Re^3: Code Readability. Break Rule Number 5?

[roboticus]

robot tourist:

You might not notice things that IDEs force on you unless you have a particular way of doing things. Some IDEs will limit you to a particular editor, a particular coding format, a limited ability to lay out your windows the way you want to see them. Some may decide to help you by reformatting your code, or typing partial names for you, or some other thing.

Some people really like the instant feedback and helpful suggestions--so I'm not saying that IDEs are dumb or useless. But one size never fits all. I find many of those "helpful features" quite intrusive and distracting--like Clippy(tm). I'd prefer the system wait for me to ask for assistance, than to just keep throwing help in my face. So when I have to use an IDE for a project, the first thing I do when I'm forced to use an IDE is to configure it to be as tolerable as is possible. Unfortunately, none of the IDEs gives me the choice to set things up the way I want them. (A little bit of OCD is enough to make using an IDE feel like a stint in Hell.)

Finally, I tend to switch around machines and environments frequently. It's destructive to productivity to have to do things differently on every environment. I find a large monitor with multiple consoles *quite* comfortable. I can put the windows anywhere I want, and have any (or all) of the features that IDEs provide. I typically have a wide window at the bottom of my screen for compile/run. I have my source code in multiple windows, and on the other monitor I use a couple of windows for help screens. Any time I want to change things, I'm free to do so. I can switch editors quite easily in my NIDE (Non-integrated Development Environment).

...roboticus

Sorry for the rant! But at least I didn't mention that when I have to use an editor other than vi that I keep having strings of "jjjjjllllll" and such in my code..... 8^)