[erlang-questions] Re: Emacs as Erlang IDE for newbies

[Deryk Barker]

egarrulo wrote:
> 2009/12/23 Michael Turner <leap@REDACTED>
>   
>> Why should a newbie be fine with just a syntax-highlighting editor?
>> Newbies
>> do need more help from tools, not less. I maintain that an easy way to
>> compile and run projects and a source-level debugger are vital.
>>
>> me:
>> I'm starting to think that's the best choice for now -- no need to call
>> it an editor, just say "here's a program that helps you write, change
>> and run Erlang programs."
>>
>>     
>
> Bravo! That would be a smart move ;-)
>
> Indeed, who cares about editors? They just need "a program that helps /them/
> write, change
> and run Erlang programs."
>
> On the face of it, Wrangler might seem a strange choice -- for, surely,
>   
>> refactoring tools are for Real Programmers?  But maybe not.  Maybe
>> beginners should have them at the beginning.  Some common refactorings
>> are very simple, like "change this function name everywhere."  I wish
>> I'd had that when I was starting out.
>>
>>     
>
> Agreed.
>
>
>   
>> As for Flymake, I really don't buy this idea that syntax error messages
>> from the Erlang shell are now adequately clear.  Hardly a day goes by
>> that I don't have to peel myself off the ceiling, shouting, "'Syntax
>> error before: &'?!  Be specific!"  I want to know more.
>>
>> And so will noobs.
>>
>>     
>
> That's not a wrong thought.
>
> I've suggested Emacs because, besides its uncluttered interface, you could
> tailor its configuration and its packages' ones to suit your needs, exposing
> as much functionality as you wish.
>
>   
Could someone inform a not-quite-noob (I'll have more thoughts on all of 
this when I've finished my ****** marking of final exams)  let me know 
where to find flymake and wrangler; this is the first I've heard of 
either and they sound very interesting.

deryk barker
---
|Deryk Barker, Computer Science Dept. | Music does not have to be 
understood|
|Camosun College, Victoria, BC, Canada| It has to be listened 
to.           |
|email: dbarker@REDACTED         
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|phone: +1 250 370 4452               |         Hermann 
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