7 replies to this topic

[buddybob]

I have worked on many java projects so far. One of the big problems I see most of my fellow developers make is that they do not format their code properly. They dont pay attention to indentation, spacing, wrapping, etc.

This causes problems to maintain code as code of one developer is unreadable by another. Nobody seems to stick to a good coding convention.

I have also tried many Java IDEs like NetBeans, Eclipse, IDEA. These popular IDEs support auto formatting of code based on style templates. These customizable templates can be setup with a specific style of coding, i.e. spacing, indentation, wrapping, etc. Once set, the IDE ensures all files that are openened are auto re-formatted according to the selected style template.

This feature wud be a great addition to JCreator.

[xinox]

You can find several open source solutions at http://www.sourceforge.net which can easily be integrated via the custom tools or through the ANT support of JCreator.

-Xinox Software

[javachris]

I second buddybob on that! The free tools you are talking about do format the files but you have to run them on each file hence the integration trough the custom tools would be useless. What could be usefull is the ability to format the source files by selecting a package. Even more, it could be nice to format them by breaking the line at the input column (visibility column standard 80). And one other thing that we could use is to have a line highlighter to highlight the current line like any other Java ide. That is very usefull and I don't think it would be tough to implement? What do you think xinox?

[buddybob]

Dear xinox,

I agree to your suggestion of using third-party tools that are available. But as javachris said, such tools lack integration and are not first class features of JCreator and hence they are not as easy-to-use/flexible to maintain a large projects.

If JCreator had had its own style checker or in-built bindings for such tools, it would help tremendously. Please consider this feature.

Thank u very much.

[xinox]

And one other thing that we could use is to have a line highlighter to highlight the current line like any other Java ide. That is very usefull and I don't think it would be tough to implement?

You can find this option under the color settings of the editor.

If JCreator had had its own style checker or in-built bindings for such tools, it would help tremendously. Please consider this feature.

It is under consideration but it has to wait until several other features will appear.

-Xinox Software

[kiwipete]

I agree with Xinox on this one.  Why should they spend time and effort developing a feature that has already been done by someone else?  It will also just lead to the software becoming more bloated and annoy those who don't want or need such a feature.

[buddybob]

I too agree with your viewpoint that Xinox should not re-invent the wheel. I voiced my suggestion because of the fact that since most java applications are written via the IDE such as JCreator, integrating code style checker tools with the IDE is an important task as it will allow the developer to save time and take advantage of the IDE's automation and rich editing features to write better code.

If you read my last post on this topic, u will see that I have only requested that JCreator create bindings for external tools so that such third-party code style checkers such as CheckStyle can be integrated with the IDE.

Thank you very much

[terppa]

You can find this option under the color settings of the editor.
It is under consideration but it has to wait until several other features will appear.

-Xinox Software

I give my vote for this integrated coding convention checker idea too.