[ale] [OT] Interesting Take on MS Programming Tools

[Fulton Green]

I've used VS (and its predecessors) off and on for the past several years
now. Even though VS 6.0 seems to be a semi-decent IDE, I have one major
gripe that underscores everyone else's complaints: the built-in editor
doesn't support Vi- or EMACS-style typing.  I know that GVIM comes with a
VisVim.dll that adds some degree of Vi integration into VS. I just installed
it, and all it does is simply pop up a separate GVim window for the file
(you can optionally have the same file load in simulatenously to VS's
editor). Obviously, that winds up taking the "I" out of the "IDE".

Maybe Microsoft has a way where you can hook into the window space that its
default editor occupies. But I get the feeling that if the Gvim people knew
about it, they would have gone that direction instead. Maybe it's one of
those "API-for-a-fee" deals.

My other main gripe (at least in VS 6.0, and might be fixed in VS.NET) has
to do with the class browser not having enough logic to handle preprocesor-
conditioned interfaces (e.g., when you have different versions for a method
depending on the platform it's being compiled for). It's just a larger
symptom of something that also underscores the other gripes: that Microsoft
has, in general, assumed that whatever gets built by its product will be
deployed only on Microsoft-based platforms. Sure, it's their perogative to
do that. And likewise, it's my perogative to not want to use it for
multiplatform projects.

These reasons, and many more, contributed to the formation of a VS-alike
called Eclipse ( www.Eclipse.org ), which has a TRULY open framework, unlike
the claim made for VS in that regard.

On Tue, Nov 26, 2002 at 11:07:03AM -0500, Dennany, Jerome {D177~Roswell} wrote:
> I understand your point, and don't disagree with it, though it didn't answer my question.
> 
> I was wondering about Jonathan's response, since he's the one that brought the subject up, though.
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