RE: [eclipse-dev] Major data-destroying usability bugs

["leon j breedt" <ljb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

hi,

> 1) Eclipse has no distinction between "delete from project" and
> "delete file
> from disk".  Just because I don't want a file in my project doesn't mean
> that I want it deleted from my file system.  Often, there are
> project-related files that are kept in project folders with code, such as
> design documents, that Eclipse does not need to know about. I certainly
> don't want that stuff cluttering up my Package Explorer when I'm trying to
> get work done. In addition, many other dev tools make this distinction, so
> the expectations of many developers will be that these are not the same
> thing.
in the package explorer, if you click the downwards-pointing arrow, and
select Filters... you can specify name patterns you wish to hide from view.
if thats too sweeping (it applies across all projects), click the same
arrow,
and select "Select Working Set..." where you can select the exact files
you want to see. nothing as drastic as delete required.

>
> 2) Eclipse does not make it clear that it will actually be deleting the
> files from the disk when it pops up a panel.  You see, when an app has an
> action "do X" and the alert panel says "really do X" then in the user's
> mind, they are confirming that they issued the command. If there is a
> conceptual error about what X really means, then this panel does not leave
> the user any better informed, such that they really *can* be sure
> that X is
> what they want to do. This panel should say, "Really destroy the files on
> your hard disk?" and the buttons should be labeled "Destroy forever" and
> "No".
i think its less confusing to to actually delete the file from the
filesystem
than to leave it hanging around. and the file isn't really gone (although it
isn't in the recycle bin). select the project, right-click, and select
"Restore from Local History". your deleted files should be there. this is
documented in the (extensive) online help (search for "deleted", it'll be
there somewhere).

> 3) Eclipse puts a window up during deletion, but the cancel button is not
> responsive.  What a cruel trick on the user.  Once I realized what it was
> doing, I wasted crucial seconds hammering on the cancel button, when I
> should have been killing the app.
see my response to (2).

> 4) Eclipse does not place the files it is deleting into the recycle bin,
> like a well-behaved application, it just wipes them off your disk. In
> combination with the above usability problems, this is deadly.  There is
> simply no excuse for this.
see my response to (2).


regards,
leon.