[Qt-creator] QtCreator vs QDevelop Features?

[Andre Poenitz]

On Fri, Nov 21, 2008 at 10:25:36AM -1000, Victor Sardina wrote:
> > The problem with tabs is that it does not scale well. You can see at most
> > ten or twelve files that way, beyond that tabs are basically useless as
> > they almost always show the "wrong" files as soon as your "working set"
> > contains more than a few dozen files.s
> 
> I can see the rational behind it. Notwithstanding, if we consider its
> wide target audience, then perhaps the QtCreator team should still
> consider providing the tabs layout, at least as an option. So, for
> instance, if your project has less than twelve files you can use tabs,
> or go back to the default pull down menu offered as default otherwise.

I'll keep that as suggestion, but I can't promise it will be acted upon
;-)
 
> > And having to change habits depending on the size of the current project
> > is not really a nice prospect either...
> 
> Offering a tabs option would allow everyone to tailor QtCreator to his
> own habits or not, depending on need rather than strictly on personal
> preferences.
> 
> My original suggestions regarding the tabs et al. has also a lot to do
> with the fact that sooner or later people would end up comparing
> QtCreator with other available IDEs. Accommodating people's habits and
> the IDE appearance definitely weigh in heavily when people decide to
> stick with an IDE (unfortunately sometimes). In my opinion, the Qt
> toolkit offers the possibility of allowing you to accommodate virtually
> any GUI layout. You should perhaps see it not only as a practical issue,
> but also as a marketing tool.

That's certainly a valid point. However...

..the usual refutation goes along the following lines:

  With a linear increase in option you'd get typically an exponential
  increase in possible option combinations, most of which end up untested
  as unit tests of component interactions are difficult to set up and
  are rarely done in practice.

  As a consequence, the shipped software is more bloated and less
  reliable for any individual developer than it needs to be.

That's not saying that for a particular feature there must not be more
than one option -- especially if there's non of the options is clearly
superior.  But it _is_ saying that limiting options does not have to be
bad for overall user experience even if it raises the bar on entry a bit.

Regards,
Andre'