What other features would you like to see in IntelliJ ?

[Hussein Baghdadi]

It is hard to start a topic about Java IDE without starting a war of choices, so my question is targeted IntelliJ users.
Do you think IntelliJ now is the perfect IDE ? What are the other features that you will like to see in IntelliJ ?
Personally, I didn't find anythings except JSF builder and mmmm, UML designer.
If JetBrains decided to build JSF builder, I think it will the best (like all other JetBrains products).
IntelliJ is really nice IDE to live with, excellent design, awsome UI, tons of features, JSP&XML&CSS support is good, the best Java code editor (I think), and really sexy icons.
IntelliJ == Develope with pleasure !
[ April 12, 2006: Message edited by: John Todd ]

[Tim Holloway]

JSF support has got to be #1. I'd say thay if they don't do that, they're doomed.

My own preferences after that are:

1. Ability to run complex Tomcat runtimes without having to manually invoke an remote debugging session. I carry a fair amount of freight in the context.xml, including security configuration and database definitions and I've yet to find a way to inject an arbitrary context xml file into the IntelliJ internal Tomcat debugging process.

2. Open up the templating process. The macro recorder is a poor substitute for being able to scoop up existing code and turn it into templates, much less edit the templates at a later date. And of course, make it intelligent, so you can do quick subsitutions on common constructs (like DAOs).

3. Come up with some better shortcuts. "itoa" or "itao" or whatever it is is NOT intuitive for iterations, nor is the need to remember CTRL-J vs. CTRL-Space. One of my favorite things to do with a certain other IDE is simply type "for", hit CTRL-Space, and have it drop down a list of (appropriate!) iterator expressions to choose from.

[Andreas Schaefer]

AspectJ support.

[levani dvalishvili]

my choices would be:
multi-project support,
easy way setting up pallet like view that can be fueld with any TLD(s) and also let that TLD be base of the intellisence autocomplete for JSP(s) and like pages ...
not to eager for JSF support personally, more would be things like :
J2EE app server integrations Support, incremental (re-)deployments,decent HTTP monitor.
built in profiler,

[Sanjaya Sugiarto]

UML support (standard UML 2.0): only class diagramm and/or sequence diagram would be enough

JSF/Struts support: the pictorial config.xml (like JDeveloper)

Better UI designer

There are indeed plugins, but they comes with some negatives:
SimpleUML: works great but neither UML 1.x nor 2.0 standard
Struts plugin: buggy

[Tony Morris]

I once sat down to write a plugin for Intellij IDEA. I spent hours and hours trying to find some solid documentation to no avail. After posting to forums and whatever else I could, the best response I got was "take an existing plugin and adapt it to your needs". This is not good enough - granted, I know many developers who are prepared to hack software, and willingly do so every day "until it works" - however, I am not prepared to take some existing implementation of software requirements and morph/hack it into my own.

I don't know if this process still remains, but if it does, it is at least a severe problem for me.

[Gregg Bolinger]

Originally posted by Tim Holloway:
JSF support has got to be #1. I'd say thay if they don't do that, they're doomed.

Oh come now. Doomed? Hardly. And what kind of JSF support do you suppose they should add? D&D like their Swing panel builder? What implementation(s) do they support? What about Facelets? Would they then need an HTML WYSIWYG editor? Personally, I find JSF in a horrible state for true application support that doesn't vendor lock you into a specfic version anway. The best one I have seen (not used) is JDeveloper. Creator is horrible, IMHO.

If it were my vote I'd beg they don't add any special JSF support beyond *maybe* a visual glimpse at the faces-context.xml and what they already have with their JSP/taglib assist support.

IDEA is an advanced editor, not an IDE. And I hope/pray/beg it stays that way. Nice and sleak.

[Tim Holloway]

Originally posted by Gregg Bolinger:


Oh come now. Doomed? Hardly. And what kind of JSF support do you suppose they should add? D&D like their Swing panel builder? What implementation(s) do they support? What about Facelets? Would they then need an HTML WYSIWYG editor? Personally, I find JSF in a horrible state for true application support that doesn't vendor lock you into a specfic version anway. The best one I have seen (not used) is JDeveloper. Creator is horrible, IMHO.

If it were my vote I'd beg they don't add any special JSF support beyond *maybe* a visual glimpse at the faces-context.xml and what they already have with their JSP/taglib assist support.

IDEA is an advanced editor, not an IDE. And I hope/pray/beg it stays that way. Nice and sleak.

Doomed. There are just too many other features that Eclipse does "well enough" for a pay-IDE to compete unless it can do JSF. While not everybody loves JSF, it is a very productive way to do UI-intensive webapps. And there's nothing that sells a product to management like something that looks like monkeys can use it. :roll:

There are 2 parts to JSF support I consider critical.

1. "WSYIWG" web page design for JSF. Even the rather feeble stuff that JDeveloper offers would do for a start.

