- This topic has 15 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 21 years, 1 month ago by
.
-
Posts
-
Great job so far! The JSP editor in particular is exactly what I’ve been looking for.
The XML editor, however, is a bit lacking. Code completion is an absolute must, but I would love to see a promising product like this include an elegant XML editor that measures up to the Eclipse Java editor.
Here’s what I would really like to see:- Intelligent code completion based on DTD/Schema and current position in the document. This should include automatic insertion of required attributes and elements. There should also be an intuitive way of indicating whether a separate closing tag should be generated or the tag should be self-closing (e.g. “enter” inserts separate closing tag, “/” self-closes the tag). When required attributes are inserted, tab should jump from one attribute value to the next – like Eclipse Java templates. When values for an attribute are constrained by the DTD, those values should appear in a drop down.
- Validation on save, or better yet, (optional) incremental validation, like the Java editor. Validation problems should appear as tasks that link to the source.
- Automatic caching of DTDs for offline operation and general better performance. Once a particular DTD has downloaded, it should be saved in a local cache folder and used by default from then on. I’m amazed that not even an expensive product like XML Spy does this (it seems relatively easy to implement).
- A “Go to DTD” function that will, at minimum, display the DTD for the current document. Even better, “ctrl-hovering” over an XML element should link to the DTD definition for that element (once again, like the Java editor). A tooltip could also display the comment for an element (from the DTD) when normal hovering.
- Configurable formatting (pretty printing).
Sorry for the big wishlist, but I’m frustrated at not being able to find an XML editor in any price range that’s aimed at Java/J2EE developers. Even the expensive editors are filled with features that aren’t very useful in this context (instead they focus on functionality like table views, tree views, visual schema editors, …).
BTW, the XMEN plugin (http://sourceforge.net/projects/xmen) is the most promising I’ve seen so far.
Keep up the good work,
ChrisChris,
Thank you very much for such a reasoned, researched, and well articulated enhancement list. I’ve entered your list into our internal defect tracking system as an enhancement request against the XML editor. On the positive side, I want to let you know that most of these items are already being looked into and with the addition of the enhancement request we won’t lose track of any of these very good ideas.
It’s interesting that you mention the X-Men plugin. We have a very good relationship with that plugin’s author (Jens) and were working with him to resolve some Eclipse 2.1 incompatibilities that precluded it from being included in MyEclipse. Unfortunately, due to the timing of the MyEclipse release and Jens’ schedule, the Eclipse 2.1 incompatibilities could not be addressed in time for X-Men’s inclusion in the MyEclipse launch. However, we’ll continue to evaluate it and other alternatives to enhance the XML editing capabilities going forward. Remember, part of your benefit as a subscriber to MyEclipse is that we’re the ones vigilantly canvasing the plugin space to ensure that you receive the best functionality available at the time with a minimum of incompatibilities or other nasty surprises.
–Scott
MyEclipse Support
I just wanted to add my two cents to the party about customized formatting. I’d like to see some simple things for the XML formatting:
– Auto-indentation of tags
– Settings similar to the standard Eclipse text editor (show print margin, line numbers, highlight current line, etc).
– Ability to specify using tabs or spaces and the tab size.If some sort of code completion is included, it’d be nice to be able to set whether to use single or double quotes in the attributes.
All good ideas. I’ve added your list to the open enhancement request so we can track it properly.
-Scott
MyEclipse SupportCan I still use the X-Men plugin on my system when MyEclipse is being used. The X-Men is the only xml editor that I can afford that works for the other stuff I am doing with XML (stuff in my projects (including my J2EE projects) that need better XML editing than myEclipse provides).
Wayne
@scott wrote:Chris,
Thank you very much for such a reasoned, researched, and well articulated enhancement list. I’ve entered your list into our internal defect tracking system as an enhancement request against the XML editor. On the positive side, I want to let you know that most of these items are already being looked into and with the addition of the enhancement request we won’t lose track of any of these very good ideas.
It’s interesting that you mention the X-Men plugin. We have a very good relationship with that plugin’s author (Jens) and were working with him to resolve some Eclipse 2.1 incompatibilities that precluded it from being included in MyEclipse. Unfortunately, due to the timing of the MyEclipse release and Jens’ schedule, the Eclipse 2.1 incompatibilities could not be addressed in time for X-Men’s inclusion in the MyEclipse launch. However, we’ll continue to evaluate it and other alternatives to enhance the XML editing capabilities going forward. Remember, part of your benefit as a subscriber to MyEclipse is that we’re the ones vigilantly canvasing the plugin space to ensure that you receive the best functionality available at the time with a minimum of incompatibilities or other nasty surprises.
–Scott
MyEclipse Support
Wayne,
Yes, you can still use X-Men in addition to the XML editor in MyEclipse. As I stated above, once we’ve verified X-Men’s compatability and large file editing problems have been resolved we’d like to integrate it into the workbench as the default XML editor. However, until that occurs you may load it into your Eclipse installation and continue to use it as you like.
–Scott
MyEclipse Supportstand on my toe, i would say that the oXygen XML editor for Eclipse is an excellent choice! nice presentation, xml validation by DTD/XSL, strong syntax coloring and my most favorite part is its auto-code-completion. very nice plugin! is it possible to integrate the future MyEclipse with it?
PS: i am sorry about the worse english spelling or syntax in my words which maybe make you all confused , coz the English is not my native and experienced language.
The problem I see there is that Oxygen is commercial and costs between $60 – $75, depending on volume. Naturally, at $29.95 MyEclipse couldn’t absorb the retail cost. However, you never know how these things can work out. Perhaps we can get them to agree to providing a “lesser” version with most of the nice features. We can certainly look into it. It never hurts to ask. 🙂
–Scott
MyEclipse SupportI would like to add one more to this excellent list of enhancements., and that would be the support for Eclipse’s Outline view for not just the XML, but the HTML and JSP editors as well.
This is shaping up to be quite a nice tool at a great price.
Thanks,
ShashIn a Web Project I can create a new XML or HTML file but I cannot create an XHTML file. I don’t see any mention of doing this in your roadmap. Please comment.
Regards,
DonDon,
It’s simply a limitation of the current template. We should add a template for XHTML files so I’ve added it as an enhancement request into our internal tracking system. The workaround is to select File > New > File and specify a name that ends with xhtml. Then, you can associate the file type with our XML editor at Window > Preferences > Workbench > File Associations and it will become the default editor for your new files.
–Scott
MyEclipse SupportI have switched to xml buddy from Bocasoft. I like the way it works. They have slowed way down on development and may be willing to contribute (particularly if they are not getting much revenue). It might be good to check with them.
Wayne
