[news.eclipse.dsdp.rtsc] Path-related Errors

[bgriffis@xxxxxx (Brad Griffis)]

I've been discussing this topic with Dave and wanted to make it more 
visible.  Here are what I *think* we've agreed to, though I'm sure Dave 
will chime in if I've misrepresented him!

This all relates to the following bug:

https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=277233

I was concerned/disappointed that the fix did not include a check for 
paths on XDCPATH with no valid packages on them.  The RTSC team did not 
want this added because they didn't want builds to take an excessive 
amount of time to fail.

Supposedly this check and others are part of the current "Path tool".  I 
checked this behavior in the past and it didn't catch these issues, but 
supposedly it has been fixed now.  The other major problem with the path 
tool is that you have to add all your paths to it, i.e. that's one more 
thing to do as you're trying to figure out why your project won't build.  
So this new proposal focuses on making it really easy to launch the Path 
tool with the proper paths ready to go.

Short term solution
* Step 1:  The Path tool needs an option to fully specify the path at the 
command line.
* Step 2:  The error message from configuro should be modified to include 
directions that tell someone to copy/paste to the command prompt such that 
it launches the Path tool with the proper path without having to do any 
monkeying around.  Just copy, paste, enter and it should be running and 
fully configured.

Long term solution
* Longer term it would be nice to have something integrated into Eclipse 
such that you can double-click your "package not found" error and have the 
path tool automatically launched and fully configured.
* That solution can be extended such that any XDC related error can be 
double-clicked and you can get further info, etc.

Other comments/suggestions are welcome.  I hope Dave and the team will 
commit to getting my short-term solution out the door ASAP since 
path-issues are a real thorn in the side of newbies to RTSC.