Charles Sanders wrote:

Its a bit pre-mature, a couple problems with the code browser and I plan to
redo the interface but this will work with .69 and greater.

For next release:

Code Completeion
Dide packages
Project import / export
Fix any bugs you report :)

Id also like some feedback on what you think could be improved, and also
some general ideas on what would make an IDE great, no matter how crazy or
how difficult to implement.

Thanks,
Charles

Congrats on the great D IDE,

Personally I'd like a UML browser similar to bluej, where you can visually see the program layout and test individual components (visually), but I've said that before. Another thing that I find most useful in VC is the variable watch lists, where you can break the program and see what's happening.

Apart from that, I think I'd be really nice if you could test individual methods and objects in some sort of console. ie

in the console (this is not actually D code but code put into the consol, which looks like D code):
A X = new A;
[object created]
X.add(10);
[result = 11
X.a = 50;
X.b = Y;
]
ect...

I was thinking about this the other day, and I don't think i'd be that hard to create (although I have no time to do it myself). You'd use the d compiler itself to compile the console code, and link it to the actual code by DLL.

Apart from that, there's the automatic D repository browser thing I discussed in some other thread:

J Anderson wrote:

My .02c
I think the repository site will also be the best place to host a standard
library, like phobos. So, even though phobos would (at the moment) be imported
using 'com.digitalmars.phobos', I think it should eventually be moved to
'com.XXXXX.phobos', once its development has become a community effort rather
than being primarily under Walter's control.
  
I like the idea of a repository for D. Thanks, Benji!

My babble,

I'd be nice if it could be linked in with the editor, so you could have some sort of tool, which would do all sorts of fancy stuff with the repository such as:

Download updates and the repository hierarchy in the background (while your coding).

Allow searching for particular types of libraries by keywords, descriptions ect... Allowing many different types of filters and sort modes.

Automatic installation of projects when you click on them.

In the text editor/source code, you could click on an "import" and go to the help web page (or anything related to that package).

Automatically adds and updates your project (when you say so of cause).

All the CVS stuff.

Links to support email addresses or even forums.

List of summited code samples for the particular project (which like a newsgroup, could be summited by anyone).

Informs when new projects have been added.

Clicking on an error caused by a particular project would either take you to the solution to that error, or allow you to summit a bug report.

If you download one project, and it needs several others, they would also be downloaded.

Anyway, basically, you'd be able to find the lib you need (without knowing what the libraries name was to begin with), and download and install it into the current project in a matter of clicks, in the editor. And then get help with it, in a few more clicks. Actually the software could probably support a local version of this as well. The point is, every free library invented for D would almost be as easy to use, as if it was already installed on your machine (there would be some extra $+forms for commercial products).

I guess the program would look something like mixture of newsgroup, personal chat programs and P2P download share programs.

I wish I had time to do something like that; I'd save even more time then a web page repository. Of course, the repository needs to be established first, and second, in many cases web page designers put up resistance to creation of a software version of their web page (Benji?).

Fourthly, and parhaps easier, plugins + support for plugins (ie automatic wizards for DIDE plugins).

Here are some more,

Automatic d newsgroup searches for answers to compile time errors.
Automatic searching for the DMD / DIG path, it would try a list of probable paths first before searching every drive.
Being able to use the IDE as a web page (insert pictures and stuff).
Automatic comment generation/compilation for whatever D doxgen becomes popular.
Automatic updation of the IDE, and parhaps D.
Optional automatic word wrapping for comments/code.
As-you-type coding hints (like in VC).
Comment spell checker, like MS word's.
Code checker like C#'s (underlines things that are wrong as you type).

All these things are probably to complex, to do at the moment, but hay, you asked for crazy.

Here are some simple things,

A link to the D newsgroup, DIG webpage, D webpage, the DIDE webpage.
A link to the DIG and D webpage in the DIDE Settings (and at first time startup dialog).
Automatic backup saving.
Somewhere to email bugs/wish list.
Somewhere to summit project wizards (ie like "DIG project : Hello World") and other such things that can grow the DIDE project without writing code for it.
Optional line numbers with printing.

Anyway, I'm sure you have a billion ideas yourself.

PS - Could you please provide the DIDE link everytime you post about an update.