Re: Searching the headers in Xcode (Re: [ANN] Xcode + Leopard at WWDC this year)
Re: Searching the headers in Xcode (Re: [ANN] Xcode + Leopard at WWDC this year)
- Subject: Re: Searching the headers in Xcode (Re: [ANN] Xcode + Leopard at WWDC this year)
- From: Steve Checkoway <email@hidden>
- Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2006 13:31:20 -0700
On Jul 21, 2006, at 7:52 AM, Laurence Harris wrote:
IMO, this is exactly the kind of thinking that is responsible for
Xcode (and other developer tools I've seen) often having non-
intuitive, awkward -- and dare I say -- geeky interfaces. It's the
notion that programmers don't need, appreciate, or even want
software that's easy to use. That we in revel in the fact that we
can use such tools while mere mortals would never be able to grok
them. I remember years ago encountering people who genuinely
believed that PCs were better than Macs because they were harder to
use. I didn't buy that reasoning then and I don't buy it now. Maybe
I've missed something, but I noticed anyone saying Xcode's Find
window is the greatest thing since sliced bread. The comments I've
seen suggest that most people have some issues with it and some
even hate it. How is it that Apple, the leader in providing the
best computer user experience, turns out something like that?
Honestly, I've never had a problem with it. I'd never opened the
options window before. I can't speak for Apple or others who hate it.
Yes, I'd heard that bit about PeeCees being better because they were
harder to use.
On Jul 20, 2006, at 8:34 PM, Steve Checkoway wrote:
If you're searching the Carbon headers, all you need to do is have
the framework included and tell it to look in the Frameworks. They
don't contain source so you're going to be search the headers.
Still not like having a checkbox. Still requires accessing a second
window, which I do not like for multiple reasons. Furthermore,
there's a "Source files only" radio button in the Options window.
Why not a "Header files only" radio button as well?
No it doesn't. Just select Frameworks from the first popup menu. I've
used that many times, all without ever opening a second find window.
True, but how many sets can you add to that popup before using it
requires more thinking and effort than clicking a checkbox? Or,
from another angle, if some common options were implemented as
checkboxes, for example, I'd need fewer items in that menu and that
would make it simpler to use. I already have seven items in that
menu and I've just started using Xcode seriously. I can easily see
adding at least four or five more, for example, to search subsets
of source files related to specific features in my application, and
given that defining searches in Xcode relies on this mechanism as
heavily as it does, I won't be surprised if I come up with several
more. So I anticipate at least a dozen and possibly twice that. If
I could reduce that number I'd see it as a good thing. Part of my
problem with this design is that I just like to see the settings
I'm using. When those settings are in a separate window and all I
see is the name of a set, I can't see the actual settings.
You're talking about defining find criteria for specific projects. I
don't think it was intended for that use (but it clearly works). How
many checkboxes would you need to be able to specify looking for your
files that are grouped by feature? How many more for my projects?
Maybe I'll get used to it and find it less cumbersome after a time,
but it seems others have used it for while and are still not
enamored with it. So at this point I'm still rooting for
incorporating the Options window into the main window and giving
the search results their own windows.
I see no reason why the result need their own window. I use that for
find and replace and I want to be able to select the files I want
replaced and click the button. I don't see how that'd work without
duplicating the find/replace text boxes in the results window (or at
least the replace box).
And finally, I think the Options button should be next to the sets
popup since it's what you use to edit that popup, and the Find
button should be where the Options button is now because the lower
right corner is the standard location for the action button in a
window like this.
Apple loves to hear about how they can make their products better. If
you feel like it would improve the user experience to move some
buttons around, by all means tell them. Personally, I just stab
whatever keyboard shortcut it is (muscle memory and all), type in my
search query and smack return. If it searches 200 files more than I
really needed, well, it did it faster than it would take me to take
my hands off the keyboard and click/unclick a bunch of checkboxes
that were configured for the previous search.
--
Steve Checkoway
Attachment:
smime.p7s
Description: S/MIME cryptographic signature
_______________________________________________
Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored.
Xcode-users mailing list (email@hidden)
Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription:
This email sent to email@hidden