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[Commentary] Servoy 4.0 (Eclipse based) Impressions

  • Commentary

Since Servoy World 2006 in Boston we've been hearing a lot about the switch to the Eclipse IDE that Servoy will be implementing with version 4.0. I think the biggest question in all of our minds with this...to put it mildly... *ahem* ... HUGE EVOLUTIONARY DEFYING CHANGE is: will it still be the Servoy I know and love?

No

Will I have to learn Servoy all over again?

Yes

Will I have to learn how to create layouts all over again?

Yes

Will I have to learn how to code all over again?

Yes

Argh!! Who can I throw tomatoes at?

Hint: his head is large and bald

[image unavailable: Baby]

(I could only dig up a baby picture)

But before you do that latter, ask yourself these questions:

Have you ever wanted to....

- work on multiple projects at the same time?
- work on different versions of the same project?
- merge the work of multiple developers?
- track all changes by date and developer?
- see all of your methods in one file?
- debug your code while running web client?
- set breakpoints by conditional expressions?
- remember breakpoints between sessions?
- duplicate a layout and all references to methods at the same time?
- duplicate a layout between solutions?
- assign a global method to the same event on many forms at once?
- create layouts based on another layout?
- assign your own colors and fonts to the method editor?
- easily see associations between various objects?
- group items in the property window by type?
- easily find object locations?
- organize the IDE to your liking?

If you answer "NO" to all of these questions, good news for you -- nothing will change for you with Servoy 4.0 except that things will look just a little bit different. You won't have to learn how to create layouts or code all over again. And all of your solutions from version 2.x and up will work as before. I guess you can throw tomatoes just for the fun of it though.

If you answer "YES!" to any of these questions, then you are in for a whole new world of discovery. All the new options and power that Eclipse integration brings to Servoy is a bit mind boggling at first glance. But you can start with what you are familiar with and be up to speed in no time I am quite confident. Watching Jan Blok click around today made me drool -- I can't wait to get my hands on it!

Look for the first beta release mid-January 2008.

Comments (6)

Jeff Bader
Very much looking forward to 4...I attended the webinar and was very impressed. Great work Servoy! Just a reminder though for anyone who has not picked this link up from the forum, many of the features stated above are now possible because Servoy Developer features version control and a more powerful editor. You can get a lot of the same features in 3.5 by using an open-source version control system put together by Ryan Parrish. You can find it here: http://code.google.com/p/svcs/ Why use version control? - work on multiple projects at the same time - work on different versions of the same project - merge the work of multiple developers - track all changes by date and developer - assign your own colors and fonts to the method editor - set breakpoints by conditional expressions - remember breakpoints between sessions etc...
Brenda Cusick
Who gave you Bob's baby picture? Isn't he cute?!
Bob Cusick
Hey David - thanks for publishing my baby photo! I must say that I disagree with you on a couple of points: Will it still be the Servoy I know and love? YES. Of course! Everything will still work the same way. Will I have to learn Servoy all over again? NO. While the outside editor is a bit different than the current version, you still have all the same tools, functions, SOM, etc. The core is the same - the outside editor will need some orientation. IDEA - why don't you make some new videos that will help people learn the new things in the IDE? Will I have to learn how to create layouts all over again? NO! You won't. It's the same. Choose the icon, choose the fields, done. The difference is now you can drag a dataprovider from the list to the form, and also drag a method and it will create a button. But all the stuff you already know how to do will still work. Will I have to learn how to code all over again? NO! It's the same as it is today. The only difference is that you have access to all your methods in one place, rather than having them in individual tabs all over the place. As always - we value your input and commentaries! Cheers, Bob Cusick Managing Director, Servoy USA
Tom Parry
I have used Eclipse for about 3-4 years now for Java development and have longed for the same in Servoy developer! I miss the great refactoring that can take place (although this might not be available on initial releases...). From the preview that I saw, it appeared that a "standard" approach to using Eclipse has been taken (aka perspectives) and that is familiar territory. Care will have to be taken on the file based approach because one can get into confusion if strict attention is not paid to file naming conventions and upper/lower case usage! I would love for Servoy to consider their "modules" be superceded by "packages" or at least their naming conventions (dotted directory hierarchical) - because it is so much easier to organize.This is especially useful for plugin naming - to avoid name clashing. As for being able to debug a web client - finally I should be able to "decipher" why some construct in the GUI or the methods causes grief and the resultant "ERROR on loading" message. Despite all the assurances to Servoy being the "same" there is a little learning curve to master on the Eclipse IDE itself. For example did you know that there is a database explorer plugin (free) that one can use? I decided a couple of years ago to make my life a little easier by subscribing to "MyEclipse" rather than do my own administration for Eclipse. Some of you may want to investigate that as an option (I prefer the professional version). Regards, Tom Parry, Prospect IT Consulting Inc., Ottawa, Canada
Steve Taximan
I think I am about to come into Servoy at a very exciting time. Sure, some of the Eclipse features like multiple developer capability and styled method editor don't have a lot of appeal for me right now, but all methods in one file, duplication of layouts with methods and the others sound great - even to me who has still not started the official business of doing the rewrite of my 100+ table taxi solution. I see parallels between FM going from v6 to v7 and the angst that it generated amongst developers. That, however was a major structural change, while it sounds like the move from Servoy 3.5 to 4 will allow the development environment to become much more efficient and productive. When I did my rewrite from v6, I skipped v7 totally and went straight to v8 - oh how I wish I had bitten the bullet then and gone straight to Servoy v2, as it was then. Anyhow, I've upgraded the last of my clients to v8, and will (shortly) be starting the complete rewrite. Can't wait ;)
Ben Savignac
I know the feeling, Steve - been there done that! My middle name is 'The Migrator slash Rewriter' as of now... ;~)