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Anatomy of an IDE

In the form of a pro/con list, as derived from @munificent. I'd wanted to start one of the these, and @munificent's is a good bootstrap.

Platform

  • cloud-hosted / web-based / browser-based
  • locally installable
  • language-server driven
  • language-specific IDE.

Your IDE will not succeed. Here is why it will not succeed.

Adoption misconceptions

  • Syntax highlighting is what makes programming difficult
  • Garbage collection is free
  • Computers have infinite memory
  • Nobody really needs:
    • a REPL
    • debugger support
    • a local filesystem
    • to interact with code not written in your IDE's preferred language
  • The entire world speaks 7-bit ASCII
  • Scaling up to large software projects will be easy
  • Convincing programmers to adopt a new IDE will be easy
  • Convincing programmers to adopt a language-specific IDE will be easy
  • Programmers tolerate learning new keybindings
  • There is only one operating system and it is
    • OS X
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • iOS
    • Android
    • the DOM

Feature Opinionations, or Misses

  • vi keybindings
  • emacs keybindings
  • Syntax highlighting
  • User-configurable indentation
  • Macros
    • Written in JavaScript
      • but only JSON
    • Written in a scripting language you made up
      • which is a Lisp
  • A windowing system
  • Version control
    • Only using git
    • only using github.com
    • not using git
    • using an RCS of your own devising
  • Its own platform-independent look-and-feel
    • that was designed by a programmer
    • based on yesterday's design fads
    • applied inconsistently
  • A look and feel specific to one operating system
    • that was last widely used in 1989
    • and was known to cause seizures

Heuristic Dispositions

  • Programmers should not need to understand CSS to change their font
  • The most significant program written using your IDE is itself
  • The most significant program written using your IDE isn't even itself
  • Graphical programming presumes programmers can draw pictures better than they can type words
  • The implementation is closed-source
    • covered by patents
    • not owned by you
  • The DOM is not an application framework
  • The name of your IDE makes it impossible to find on Google
  • Your IDE assumes JavaScript can be made infinitely fast
  • You seem to think static analysis is worthless
  • JavaScript is not faster than C, C++, or Java
  • The DOM is not a windowing framework
  • It crashes on any file larger than 32k
  • You provide no way for users to run the program they are editing
  • You require the user to check in code before it can be run
  • The IDE crashes if you look at it funny
  • You don't seem to understand basic optimization techniques
  • You think a single string is an acceptable data type for a text editor

Marketing Missteps

  • Unsupported claims of increased productivity
  • Unsupported claims of greater "ease of use"
  • Obviously faked screenshots
  • No one really believes that your IDE is faster than:
    • vi
    • emacs
    • Eclipse
    • Visual Studio
    • IntelliJ
    • Notepad
  • Rejection of orthodox user interface design without justification
  • Rejection of usability principles without justification
  • Rejection of established platform conventions without justification
  • Rejection of basic user interaction without justification

Comparisons

  • Your example workflow would be one key command in: _______________________
  • We already have an IDE in the browser
  • We already have an IDE that can be scripted using
    • Python
    • JavaScript
    • A Lisp
    • Lua
  • You have reinvented vi but worse
  • You have reinvented emacs but worse
  • You have reinvented TextMate but worse
  • You have reinvented Eclipse but worse
  • You have reinvented Notepad but worse
  • You have reinvented Notebad better, but that's still no justification
  • You have reinvented ed but non-ironically

In conclusion, this is what I think of you:

  • You have some interesting ideas, but this won't fly.
  • This is a bad IDE, and you should feel bad for creating it.
  • Programming in this IDE is an adequate punishment for inventing it.