Re: [jdt-ui-dev] Vote: Potential matches always at the end

["Randy Giffen/OTT/OTI" <Randy_Giffen@xxxxxxx>]

I read the thread in jdt-core but I must confess it is still not clear to me what "potential match" really means. They seem to be useful but unreliable?

At any rate I would like to suggest the potential match attribute not be used to sort the list of matches. 
Sort the list based soley on the criteria the user has specified (ex. class or package name). 
Add an option to include potential matches (on by default).

• From: "Daniel Megert/ZRH/OTI" <Daniel_Megert@xxxxxxx>
• Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2001 09:38:26 +0100
  
  Randy,
  
  I asked exactly that same question on jdt-core-dev mailing list. Here is a copy of the first:
          A potential match means that the search engine could not resolve everything
          it needed. This can happen if the build path was not correctly set by the
          user (for example some required projects are missing from the build path),
          or if the user code would not compile (for example a class doesn't
          implement all the methods of an interface).
  
          The main benefit of showing a potential match is that the user can still
          see references and declarations even if his/her code is not ready to be
          compiled.
  
  You might want to follow the discussion there.
  
  My personal opinion is that the concept of potential (or possible) matches is hard to understand for users (see my answer in the jdt-core-dev mailing list) and that only exact matches should be displayed. Because they now do exist in the model and appear in the UI, some users suggested to put them at least at the end of the list in the Search view.
  
  Dani