[cdt-dev] CDT 3.0 project browsing feature

[Øyvind Harboe <oyvind.harboe@xxxxxxxxx>]

Except for more of the same :-), I'd like to see CDT support existing
C/C++ projects more smoothly.

Currently CDT has a fundamental assumption that users will switch to
doing their projects entirely in CDT. This is a stumbling block for
using CDT on a existing projects. 

E.g. I'd like to be able to use CDT to refactor existing projects
*without* switching those projects to use CDT as a project management or
build mechanism.

What is a CDT project anyway?

Why is it needed?

E.g. I've got an existing eCos project with a makefile. To build it, I
need to issue various commands from the command line. My eCos project
eventually produces an executable.

I'd like to tell CDT where my source files are(multiple directories,
application + eCos source). I don't want CDT to tell me where the source
files should be.

A "CDT project" could simply be a place to store emphemeral information
about how to build existing projects, much like how debug sessions are
stored. These CDT projects wouldn't even be shared among multiple
developers. This is an important point, because it should be the
decision of a lone programmer whether to use CDT or not in a larger
project.


- Support for automake/autoconf is definitely along these lines:

https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=29757

- Wrapping up CDT as a commandline Insight replacement is another
example of a push in this direction.

- Wrapping up Eclipse as a WinDiff replacement is moving further in this
direction.

Be like a text editor. The developer should be able to turn to Eclipse
CDT for a useful subset of functionality. He should have to convert
religion before he can drink from the source. :-)


-- 
Øyvind Harboe
http://www.zylin.com