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[ve-dev] Re: Future of VE
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I am interested in volunteering to help with VE. I have experience with GEF, EMF and in developing the CodeGen component of VE.
In fact I have recently finished a project that, if incorporated into the current VE would make it much easier for other plugin developers to extend VE for use with XML, C++ source code etc.
The original focus of my project involved analysing the CodeGen component of VE and the feasibility of extending this component so that it could parse Groovy source code.
Although the Eclipse VE homepage claims that it is a framework for visual editing for other languages in practice the current Codegen component is tightly bound to Java source code.
However VEs CodeGen component contains a great deal of code that can be reused for non-Java source. Hence I have redesigned this component to create a "Not Just Java Eclipse VE", that separates the Java specific code from the rest. This functions exactly as the current Eclipse VE, but with the Java specific CodeGen being a specific implementation of a CodeGen rather than an integral part of the VE itself. A new extension point defines a CodeGenFactory that defines the embedded source editor to be used, the ExpressionDecoderFactory, MethodGeneratorFactory etc. Each of these can then be specified for Java, Groovy, C++ etc.
It is not intended that this redesigned VE is an alternative to the existing Eclipse VE but rather that it demonstrates the possibilities for Eclipse VE to become a more general framework for building Visual Editors.
This redesigned VE was used as the basis for a Groovy VE. At present this Groovy VE only parses and generates a limited range of Groovy scripts that use the SwingBuilder class. However it can potentially be extended so that a wider range of Groovy scripts can be processed.
I am happy to send you a copy of the Not Just Java plugin so that you test it out, as well as the analysis and design paper.
I am also very happy to help with documentation for VE in general. I had to do a lot of delving into VE for this plugin and others and know my way around parts of it very well, particularly the Codegen.
Cathy Scott
