State of Counterclockwise:Past, Present and Future

http://bit.ly/counterclockwise

by Laurent Petit@laurentpetit

first.clojure-conj.org - 2010/10/22

Agenda

● Presentations / Intro● History / Figures● Installation● Features / quick demos● Future● Credits● Q & A

Presentations 1/2

● Me● Laurent Petit, french

● Fond of Clojure since Q2 2008● Involved in Counterclockwise since Q4 2008

Presentations 2/2

● Eclipse● multi-language software development environment● Primary target language/platform: Java/JVM● Eclipse Foundation claims “millions” of users,

worldwide

● Counterclockwise● An Eclipse extension for managing Clojure-based

projects● License : EPL● “ccw” for short

Intro 1/2

● Counterclockwise is an Eclipse plugin helping developers write Clojure code

● Why an Eclipse plugin ?● Targetting a large base of java developers● Driving forces : writing Eclipse plugins both at work

& at home !● Want Clojure for my next paid java project !

Intro 2/2

● Installing Counterclockwise and starting testing/developing in clojure is really just a matter of minutes!

Intro 2/2

● Installing Counterclockwise and starting testing/developing in clojure is really just a matter of minutes! ● Ease of installation = maximize a good first

impression with the language (like it or not !)

Intro 2/2

● Installing Counterclockwise and starting testing/developing in clojure is really just a matter of minutes! ● Ease of installation = maximize a good first

impression with the language (like it or not !)● No-brainer integration into Eclipse java users'

toolset– Parens will already feel UFOs to them, let the IDE get out

of their way and help them concentrate on the concepts

Intro 2/2

● Installing Counterclockwise and starting testing/developing in clojure is really just a matter of minutes! ● Ease of installation = maximize a good first impression

with the language (like it or not !)● No-brainer integration into Eclipse java users' toolset

– Parens will feel alien enough to new users, let the IDE get out of their way and help them concentrate on the concepts

● But should provide same interactive “dynamic” experience

Agenda

● Presentations / Intro● History / Figures● Installation● Features / quick demos● Future● Credits● Q & A

History

● Started in 2008● By Casey Marshall, code name “clojure-dev”

● Joined on October 2008● Casey left the team early 2009 ...● … got the “de-facto” leadership since then

Figures (google analytics)

Homepage – 2000 views per month

● Since March 1, 2010:● ~ 4000 different visitors

– 800-900 average different visitors per month● ~2000 homepage views per month● ~2000 documentation page views per month

Agenda

● Presentations / Intro● History / Figures● Installation● Features / quick demos● Future● Credits● Q & A

Installation● Super easy

● Use Eclipse 3.6 Helios' Market place– Menu Help > Eclipse Market Place– search for “clojure” & click

● Super fast● 6 Mb download

Agenda

● Presentations / Intro● History / Figures● Installation● Features / quick demos● Future● Credits● Q & A

Editor features 1/2

● Syntactic coloration (stable)● Strictly speaking, “token-based” coloration

● “rainbow” parens (and higlight, and jump to/from)

● Around the corner: true syntactic coloration (full use of parser's info)

● Structural edition commands (stable)● based on emac's paredit.el (~ 80% commands currently ported)

● Totally reusable outside Eclipse context (pure clojure)

● Jump to definition (stable)● Only to clojure global vars for now on ...

● Auto-indentation (stable)● Predictable behaviour with & without support of dynamic environment

● But judged “too simple” by increasing number of users ...

Editor features 2/2

● Code completion (incomplete)● Clojure top level vars● Java

– Clojure is “backward”– full search in the project's classpath)– → slow !

● REPL interaction commands (stable)● Documentation hover (around the corner)● Code Outline (unstable)● Missing: formatting, macro-expansion

Editor demo

● Structural edition modes● Default mode – does not break habit● Strict mode – mixed free/guided mode

● Underused structural edition commands● Both modes

– Structure-based selection– Raise over parent– Split / Join

● Strict mode only– Easy wrapping

Project management feature

● Compliant with Eclipse's notion of project● Project “natures” : composable with JDT nature,

etc.

