increasing likely
to be already familiar with Eclipse, and it is then more natural to them
for the outline view to remain the essentially the same rather than for
it to change behaviour, lose functionality, and have additional content.

All I can offer in way of compensation is new functionality
to allow saving out the crosscutting structure of your project, for later
comparison with another version of the structure, or with the current one.
This should help with refactoring and to spot problems with advice matching
more or less than it used to because of other changes. See bug 90490 for
more details. This is just about ready to go and should appear in a dev
build any day now - watch this space for more details.

Regards,

Matt.

-- 
Matt Chapman, mchapman@xxxxxxxxxx
AJDT Development, http://www.eclipse.org/ajdt