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Programming Tools You've Used?
crazy_speeder asks: "I'm looking for programming tools for the whole development cycle, including documentation. The project I'm working on will use C++ and Java. What has been your experience using tools like C++ Builder, Netbeans, Eclipse, JBuilder, Doxygen, ClearQuest, Rational Rose, g++, and any compiler, debugger, or IDE that you may have used. I need tools that will handle auto documentation, unit testing, design, file editing, and the like. As far as platform goes, Linux is the target OS while Linux or Solaris will be the host OS."
KDevelop
What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
boost also has a nice unit testing library. I use it for all my C++ code.
Use Netbeans. It has recently leapfrogged Eclipse in many areas (not to say that won't change) and the guys I work with say it is faster than Eclipse now in addition to the Refactoring, Swing Builder, etc. that it has.
The new 4.0 and 4.1 releases use ANT build files for all of their project information. They build and run JUnit tests as part of the project and the build process, and they come with a sweet profiler that even allows you to profile remotely. One of the neat things about the ANT based projects is anything that can use an ANT build script can build your project -- whether it be ANT itself, CruiseControl, Maven, Eclipse, etc.
The latest beta of 4.1 will even import Eclipse projects.
Also recently voted Developer.com Product of the Year 2005
Those who open their minds too far often let their brains fall out.
It sounds like you've never used one of these tools. There are multiple types of documentation: design, end user, man pages, etc. Doxygen and other auto documentation tools help developers deal with a single, specific documentation problem - how to keep developer documentation in sync with the code. These tools make it easy to develop documentation on API usage, show the actual (not designed) interrelations between internal components, and do all the other documentation work that generally makes it much easier for a new developer to come up to speed in a particular area on a project.
That's it, really. The purpose is to automate an otherwise tedious task, and consolidate documentation in one location with the idea that having a single source for code and code documentaion will help prevent errors from creeping in. There's nothing character-building about hand-editing these sorts of docs, any more than it would be character building to execute all your build commands one by one on the command line instead of using a makefile.
Most of these auto-documentation tools work quite well on the command line, apart from any sort of IDE. A good number of them can produce decent documentation even if the source code wasn't written with the documentation tool in mind. These tools aren't complex, fancy whiz-bang sorts of things; they do a pretty straightforward job, do it well, and often are no more difficult to use than any other single-purpose tool. Whats more, most of them (Doxygen in particular) allow you to create links into your "real" (higher-level) documentation, so you can do interesting things like include pointers in the source code back to the features and requirements that it was written to support (and vice-versa).
"Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgement." Job 32:9
Keep the project simple and bare bones. I wouldn't try and lock any of your developers into specific tools. CVS, Ant (because you're doing Java too), JavaDoc/Doxygen, any IDE should be able to integrate with these.
The project I'm on does not require any specific IDE at all. We've got guys running Emacs, I'm a vim user, another uses NetBeans, a few more Eclipse, and somebody has their personally licensed copy of JBuilder out here too.
The only issue have is when developers sometimes setup their IDEs to use different tabs sizes (we say they're 2 spaces, but people forget sometimes) and when some IDEs reformat a whole class on you, which makes the CVS diffs difficult to apply to different branches for fast-tracked bug fixes.
May sound funny, but he is right.
With syntax highlighting for all languages know to man, text folding for structured overview of your large files, directory browsing, great integration with unix tools and great extensability, Vim is the only tool besided gcc and ocasionally gdb I've used for a long time. Even when I was programming in Java in a Windows machine two years ago.
Oh, and it's an excelent text editor too. =)
VI VI VI, the editor of the beast!
Yeah, eat this, all you VI fans! ;-)
;-)
Seriously, while newer-generation IDEs might be better for Java/C/C++, the cool thing about Emacs is that it has modes for all languages known to man, and then some. So if you just code in Java/C/C++ -- pick up an IDE, but if you do not know what life will send your way tomorrow -- start customizng your Emacs.
And of course good luck editing LaTeX docs in Eclipse!
Paul B.
What happens three years down the road when Management decides not to renew the Rational Rose license? What happens when IntelliJ stops supporting your version of IDEA and you have to upgrade with money you don't have? Etc.
Use only open tools. Open-source is best, of course, but anything that uses completely documented file formats and has tools for exporting to other formats is acceptable.
Don't let yourself get nailed with vendor lock-in. That's a bad, bad place to be. Better to use slightly inferior tools which are open than to lock yourself to a vendor.
That said, here are the tools I find myself using again and again:
- C++
- jEdit is a Java programmer's editor with excellent C++ support. I do development on Linux, Win32 and MacOS X, so it's very nice for me to have one editor I use on every platform. jEdit's not as featureful as, say, Emacs, but it's considerably more friendly to use.
- Boost. If you're writing C++ and you're not using Boost, you're committing a crime against yourself.
- Python. With Boost's Python library, it's easy to make your C++ applications scriptable. Write the heavy lifting parts in C++, then make those parts callable from Python. Do the rest of your development in a far safer, more sane language. You get almost all of the speed of C++, and far fewer headaches.
- SWIG is another tool that's excellent for creating scriptable C++ applications.
- Subversion for your version-control needs. Nothing else will do.
- Doxygen for all your documentation needs. Learn it, love it. Your code's not done until every public part of the API has been doxygenated.
- The GNU Autotools are really, really awful. They're also far better supported than Scons or pick-your-Autotools-replacement. Get ready to feel the pain of m4 macros. Sorry.
:( - The GNU Compiler Collection started getting a good C++ compiler around version 3.0. I've been quite favorably impressed with 3.3, and I'm looking forward to 4.0. I don't recommend it for Windows, but for Solaris and x86 Linux it's beautiful.
- I haven't found a good C++ unit testing framework yet. If you find one, please let me know.
- Java
- Eclipse is an excellent Java IDE. jEdit also fits the bill nicely, if all you want is an editor. I use both frequently, and am quite pleased with both.
- Subversion again for your version-control needs.
- jUnit for unit tests. Your code's incomplete unless you've written unit tests for it.
- Javadoc for documentation. I would recommend Doxygen, but it's quite possible you'll be deploying your applications on machines that don't have it installed.
- Ant for all your build needs.
Hope all this helps.People either love me because of my commenting and documentation or they look at me like I've sprouted a couple of extra heads. I have a set comment block at the top of each function and class (name, purpose, date created, creator, date modified, modifier, calls, uses, and notes) and then comments for meaningful portions of code.
I usually hang the following quote in any office that I occupy as a reminder - "Always code as if the guy who ends up maintaining your code will be a violent psychopath who knows where you live. (Martin Golding)"
Unfortunately, I tend to end up being the violent psychopath because I know too many people that go "the code should be self explainatory..."
Everything I need to know I learned by killing smart people and eating their brains.
You've got TI-basic and tons of math functionality in addition to text editors for your documentation, drawing software for your uber cool splash screen, calendars for keeping on track with your coding and even the capability of an address book to keep track of contributors.
Some notable projects developed using this suite are "AP pHysix cheeT'r" "Drug Wars" and of course the numerous high quality ports of Windows.
Bottles.
I do not have knowledge of how to compile Java using gcc ;)
;)
Click here to find out: GCJ