● “Running the project” uses “enhanced” java-nature-based “launch configuration”● Enabled to quickly provide out-of-the-box

interactivity

Interactive Dev feature1/2

● REPL' state of the art (v0.0.64)● Based on the Java nature of the project

– Uses the project's classpath– Same configuration tabs as the java's

● But limited in scope ...– Forces the project to start with a stdin/stdout-based REPL class

(e.g. clojure.main or clojure.contrib.repl-ln)– Not possible to work with web projects (WTP), GWT projects,

Eclipse projects (PDE)

● … and in features– Plain text edition (no colors, no user assistance)– No history

Interactive Dev feature 2/2

● Brand new REPL around the corner !● Based on cemerick's nREPL client/server REPL library

● And on cemerick's rework of the Graphical REPLView !

● Connection to any JVM running a nREPL client● No more need for special “launch configuration”

● => composable with projects of any kind (Web WTP, GWT, AppEngine, etc.)

● Rich set of feature for the REPL View● Shares source code editor featureset: colors, structural edition, code

completion (wip), navigation commands, etc.

● Colorized logs

● Recall previously entered commands (wip)

● Multiline (with auto-indentation!) command area

Interactive Dev demo

● “launch” your project● auto-reload-on-save enabled or disabled

– Agile feature design at work ! :-)

● Exclusivity: new REPL View !● Same feature set as editor● Receive code from the editor

● Namespace browser● Embedded search engine● Click to jump to definition

Debugger feature

● Features● Place breakpoints in clojure code● Leverage the classic Eclipse integrated java

debugger

● Still a little bit unstable● Future work

● Does not (yet) filter frames related to the internals of clojure (clojure.lang.*)

● Integration with George Jahad's CDT debugger

Agenda

● Presentations / Intro● History / Figures● Installation● Features / quick demos● Future● Credits● Q & A

Future – features around the corner

● Editor● Jump to definition (java)● Documentation hover (clojure & java)● True syntax-based coloration (locals, etc.)

● Project management● More “orthogonality” with underlying “project nature” (pure

java, GWT, WTP, AppEngine, Eclipse RCP, etc.)

● REPL● Port features of the editor● And then … towards “graphical REPL” (ability to display

“binary” return values as images, HTML, charts, etc.)

Future – other features

● Refactoring features● Integration of tcrayford's clojure-refactoring project● Hopefully bidirectional java ↔ clojure

● Debugging features● Integration with George Jahad's Clojure Debugging

Toolkit (CDT)

Future – “dream-about” features

● More “warnings” than what the compiler has to offer● Help enforcing conventions● Help detect potential bugs (more than one statement

inside dosync, local same name as global, etc., etc.)● → No hurry, 'cause “cinc” may be a game changer ...

● “AI-like” User suggestions● Analyse user's habits through heuristics (and occurrence)● Non-invasive (hard part !) suggestions

Future - Miscellaneous

● Introduction of Contributor Agreement● Better juridical protection for project's code

● Better protection of sponsor's rights on project “as a whole”

● copy&paste of Clojure's one, just names changed

● Switch to “semantic versioning”

● “embedded” REPL for ccw own's development

● Open the door to more contributors● devs:

– mvn based build process

– Continuous integration

● users:

– Update Sites for “beta” versions as well as “stable” version

– Opening the plugin to user contributions (in clojure, of course)

Agenda

● Presentations / Intro● History / Figures● Installation● Features / quick demos● Future● Credits● Q & A

Share, ...

● Past & current contributors● Casey Marshall (first versions of ccw)● Stephan Müehlstraßer (preference pages, online

help, labrepl support)● Christophe Grand (Debug breakpoints)● Manuel Woelker (Source code outline)● Miaubiz, clooney (editor commands:navigate to

definition, etc.)● Nicolas Lambert (Outline commands)● Chas Emerick (integration with nREPL, REPLView)

… reuse,

● vimClojure (@kotarak): code completion● parsley (@cgrand): source code parser● clojure.osgi (@aav): clojure+OSGi love story● nREPL (@cemerick): REPL client/server library

… give back.

● Structural Editor● paredit.clj (github)

● Clojure Grammar● ccw.parsers.clojure (github, wip, no rush please)

Where to find it

● Google code home page● http://code.google.com/p/counterclockwise/

● Google groups● Users : http://groups.google.com/group/clojuredev-

users (66 members)● Devs :

http://groups.google.com/group/clojuredev-devel (37 members)

Agenda

● Presentations / Intro● History / Figures● Installation● Features / quick demos● Future● Credits● Q & A

Thanks for attending!(can you wake up your neighbor pliz ?)