Re: [platform-ui-dev] (no subject)

[Nick_Edgar@xxxxxxx]

Joe,

When you say "validate", what do you mean?  Until today, Core and UI had 
no concept of validation.
In today's build, there are new APIs for pre-validating changes to 
resources and changes within text editors, mainly to allow VCM providers 
to be notified of impending changes so they can check out the affected 
files.  I doubt this is what you are referring to, though.
I suspect you mean "build" or "auto-build".  Currently auto-builds only 
run if the preference is turned on (see the Workbench preference page), 
and only occur when the workspace is modified, e.g. when saving a file.

So, in the current support, validate and save are not really orthogonal 
concepts.  Maybe they should be, as you seem to suggest.

The current editor support does allow you to define new tasks within the 
editor without saving.
However, their position is only updated when the editor contents are 
saved.
Also, if you create a new task in the editor then close the editor without 
saving changes, the task remains.
Conceptually the task is being created on the resource itself, not the 
editor contents.

Regarding your second question re. the task list representing a snapshot 
in time, the task list has no notion of snapshots but simply tracks tasks 
and problems in the workspace.
These typically get updated when a build happens.  Builds happen whenever 
a resource is saved if auto-build is on, or when the user requests a build 
if not.
This is a different model than some other environments which populate the 
task list with items for the currently open editors.
For example, Visual Studio shows tasks for TODO comments in open source 
files.
Our task list is not currently "editor-centric".
Does this explain why you think it's not dynamically updated?
If not, this may indicate a bug, so more details would be appreciated.

As for printing the task list, it currently does not support this.
Sounds like a good idea.  I've filed bug 6655 to track this 
(http://dev.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=6655).
Please register yourself with Bugzilla and add yourself to the cc list of 
this bug if you want to track it.

How would you expect printing to work?  Should it print the current 
selection or all tasks?  Should it take the current filter settings into 
account?
Should it respect the current column sizings or use its own sizings?

Thanks for your comments,
Nick





"Joseph F Pesot" <pesot@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent by: platform-ui-dev-admin@xxxxxxxxxxx
12/06/01 10:14 AM
Please respond to platform-ui-dev

 
        To:     platform-ui-dev@xxxxxxxxxxx
        cc: 
        Subject:        [platform-ui-dev] (no subject)

I have a conceptual question about the relationship between Save, 
Validate,
and the Task list.  I'll try to frame it by proposing some user situations
and my current beliefs about how these areas should relate.

1.  A user should be able to edit a resource and save it without 
performing
a vaildate (this seems to be a project level property).  Saving in this 
way
would cause no new errors to be added to the task list.

2.  A user should be able to edit a resource and then validate it without
having saved it first.  The validation action adds errors to the task 
list.
This paring of editing and validation would allow a user to determine the
effectiveness of a set of changes--make some changes, validate, make some
more changes, validate, etc.

3.  If a user edits a resource, and then validates (adding errors to the
task list), they may decide that the changes they made have caused more
problems than anticipated.  So they may want to close the resource and NOT
save these changes.  This sequence of events SHOULD result in the removal
of errors from the task list (that is, those errors associated with the
validate of the file who's changes were cancelled).

My questions:
First, do these situations match the UI team's conceptual INTENT for how
SAVE, VALIDATE, and the TASK LIST relate.  I think I see some differences
in behavior today which can lead to the Task List being out of sync with
actual changes.  I'm interested in the UI team's view on the conceptual
relationships in this area.

Second:  It appears that the Task List is a SNAPSHOT in time of errors 
(not
dynamicly updated).  If that's true, would it make sense to include a
timestamp on the Task List title bar indicating the last time a complete
validate was performed.

Third: I think it would be useful to be able to Print the Task List, but I
don't seem to see that capability......will Printing the task list be
possible (or is it all ready there and I just can't find it).

Thanks, Joe

IBM
Department 53OA VG/RAD Enterprise Solutions

_______________________________________________
platform-ui-dev mailing list
platform-ui-dev@xxxxxxxxxxx
http://dev.eclipse.org/mailman/listinfo/platform-ui-dev