Other Code Tools

Dear Travis,

1) I've published a new version of RBSUnitExtensions (CS11.NFR.5) to the
Open Repository.  The relevance to your post is that it is now more like
the standard pattern, so may be easier to rewrite to your new one.  My
version relies on code in the latest Custom Refactoring RB release (CS11
RC3);  its blessing comment lists exactly which of that release' methods
are required if you want to use it in a base release instead of in the
Custom Refactoring release.

FYI I've used the same pattern when writing application-specific
source-wrapping tools.  I had meant publishing this version to start
community review followed by correcting / developing it and altering
similar tools (e.g. FileRepository) to use it.  My aim is to make
loading of source-wrapping code tools more robust as to order of which
tool is loaded first, and unloading of them more robust as to having the
unloaded tool selected, perhaps in an editing state.  As you've already
started rework of policies in general, not just wrapping ones, my making
the wrapping less unlike the standard may now be off-target, but you may
still find it a more lightweight start-point for reworking wrapping
policies than the original RBSUnitExtensions code.

2) What non-base-image-loaded code tools do I use?

Of course:
    - RBSUnitExtensions in any developing image and RBStoreExtensions in
any publishing one, so they are usually there.

When needed:
    - RoelTyper

    - RBRegexExtensions when the Rewrite tool is not the way to find
what I want (which is rare, so it is rarely loaded)

    - RBByteCodeTool at times (most often when I'm implementing
SourceFileFormat subclasses, which both commercial and tool applications
can require and which leaves you occasionally uncertain in development
just what the reality is behind the source you see)

    - FileRepository when it suits the application

Very occasional:
    - I've used RBClassDefinition tool as a basis for writing
application-specific tools but find I never bother to load it for itself.

    - The same applies to RBCodeModelWithVariables;  I use it when
pairing with Reinout but have not got in the habit of loading it.

    - RBConfigPolicy is an idea that I somehow never get around to using.

BTW, you may have noticed that the Custom refactoring project makes the
Diff tool into a separate policy and tab instead of an automatic source
select whenever two or more methods are selected.  We found it more
often annoying than helpful when it was first released into the base,
especially as the tool DNUed on non-Text source that some selections
could elicit (but this is now fixed) and when source selection might be
wrapped in tools that did not like the multi-select effect (but perhaps
the better wrapping I'm working on can fix this too).

HTH.
          Yours faithfully
             Niall Ross

On 9jun2007, Travis Griggs wrote:
 > Some people are aware that I keep a development branch of the RB in
the Open Repository under the branch numbering scheme of "4xx". One of
the things we hit when trying to provide some better tabs for the code
tools at the bottom, is that we needed to redo the architecture that
tabs use to register themselves. I'm much happier with the new scheme,
it seems to be more failsafe. But it's not really backwards  compatible.
Simple tools are easy to convert. So much so, that it detects the use of
the old API and offers to rewrite the code to use the new API. I'd like
to sweep through all of the publically contributed tools and see which
ones have issues. I know that the RBDefintionTool does, as do
SUnitToo(ls) and RBSUnitExtensions. I have been back burner tinkering on
an entirely different way of doing SUnitToo(ls). I'd imagine we'll do a
like version for RBSUnitExtensions or help someone who wants to maintain
it do so. The new browser actually has a built in tab that is meant to
eventually replace  the DefinitionTool tab, so I'm not too worried about
it. I know that RBStoreExtensions works, as does RBRegex thing, and the
RBByteCodeTool. So what other tools are in popular use and in high demand?