Re: [platform-debug-dev] Adding an Initial Debug Context

[Peter Nicholls <nicholls@xxxxxxxxxx>]

How does the Welcome page concept work
when there are several vendors contributing Welcome pages and the debug
perspective is "empty".  Whose Welcome page gets displayed?
 I think this is one of the fundamental problems with trying to handle
the empty perspective nicely.

 The only solution I can come up
with is a standard debug welcome page in the eclipse debug core that had
extension points where debug providers could register a link to their "welcome
page" or something similar.  This way all contirbutors would
be displayed via a single wlecome page and the user can select a provider
for more information. 

Pete Nicholls

Mary Kroening <mary@xxxxxxxx> Sent by: platform-debug-dev-admin@xxxxxxxxxxx 03/09/2004 11:31 AM Please respond to platform-debug-dev

To:        platform-debug-dev@xxxxxxxxxxx         cc:                 Subject:        Re: [platform-debug-dev] Adding an Initial Debug Context

This would be great. Another simplification is to hide
(not dim) some of the debug command buttons and menu options.

Mary Kroening
Amzi! inc.

At 10:45 AM 3/9/2004 -0500, you wrote:

Hi,

We would like to override the initial view choices for an "empty"
Debug Perspective.   
Rather than showing views that the user cannot typically do anything with
yet (such as Variables), we would like to just show the breakpoints view,
and display an editor or View that acts as a Welcome Page describing our
debug function and providing buttons/links for the user to get started.

One solution to this is for you to provide a way for Debug Providers to
provide an initial context (in the absence of a target/launch).  
So for example, we could setup a context where we would not include the
views we want to hide, and would include the Welcome Page view.  
In the absence of one of these "initial" contexts, then you could
default to what you are showing today.   

I'm not sure yet whether these "initial" Contexts should be always
active or just active when there is no other DebugModelContextBinded context
active...I'd have to experiment a bit with the Usability of having the
Welcome page stick around vs vanish/re-appear. 

The implementation of this for providers, could just be via another extension
point, as in: 
(<initalDebugContext> is the only new tag): 

   <extension
         point="org.eclipse.ui.contexts">
      <context
            name="Welcome
to IBM Debug" 
            description="Welcome
to IBM Debug" 
            id="com.ibm.debug.welcome">
      </context>
   </extension>
   <extension
         point="org.eclipse.debug.ui.debugModelContextBindings">
      <intialDebugContext
            contextId="com.ibm.debug.welcome">
      </initialDebugContext>
   </extension>
   <extension
         point="org.eclipse.debug.ui.contextViewBindings">
      <contextViewBinding
            viewId="org.eclipse.debug.ui.BreakpointView"
            contextId="com.ibm.debug.welcome">
      </contextViewBinding>
      <contextViewBinding
            viewId="com.ibm.debug.welcome.WelcomeView"
            contextId="com.ibm.debug.welcome">
      </contextViewBinding>
   </extension>

Thoughts? 

Thanks...

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Jeff Turnham
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