Dreaming of new generation IDE

[Adam Tauno Williams]

On Wed, 2010-02-03 at 14:10 +0300, Vladimir Ignatov wrote:
> Hello,
> I am sitting here for quite some time, but usually keep silent ;-) I
> use Python since 2003 both "professionally" and for my hobby projects
> and love it a much.
> I notice however, that "maintaining" existing/older python code is may
> be not so enjoyable task. It may be even harder than supporting old
> code written in some type of "static" languages (like Java or C++).
> Surely "dynamic" nature of python comes with price.

Yes, it certainly does.  Not that you'll get many Pythonistas to confess
to that fact.  Somehow those who brag about the readability and
expressiveness of source code just cannot admit that:

class.method(sting name, int count) 

- is *obviously* more expressive than -

class.method(name, count)

Oh, well.  

This is obvious even in the Python documentation itself where one
frequently asks oneself "Uhh... so what is parameter X supposed to be...
a string... a list... ?"

Not knocking Python;  Python is great.  I maintain a rapidly growing
Python code base.  But the above is almost comically funny sometimes
[sand.insert_head(pythonista)].

> Finally I develop a feeling that strong instrumentation / tools can
> bring us the best of two worlds. That I am dreaming on is an absolute
> new type/class of IDE suitable for Python and potentially for other
> dynamic-type languages. Instead of current text-oriented IDEs, it
> should be a database-centric and resemble current CAD systems instead
> of being just "fancy text editor". Source text should be an output
> product of that CAD and not a "source material" itself.

Ugh, please NO!  This has been attempted many many times in many
environments - it always fails *terribly*.

> Well. I understand that it is a very ambitious and experimental stuff.
> Great efforts and motivation needed even to get something "runnable".
> So I am looking for someone to get in kind of "virtual partnership".
> If someone interesting it that soft of stuff, I would like to talk and
> discuss this system.