Hello,
I'd like to propose a change to the default behavior
that is fairly impactful for users. Currently the default
behavior of the indexer is to index a specific (fixed)
configuration, regardless which one is active. This has a
downside that the UI is not in sync with the active
configuration, like the editor, the index-based views and the
decorations in the Project Explorer. This has created confusion
many times in the past as can be noticed by the several bugs
created in Bugzilla and conversations on this mailing list. See
also
https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=329995 and
https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=313944
The current default behavior: Index specific
(pre-determined/fixed) configuration. No reindex and no UI
change when active config is changed.
The new proposed default behavior: Index active
configuration. Re-index and update the UI when active config is
changed.
The advantage of the new default is of course less
confusion in the UI, which is good for new users. It is also
reasonable for small projects and also larger projects that have
very distinct configurations (enough that you want the UI to
update). The disadvantage is possibly long re-index times when
switching configuration for the case where you have a large
project that has configurations not distinct enough to need a UI
update and warrant the re-indexing.
I believe this last case where the UI/config change
doesn't warrant a re-index can be left for users to tweak the
preference, as an optimization. Much like you can exclude
resources (resource filters), exclude source files and many
other tricks to speed up Eclipse when dealing with large
projects.
So my assumption is that making the UI update
correctly even with the index performance hit is a better
default. *This assumption could be wrong, please voice any
concerns*. I fully expect this might not make sense for some
companies internally, which is why I propose a preference
customizable through plugin_customization.ini (see below).
Proposed actions for 10.1.0 M2:
* Update the New and Noteworthy to communicate the
change of behavior and mention the customizable preference
through plugin_customization.ini.
* Add an entry in the CDT User FAQ with instruction
how to change the preference when dealing with long index times
when switching configuration. Useful in case of larger projects
with configurations that not distinct enough to warrant a
re-index.
Let me know if you have any concerns.
Regards,
Marc-André
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