[fpc-pascal] Help with the IDE

[Simionescu.Mihai@gmail.com]

Hello and good day,

 As a pascal programmer, I used many years Borland Pascal 7.01.
 To escape the 16 bit limitations, I've migrated to Virtual Pascal 2.1
 The IDE is very similar between them, VP obviously is more user
 friendly.
 The look & feel of the IDE was the major factor wich keeped me far
 from FPC.
 Now, Virtual Pascal is almost dead, as BP7 was long time ago.
 Migrating my code to FPC to benefit from is more updated features
 slows my enthousiasm. I will must face the built-in IDE, basically
 unchanged. Still version 1.0.10.
 Can I directly suggest some modifications to the person responsable
 with the IDE improvements.
 Is there a more friendly IDE ?(Lazarus excluded)
 Basically, my suggestions go to :
 - using relative paths for configurations (portable)
 - avoid to add config files to the working folder by setup switch
 - automatic go to error if stop on first error in setup
 - persistent gray window autohide when compile finish and focus the
 message window on success or go to error on fail
 - compiler result message window print success in green and fail in
 red
 - built-in help in configuration windows for noobs like me
 - eliminate the browse for files bug to open files in upper folders
 (Invalid drive or directory) when up by 3-4 levels
 - help files preindexed in the download package
 - label for help files (context sensitive help open the first founded
 instance, without prompt if founded in bp.tph or FPC help, etc)
 - examples in contextual help, because not all users are advanced or
 remember how to do old things and compiller messages are criptical
 - since some code behaviour changed from bp7, similar functions are
 supposed known and undocumented
 - help files in a more compact form, compressed, zipped. It's a
 nightmare to spread 10500 files on the drive. Search in zip files if
 index is external should be fast enough.
 - zip file with units, needed unit is decompressed on first use
 others remain in zip archive.
 - modular install. User can choose only win32 stuff, help and ignore
 other platforms, precompiled units or uncompiled versions to be
 compiled at runtime and available for step by step run for debug and
 learn. Unit sources can stay in compressed zips with external index,
 on demand first use decompress them based on index.

 Please redirect my message to the right person for more details, or
 tell me gow to contact him directly.

 Many thanks in advance.


-- 
Best regards,
 Simionescu                          mailto:simionescu.mihai at gmail.com