Lightsaber IDE
Now that I have something that works, let's make it better!
The first thing I'd like to do is make the feedback cycle better. I had setup a build file initially
REM make.cmd
@ECHO OFF
IF EXIST bin RMDIR bin /S /Q
MKDIR bin
"%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\csc.exe" /out:bin\DevPad.exe /target:winexe /recurse:src\*.cs /nologo
@ECHO ON
but I soon realized that a simple mistake would lead to me wiping out my IDE and forcing me to go back to notepad or keep a working copy of the IDE around some other place. Also, I would run the
make.cmd and then I'd have to run
bin\DevPad.exe. I decided to update the build file to stage the executable and only when the compile succeeds do I overwrite the actual IDE.
REM make.cmd
@ECHO OFF
IF EXIST obj RMDIR obj /S /Q
MKDIR obj
"%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\csc.exe" /out:obj\DevPad.exe /target:winexe /recurse:src\*.cs /nologo
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO :EoF
IF EXIST bin RMDIR bin /S /Q
MKDIR bin
COPY obj\*.* bin >> NUL
@ECHO ON
To make it a one step process I added an upgrade file
REM upgrayedd.cmd
@ECHO OFF
CALL make.cmd
@ECHO OFF
START bin\DevPad.exe
@ECHO ON
For tidiness I added a clean script
REM clean.cmd
@ECHO OFF
IF EXIST obj RMDIR obj /S /Q
IF EXIST bin RMDIR bin /S /Q
@ECHO ON
One annoyance I was running into a lot, was getting prompted with the save dialog AND the confirmation that it was okay to overwrite the specified file when I wanted to save. By storing the file name as a variable I'd be able to know if I'm working on an existing file or something new.
I also wanted to make my IDE smarter. If I wasn't careful I could lose unsaved changes. I wrote the logic of remembering if there were usaved changes and prompt for when there were out in its own class, UnsavedChanges and then wired it up inside MainForm. I don't like how UnsavedChanges has to have a IWIn32Window and Action (the Save() method) but it works for now.
The final bits of improvements I wanted to add are to show the current file on the form, set the default size to 800x600, to start maximized, and to set the default font new Font("Consolas", 10, FontStyle.Regular, GraphicsUnit.Point, 0).
Subscribe