+1
From: cdt-dev-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxx <cdt-dev-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxx>
On Behalf Of Marc-Andre Laperle
Sent: 13 October 2020 05:26
To: CDT General developers list. <cdt-dev@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [cdt-dev] Index active configuration by default
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.
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