[1333] in java-interest
Re: The OO-Browser now contains Java code browsing support.
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (David Rothwell)
Wed Aug 30 13:01:42 1995
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 1995 23:35:09 +1000
To: java-interest@java.sun.com, weiner@oakhill.sps.mot.com
From: David Rothwell <davidr@magna.com.au>
>The OO-Browser is a freely available, professional, multi-language
>object-oriented code browser for UNIX platforms. (It also supports C and
>Lisp code browsing.) It includes dumb terminal, X and NEXTSTEP browsing
>interfaces. It requires GNU Emacs or XEmacs to run but can be configured to
>use other editors and viewers for editing or browsing code.
>
>Included below is a summary of its features. It is available from:
>
> ftp://ftp.cs.uiuc.edu/pub/xemacs/infodock/oobr-2.9.7.tar.gz
>
>No support is provided but there is a mailing list as described in the
>BR-README file contained in the archive. Since all source code is included,
>you are free to find your own sources of support.
>
<text removed>
>
Sounds like a great tool to re-implement in Java. Then the browser would be
portable to _all_ the platforms Java supports and could be an integral part
of a Java IDE. Implementation in Java could support the concept of 'plug-in'
support for other languages or features - by dynamically loading Java
classes that describe the language structure or desired feature....Who knows
you might be able to browse objects that are located on the net...
Just a thought...any takers...
>
>#
># SUMMARY: Summary of OO-Browser features
>#
># AUTHOR: Bob Weiner
>#
># ORIG-DATE: 15-Oct-90
># LAST-MOD: 23-Aug-95 at 15:56:13 by Bob Weiner
>#
># Copyright (C) 1990-1995 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
># See the file BR-COPY for license information.
>#
># This file is part of the OO-Browser.
>
>OO-Browser Features
>*******************
>
>The OO-Browser is a multi-windowed, interactive object-oriented class browser
>similar in use to the well-known Smalltalk browsers. It is unique in a
>number of respects foremost of which is that it works well with a
>multiplicity of object-oriented languages. It provides both textual
>views within an editor and graphical views under the X window system.
>
>
>* Support for all popular OO Languages on UNIX
>----------------------------------------------
>
> ** Contains support for Eiffel, C++, Objective-C, Common Lisp and its
> Object System (CLOS), Java, and Smalltalk class browsing. Additionally,
> support for browsing large amounts of material in Info format by node
> name (a popular online documentation format with cross references and
> hierarchical structure) is included.
>
> ** Method browsing is supported for C++, Objective-C, Eiffel, Java and
> CLOS. CLOS supports browsing all elements defined with (def*
> constructs. In-source feature browsing is also supported for all of
> these languages. One simply selects a feature name to jump to its
> corresponding source. Method name overloading in C++ and inherited
> feature renaming in Eiffel are fully supported.
>
> ** C code browsing is supported for C++, Objective-C and C source code.
>
> ** Objective-C category and formal protocol browsing are supported.
>
> ** C++ parameterized template classes and methods are supported.
>
> ** Immediate switching among languages is allowed. One can switch
> from Eiffel browsing to C++ browsing in an instant, if so desired.
> Or simply run two OO-Browsers side by side.
>
> ** Multiple inheritance support is built-in, where applicable.
>
> ** Statistics on classes and Environments may be displayed.
>
> ** Language-specific class information may be shown. Presently this
> feature is supported only for Eiffel. A listing of class parents,
> attributes, routines and best guess (highly accurate) list of
> routine calls may be displayed. Outputs from the Eiffel 'short'
> and 'flat' commands may also be shown.
>
>
>* For Serious Use
>----------------------
>
> ** Library (stable) and System (in development) classes may be
> maintained and listed separately or together. Any number of
> Libraries and Systems may be combined for listing in a single
> Environment. There are no fixed limits on the number of classes per
> Environment nor on the number of Environments that may be browsed.
>
> ** All source code, over 400 kilobytes, is included and is heavily
> documented.
