Re: Emacs contributions, C and Lisp

[Óscar Fuentes]

Eli Zaretskii <address@hidden> writes:

[snip]

> Suppose we did have a way getting the necessary information from GCC
> that is not in the form of an AST: what such an information package
> would need to include to allow the functionality users expect from a
> modern IDE?  Could someone come up with a list of information items
> that would be needed?  Given such a list, we could try to discuss
> various alternatives of getting the info from GCC.

This looks like an excellent approach for wasting time while
compromising the future usefulness of the resulting work at the same
time.

The AST is right there, we just need a method for accessing it on an
effective way from Emacs. You propose to transform or filter the AST.
This means coming with an intermediate step for throwing away
information. Obviously devising and implementing such intermediate step
is far from trivial, but the worst part of it is the "throwing away
information" aspect. The field of compiler-based IDE features is a
thriving field, a magnet for inventive individuals. This is not about
copying the features of some other IDE, it is about providing a basis
por making Emacs the home of those inventive individuals that could put
Emacs on the top of IDEs again. Having an intentionally crippled
compiler-provided info set is sending a "go away" message.