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by James Robertson.
Original Post: IDE's - do they suck?
Feed Title: Cincom Smalltalk Blog - Smalltalk with Rants
Feed URL: http://www.cincomsmalltalk.com/rssBlog/rssBlogView.xml
Feed Description: James Robertson comments on Cincom Smalltalk, the Smalltalk development community, and IT trends and issues in general.
Some languages, such as Smalltalk and its object-oriented followers, present us with a deluge of classes. It is easier to drown than to swim. Smalltalk itself is simple and elegant. Using it in a practical environment is complex and messy. And, as is usual these days, there is a dearth of documentation. The IDEs for languages such as Smalltalk and Java are conventional GUIs, with their inhumane over-reliance on the mouse. None of this is necessary. It is merely customary.
I will definitely agree with the mousing problems. I think the Refactoring browser obviates some of the other issues, but the over-reliance on the mouse is a real problem. VW has gotten better in terms of having keyboard shortcuts - now it needs to get better in terms of making them consistent.
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