2. Intelligent editing for JSF EL. They're halfway their with the JSTL EL, but JSF requires just a little more.

As for implementation support, JSF is supposed to be an open-ended component system. What JSF implementation I use shouldn't be hard-coded into IntelliJ. I won't even go near IntelliJ's Swing stuff.

Edititing the XML files is the one thing I think you can get for any J2EE IDE (or for that matter standalone). As for me, I learned how to edit XML long ago without resorting to dialog boxes (though I'll cheerfully accept an assist from DTD-aware editors). You could make a selling point of a "draw-the-connections" GUI editor (monkeys again), but I can live without that. Page layout support is much more important to me.

Your definition of IDE must be different than mine. Mine is "Intelligent Design Environment". That is, editors that anticipate, integrated debuggers, project management support, etc. I've used dumber products than IntelliJ and called them IDEs.
[ April 13, 2006: Message edited by: Tim Holloway ]

[Gregg Bolinger]

Tim,
While not everybody loves JSF, it is a very productive way to do UI-intensive webapps.

[momentary hijack]If you don't love JSF, it's not very productive. So how true is that statement? I don't hate JSF. I just think it could have been, could be better[/momentary hijack]

You are assuming that the majority of current and potential IntelliJ users are going to commit to JSF. I am assuming that is probably not the case. There's not much we can do to prove the point in either direction. So I won't even try.

When I think of an IDE I think of code generation, WYSIWYG editors for everything, Database integration, UML tools, profilers, Http monitors, and lots of nasty things that take total control away from the developer. I think of VS.NET, Eclipse with 100 plugins, JDeveloper, WSAD, etc.

When I Think of Advanced Editors I think of code assistance, smart, sleak, streamlined, code friendly (be it java, c#, whatever). I think of IntelliJ, JCreator, Eclipse with 2 plugins, JEdit, etc.

I guess it boils down to I like IntelliJ just the way it is. I see room for a few improvements/enhancements here and there, but not features. I say if someone wants JSF support (WYSIWYG editor) inside IDEA, make/find a plugin. UML, plugin, Database browser, plugin. Granted, if that is part of the core distro, I don't have to use it. But I am 99% sure it will add enough bloat and memory consumption just sitting there that I will notice.

[Ernest Friedman-Hill]

Ya wanna hear something weird? Some people write Java code that isn't a Web app! Some people have written millions of lines of Java code and never used JSF!

[Gregg Bolinger]

Originally posted by Ernest Friedman-Hill:
Ya wanna hear something weird? Some people write Java code that isn't a Web app! Some people have written millions of lines of Java code and never used JSF!

Amen brother. I long for those days.
[ April 14, 2006: Message edited by: Gregg Bolinger ]

[Hussein Baghdadi]

Yes, You are right Gregg.
IntelliJ is an advanced editor, not and IDE (this is the first time I realize this )
Maybe JSF builder should be part of JetBrains project, Fabric.
BTW, there is no more news about Fabric from JetBrains, is it dead ?

[Ken Blair]

Originally posted by Ernest Friedman-Hill:
Ya wanna hear something weird? Some people write Java code that isn't a Web app! Some people have written millions of lines of Java code and never used JSF!

Well I haven't written millions but I have written tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of lines and never once written a web app so I couldn't agree more.

EDIT: You know, the irony that IntelliJ itself is an example just hit me.
[ April 14, 2006: Message edited by: Ken Blair ]

[Gregg Bolinger]

Originally posted by John Todd:
BTW, there is no more news about Fabric from JetBrains, is it dead ?

Is this what you were talking about?

[Bear Bibeault]

Originally posted by Ernest Friedman-Hill:
Ya wanna hear something weird? Some people write Java code that isn't a Web app! Some people have written millions of lines of Java code and never used JSF!

Wanna hear something even weirder? Some people only write web apps and still wouldn't touch JSF with a ten foot pole.

Saying IntelliJ would be doomed becasue it wouldn't appeal to an extremely niche audience in the Java community is a bit of a hyperbole, don't you think?

[levani dvalishvili]

I agree, I find JSF more of a business need for some companies and a push to make it a allaround buzzword, I dont find anything in it that can be a new base , "a node" or a movement ..... (like it was when Craig came out with Struts ) in reality I find JSF just another product not the greatest one either .... and thats why it should not be included as a strong empisized entity in IntelliJ,I think.

[Hussein Baghdadi]

No, I mean this :
http://www.jetbrains.com/fabrique/index.html
It it Fabrique not Fabric

[Gregg Bolinger]

Originally posted by John Todd:
No, I mean this :
http://www.jetbrains.com/fabrique/index.html
It it Fabrique not Fabric

From the sounds of that little spill it sounds like those framework junkies will get all sorts of features added to IDEA.

[Nidheesh Puthalath]

I would like to add the following feature requirements to the lists.

1. Full J2ME support with debugging.
2. Support for Blackberry JDE in J2ME support module.
3. Display the method body completely in a popup window when user do CTRL+MOUSE OVER on a method call.(similar to eclipse)
4. UI Designer for J2ME UI's like Form, Text Field etc.


Thanks
Nidheesh