Re: suggestions for documentation integration
Re: suggestions for documentation integration
- Subject: Re: suggestions for documentation integration
- From: Jonathan Hess <email@hidden>
- Date: Tue, 4 Dec 2007 15:27:53 -0800
On Dec 4, 2007, at 12:50 PM, Matt Neuburg wrote:
Sorry to keep harping on this, but I've now come to the second side
of this
issue, which is Interface Builder. Here I was all looking forward to
the
spanking new IB, and once again I'm just flat out disappointed at the
failure to move forward to usability with respect to integration of
the
docs. Interface Builder has all these little checkboxes and things
where you
specify configuration settings for interface objects (such as the
Deferred
checkbox in Window Attributes, for instance). And every single one
of these
corresponds to something you can say in code. Well, wouldn't you
think that
by now we'd actually be able to get some info in IB as to *what* it
corresponds to that you can say in code? Like, the tooltip might say
the
actual AppKit name of the setting, or maybe even (get this wild
idea) there
might be a way to jump from the checkbox directly to the
documentation in
Xcode for the corresponding method? As it is, I'm usually left
*guessing*
what the correspondence is between an IB setting and what I'd have
to say in
code to achieve the same effect (and, therefore, what the setting
actually
does). m.
Hey Matt -
While this could certainly be better. Interface Builder actually pulls
documentation data live from Xcode and uses it to populate the
tooltips for most controls in the 'Attributes' inspector.
Here's a screenshot of the window inspector's tooltip for the
'deferred' option from my machine.
Good Luck -
Jon Hess
On Thu, 08 Nov 2007 12:14:45 -0800, Matt Neuburg <email@hidden>
said:
What I was hoping for hasn't come to pass in Xcode 3, so let me try
to
describe what it would be like. I haven't actually got an exact
spec in
mind, but here's the problem for me: the documentation is (1) too
darned
clicky / scrolly, and (2) not integrated with the code you're
actually
working on. The talk of a "research assistant" had raised my hopes,
but my
experience so far is that working with the documentation is no
better than
before.
As an example of (1): Let's say you want to look up something about
NSString. So you type NSString in the Find field. Good, NSString
shows up in
the list below. But to display the documentation for it, you've got
to take
your hands off the keyboard and click on it in the list; there's no
way (as
far as I can work out) to do it with just the keyboard. I'd like to
see a
much slicker, keyboard driven browser that takes you from the
search to the
desired doc more directly (rather like AppKiDo does it, perhaps).
As an example of (2): Why are you here (in the documentation)? It's
usually
because you're looking for some method that you're thinking of
using in your
code. Okay, so you've found it. Now how do you get it *into* your
code? What
I was expecting by now is that every method listing would have a
little
"paste" button next to it (or even some less clicky device) that
would
transfer the template for this method right to the selection point
in the
frontmost code window.
Basically what I'm suggesting is that the designers of the
documentation
window should be studying actual use cases among developers.
Watching me
struggle with Xcode for five minutes would certainly provide a clue!
m.
--
matt neuburg, phd = email@hidden, <http://www.tidbits.com/matt/>
A fool + a tool + an autorelease pool = cool!
One of the 2007 MacTech Top 25: <http://tinyurl.com/2rh4pf>
AppleScript: the Definitive Guide - Second Edition!
<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0596102119>
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