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Hi,
It cost me 2.000 Euro's to get the new uVision IDE with a 256Kb limit. I use the Keil uVision IDE for a few years with much pleasure. I found some issues with the new version V4.53.0.0 which I will share with you and I also send a ticket to Keil support.
I'm using uVision V4.53.0.0. I would like to share some things that I think should be corrected: - clicking inside a source code, then scroll down, then use ALT+F+S to save the file not always highlights the menu bar 'File'. You can check it out by continuously left mouse click in the code and then press the left ALT key. You will see. (leaving me with a lot of 'fs' strings in the code) - pressing CTL+F to find some string then after ENTER I would like this search window to disappear not blocking found text. - almost ALL texteditors have the same problem: if I want to search for some text, when found, please show this text line in the MIDDLE of the screen in stead of at the top or at the bottom so I can see the surrounding code - please make the files relocatable in the editor by dragging the file tab to the wanted position as I like to place the header files at the right of the souce (.c ) file. (this worked in some older versions) - How can I disable Outlining for all sources once and for all?
I think it's a great IDE and I like it very much: just my two cents.
Best Regards,
Henk
let me add another item:
when searching for some text which contains a point '.' like l_F081vuAppErrRpt.u16ModNum it will NOT be found.
Two further points concerning the find window (additionally to the ones I reported some days ago in my 4.53 wish list): - It should be possible to cancel a running search (If I by some accident search for "int" in all files, I need to wait quite long, until the list is filled with its 10000 entries - I did not find a way to break this (it would be helpful, if the status line would show some info like "ESC to cancel search ...")) - Search in "Word mode" does not work correctly for "Find in files" - e. g. if I search for "int" in "Word mode" in my code, then it finds only a very small part of all occurrencies of int - possibly it has some problems with tabs - but I did not investigate this further (anyway strange, as I use "insert spaces for tabs").
... sorry but I do not agree that the find window should close on find - it just should possibly move out of the way, as in Visual C, this would be nice. (Especially the replace window should not close, I often want to replace several things in a selection, and then it is necessary the the replace window keeps open).
okay, I agree that the search window should not close.
Another issue:
Searching strings greater than 43 characters will truncate to 43 characters. I use large constant names like: ENU_MEC_COM_SHEET_PARAMETER_SET_000_COLUMN_1_OF_3_CHECKSUM_ERROR so it will find all that have: ENU_MEC_COM_SHEET_PARAMETER_SET_000_COLUMN_1 in it. Its annoying...
The string length is limited by the size of the edit box in the search window.
I don't think the uVision is great. Overstating it: vi offers more comfort ;) The debbuger is great, but the editor is the weak part of the IDE.
We are living in 2012 and some nice features like intellisense in the visual studio IDE are just state of the art and come in handy for the programmer. Does Keil offer any of these things...no
Another bug in the editor:
if you fold in a method or a function and afterwards delete this folded line, the editor only deletes the first line and not the whole method/function. If you try to compile your source again you get error messages, because the function declaration is missing. but you can't expand the function/method, because there is no icon to unfold anymore. you just see that there is something wrong, because some linenumbers are missing
But uVision is not too bad - compared to many other uController programming systems it is really good.
Of course Visual C or Eclipse somehow are the dream target, but they are programmed for a much larger group of programmers, with much more effort I think.
Of course Intellisense would be really great (but please if possible like in Visual C (on-time adjustment of intellisense, while new classes / variables are defined) - not like in some other uController programming systems, where intellisense will only work with new variables, after a complete successful new re-build - this then really is only half of the story, as most time I need intellisense when inserting new code ...).
Note that Intellisense is a M$-specific name for this function.
It is quite hard to support on-the-fly processing of source code, and most tools don't contain an integrated compiler like Visual C has. Visual C even supports modification of a function in the middle of a debug session and then continue to run the program with the recompiled changes.
With a standalone compiler, you can't process the individual text lines as you write new code, so auto-completion must make use of the debug output from a full build, or the tool vendor must try to create a secondary parser solution. C++ isn't the easiest language to write a full parser for.
Yes, you are right - Visual C has this "change and continue debugging" feature, which of course is very nice for debugging, and this of course requires a full on-the-fly parsing of the code.
Eclipse also needs it, as debugging in Java / Android is so poor - so on-the-fly is really ultimately required.
For Microcontroller "On-the-fly" Intellisense of course also would be very nice. I know some Microcontroller development systems will, which provide Itellisense "static" (not on the fly - only after successful built). But at least for my working style this does not make much sense, as when I finished a new software modification that much, that the built is complete, then it is nearly all done. So I really would need it more "on-the-fly", while entering new code / new classes.
But I understand that this is really a difficult job for the editor programmers - it somehow goes into the direction to support a second "on-the-fly" compiler only for intellisense.
PS: But perhaps it is easier, if we would require working intellisense after failed build - this would be very helpful. Then I could program the classes / structs, then do a failed build, and then start with coding the functions - in this situation of course it would be great to get intellisense access to the class variables. No problem for me to do some built command to "enable" intellisense for some new classes - this would be great.
PPS: If we are discussing these issues, please also do not forget, that currently precompiled headers do not work, if the c/cpp modules are organized in different folders. It would be VERY nice if precompiled headers would work also with folder-tree-organized source code. (best with some easy method to define the precompile stop point: either the possibility, to define a specific h file to be used for precompiled headers (and only working if this h file is the first h file to be included of course), or some simple method to define the "#pragma hdrstop" - e. g. at the end of this "important and very big central" h file).
What is this project of yours? Hope it does a little more than just flash an LED.
It is a motor control system with several motors, USB connection and some further high speed AD sampling - is this ok :)? (Additionally it works with many control cards linked by some bus system, so it is really a bit complex).
Find in Files can now cancel a long search, just open the find in files window again.
Find in Files has the behavior of hiding the search window after pressing enter.