>
>
>* Ease of Use
>-------------
>
> ** Machine-independent mouse support is included along with an extremely
> intuitive point and click interface that uses just two mouse keys. The
> OO-Browser is pre-configured for use with the X window system, NEXTSTEP,
> Sunview or Apollo's DM window system under InfoDock, Emacs V19, XEmacs,
> Epoch, and Emacs V18. Online mouse usage help is always one key away.
>
> ** Popup and pulldown command menus are available under InfoDock, Emacs V19
> and XEmacs.
>
> ** The OO-Browser help display gives short descriptions of all of
> the commands and key bindings available in the browser. By clicking
> on any such selection, the corresponding command is executed.
>
> ** One may also click on class names to see ancestors, descendants,
> or the class itself. Just select a class name and the OO-Browser
> immediately will display or edit the class' source. Once a class
> file has been loaded, one can quickly switch to it by selection
> from a menu of such files.
>
> ** For a number of languages, one may also select a feature
> (method) name or declaration and move directly to the definition
> of the feature. The browser accounts for the complexities of member name
> overloading in C++ and unlimited feature renaming in Eiffel so that you
> need not. Just click on a declaration and watch the browser display jump
> to the proper defintion.
>
> ** Jump back to a previously visited class or feature by selecting from a
> list of recently visited ones.
>
> ** OO-Browser commands may also be invoked from the keyboard, allowing
> unrestricted use via standard terminal interfaces.
>
>* Speed
>-------
>
> ** Building Environments is fast compared to many other tools and browser
> startup once an Environment has been built is very fast. Response times
> on workstations are excellent; for example, in one test case, less than
> two real seconds were required to display a set of complex inheritance
> graphs involving over 400 classes.
>
>
>* Flexibility
>-------------
>
> ** X and NEXTSTEP hierarchy display browsers are included. They provide
> views of class inheritance structure and lexically included elements,
> which allows for quick random access to entire Environments. A click on
> a class or element name immediately jumps to it in the editor, providing
> rapid, visual browsing. One can pop up several graphical browsers to
> gain several views of classes in the same or in multiple environments.
> All graphical browsers can communicate with a single textual browser, so
> one can quickly display and edit classes from different environments
> (even different languages).
>
> ** The OO-Browser uses class source code only, hence no compiler is
> necessary for proper browser operation. This allows one to explore
> class libraries without the need for additional tools.
>
> ** Class inheritance networks may be displayed. Either a single
> inheritance level (parents or children) or the entire inheritance
> network (ancestors or descendants) for a set of classes may be shown.
>
> ** Class files may be added, replaced or deleted one at a time or as a
> group by specifying a root directory below which all class files are
> found, including those in subdirectories.
>
> ** A menu of class files can be displayed for random access to specific
> code modules.
>
> ** On startup, the OO-Browser lists all currently known classes within a
> particular Environment. Any desired classes may be found by searching
> or by matching a regular expression or string to the set of class names.
> This may be done repeatedly to achieve an "and"-type relational query
> effect.
>
> ** The number of listing windows is limited only by the screen width and
> the width setting used for listing windows.
>
> ** The OO-Browser is adaptable to any class-based object-oriented language.
>
>
>* Editor Integration
>--------------------
>
> ** The OO-Browser works with the powerful, freely distributable, GNU
> Emacs editor; it works on any UNIX system display supported by Emacs.
> It is also possible to use alternative editors to view or to edit source
> code displayed by the browser.
>
> ** All OO-Browser outputs are text which may be edited as desired or
> saved to files.
>
> ** OO-Browser functions may be used standalone within the editor
> without using the multi-windowed browser interface. One useful
> example is to point to a class name such as a parent class in the
> text of another class and have the parent's source appear in an
> editable fashion.
>
>
>----- End Included Message -----
>
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>
--------------------------------------------
David Rothwell (davidr@magna.com.au)
Tel: +61 2 457-8053 (ah) +61 2 259-3822 (bh)
Fax: +61 2 259-9844
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