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Re: [platform-ant-dev] Copying existing configs to use as project builders
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On Wednesday 04 December 2002 10:54 am, John Arthorne wrote:
> <snip> If I check my project that uses my builder into a
> repository, there is no guarantee that another user checking out that
> project will be able to build it.
Currently, this "no guarantee" is limited to the plug-ins you have installed.
If you don't have the Make plug-in installed, your Make external tool project
builder won't run. If the configs aren't stored with the project, then the
"no guarantee" is expanded to the plug-ins you have installed and the other
projects you have in your workspace. Reducing the frequency with which
project builders will function seems like a negative for the user.
> You could take a similar approach with external tool builders. You could
> store some unique "external tool id" in the project build spec. When the
> user tries to run the builder, you look in some central place for an
> external tool with that Id. If the tool is found, you run it. If not
> found, you can silently ignore it, or if you prefer, show a warning to the
> user. <snip> The user then knows they
> have to define an external tool called "blah", or checkout a configuration
> file that defines that tool.
Where do they get that configuration file? This is an entirely new concern for
developers. Currently, if your project contains an external tool builder
(like Ant), you don't even have to know it's there for it to work. If someone
wants to check out a project and make a simple edit they can do so and the
builder will just do its job. If the builders are stored "by reference", you
have to check out the project and then send email asking where project
builder "Foo" is stored in the repository before you can build correctly.
The "Copy" feature may not offer all possible coolness, but it's simple to
understand and it works all the time. The "by reference" feature makes
editing the config easier in some instances, but it makes project builders
less reliable and is significantly more complex for the user.
- Jared
