Re: [photran] When is refactoring inclusion planned?

[Jeffrey Overbey <subscribe-photran@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I finished the refactoring and formatting engine several months ago; 
Spiros and I are refining parts of that and working on actual 
refactorings.  Our undergrads are tying a simple Rename Local Variable 
refactoring into the user interface, which will be available in beta 2 
or beta 3.  Other refactorings will appear after we've convinced 
ourselves that they're robust enough to unleash on you.  :-)

Just a couple of notes, so you know what to expect...

1. The refactoring plug-in will be separate from the rest of Photran, so 
we can release more frequent updates.  Also, it will require a Java 5 JVM.

2. It does not have all of the nice formatting options the JDT has, and 
it probably never will.  Instead, it will more or less preserve your 
current code appearance.

3. The refactoring component is a research tool.  It was designed to be 
generic, modular, and (relatively) easy to understand, modify, and 
maintain.  Efficiency is not a major concern, at least right now.  It is 
a memory and a processor hog, and it can be slow.  This is not because 
we are bad programmers; rather, Spiros and I total just one full-time 
equivalent, and so we have to make tradeoffs in order to keep moving 
forward.  This is not an apology, just a warning... you might want to 
invest in some extra RAM and find some hobbies to fill the time while 
you're waiting on your refactorings to complete.  :-)

Jeff