[Edu-sig] 'Leo' => folding editor for Literate Programming

[Jason Cunliffe]

hmm... A thread on Flashcoders list [Flash ActionScript programming] about
external editors introduced an interesting one: Leo


"""I know that a lot of folks have the same problems as i do - commenting
code. I've found that 'outline editors' can really help with this kind
of thing, and one that is excellent is Leo. It supports 'literate
programming', but don't let that scare you! It just makes it easier to
create the docs and the code at the same time.
http://personalpages.tds.net/~edream/front.html

Check out the online tutorial, and see what you think - its helped with
the development and debugging of both python and flash projects.
http://www.evisa.com/e/sbooks/leo/sbframetoc_ns.htm

There is a quite active forum @ leo's source forge home too.
http://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?forum_id=10226

Runs on all kinds of platforms, Open Source, etc etc...
"""


Here's a helpful testimonial also about it:
http://personalpages.tds.net/~edream/SpeedReam.html

"In actual practice, this organizational 'history' is so powerful that I can't
begin to describe it. A reverse learning curve happens when an engineer gets a
Leo file that already has the 'interrupt time sensitive' routines grouped
together by the last unfortunate soul who had to work on them. There may not be
any more written documentation, but the knowledge contained in the structure can
be breathtaking. It is certainly timesaving. I find this particularly true in my
own case. Often I'll look at some code that seems totally unfamiliar and think
'what idiot wrote this crap'. Then I'll look at the version control comments and
realize that I wrote the crap. Then for sure I know the documentation is
non-existent, but the clones I used to develop it are still there, and they
always serve to refresh my memory in an indescribable way."

......................

PythonWin has nice folding editor because it is based on Scintilla.
And PythonCard also?

Python's implicit readability, docstrings, and white space indentation make it
especially suitable for folding editors. Leo seems to go further with this than
others. The idea invites some edu-sig insights.

I am mostly suspicious of editors which junk up my screen with clunky symbols,
like those ghastly early HTML ones. But also a happy veteran/fan of folding
'outline' editors. I had one {in EPROM} on my first computer - a Radio Shack
Tandy Model 100 laptop. Since the screen was only a 8 lines high, it made
especially ingenious good sense!

What do you think?

./Jason
______________________________________________
Jason Cunliffe [NOMADICS: Director art+design]
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