RE : [cobol-dev] Cobol in 3.1

["Gilles Crebassa" <gcr@xxxxxx>]

Hello,

I don't have actually time for testing this release but the problematic of the previous release is :

- New keyworld come by fields of database or static file updated before start of Eclipse.
Ex : @MACRO,"1","NOT =",CTETIM OF WORKER

I pre-compilator change this by :

IF CTETIM OF WORKER NOT = 1 THEN
   DISPLAY "ERROR IN CTETIM OF WORKER"
END IF

- With @MACRO, possibility to give a list of possibility when enter "@" , give list "@MACRO", #@MACRO2" dynamically

- With @MACRO, possibility to give list of parameter like @MACRO,<CTRL + SPACE> "<parameter1>","<parameter2>",<parameter3> like in VB or DEV-cpp.


- the 6 first column is used when changing code like :

TE0001      DISPLAY "NEW CODE"
TE0001*      DISPLAY "OLD CODE"

But with the previous release, the syntax hightlighting interpret not correctly and give a error.


- Using Micro focus Cobol, but compiling with personal script (Makefile and other) into Unix/Linux/Solaris platform, it's possible to create a deamon in Unix/Linux to intercept demand of compilation but i don't know very good Java for changing Eclipse (into Windows OS) to send this demand to Unix Platform.(Or using MF Net Cobol).



When testing this new release and i have other feature, i give my experience of this.


Thank you
Gilles

PS:Sorry for my english language (it's not my first).











-----Message d'origine-----
De : Ken Grubb [mailto:ken_grubb@xxxxxxxxx] 
Envoyé : jeudi 9 juin 2005 7:43
À : 'Development discussions about the COBOL IDE for Eclipse. '
Objet : RE: [cobol-dev] Cobol in 3.1


Jens Doll wrote:

> did you try out the Eclipse 3.0?
> What is your opinion about it?
> Can you tell us about your experience?

If you're entertaining input from others, here are my thoughts.

I downloaded and installed Eclipse and the COBOL plugin.  I spent a bit of time with it both at work and home trying to see what it would and would not do.  In general, I've been most unimpressed.

The company I work for is planning to make Eclipse our standard editor; however, I suspect it will be a very significant uphill battle.  Persuading programmers has been likened to herding cats.

We're a Tandem COBOL shop so it's my understanding that Eclipse won't afford any compile benefits other than basic syntax checking if a program has no database access.  Some of the programmers use the Tandem editors EDIT and TEDIT.  Others use FTP clients to transfer code back and forth and PC based editors like CodeWright, UltraEdit and TextPad.  TextPad is what I use, and after 6 years I'm reasonably skilled and have managed to extract a fair bit of efficient useage from the tool.

One of the main reasons I choose TextPad is that it's one of the few Text Editors that facilitates what one might term the "significant column" aspect of COBOL.  Whereas most programming languages and IDEs have a tab setting for indenting to improve the readability of code, in COBOL there are sometimes columns into which certain characters must go, and the matter isn't subject to negotiation.  However, actual Tab characters (ASCII Hex value 09) will tend to cause havoc when they get into source code on Tandem, Unisys, etc.  Another of TextPad's virtues is the ability to easily, and automatically, convert Tabs to the appropriate number of spaces on the fly every time one hits the Tab character.  I believe both CodeWright and UltraEdit are easily configurable to do the same thing.

After much gnashing of teeth with two Eclipse plugins, AnyEdit and TabAlert, there does not appear to be any means of automatically converting Tabs to Spaces in code.  AnyEdit will automatically convert leading tabs to spaces, and can trim trailing spaces, but "embedded spaces" remain.  TabAlert will convert spaces to tabs, but it requires a deliberate act every time ya save.

Syntax hightlighting for Free Format picks up inline comments (*>) starting in any column.  Tandem was something of a "new comer" to the mainframe COBOL game.  As such, Tandem COBOL doesn't have traditional COBOL columns 1 to 6 and doesn't have a column 73 limit.  Since our comments begin in column 1, syntax highlighting doesn't detect comments.  I suppose this may be a fairly minor issue as I'm given to understand we have the Fujitsu source code and there are plans to tweak it so it detects comments in column 1.

I've looked at the source code for both AnyEdit and TabAlert, and I suppose that if I were a modestly accomplished Java programmer that I could write my own plugin to do that which I want/need the COBOL plugin to do.  However, if I were a modestly accomplished Java programmer, I don't know that I would still be writing COBOL.  Bit of a Catch 22.

I'm going to continue watching and listening, but unless management forbids us to use anything else, I will continue using TextPad and won't be using Eclipse.

Ken Grubb
Bellevue, WA, USA

_______________________________________________
cobol-dev mailing list
cobol-dev@xxxxxxxxxxx https://dev.eclipse.org/mailman/listinfo/cobol-dev

-- 
Internal Virus Database is out-of-date.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
Version: 7.0.322 / Virus Database: 267.5.1 - Release Date: 2/06/2005
 

-- 
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
Version: 7.0.322 / Virus Database: 267.6.6 - Release Date: 8/06/2005