VisualAge for Java
CodeExportTool
(current version 1.1.2)
When VisualAge exports source code, it often isn't very conducive to reading
in another editor. This is especially a problem when you are editing
code that will be read/edited by non-VAJ developers (What?! Not everyone
uses VAJ?) who are too picky about the order in which methods appear in
the .java file (VAJ always alphabetizes the methods, with constructors
and static methods first). Additionally, VAJ does not put a blank
line between method bodies, a common practice that helps readability.
I wrote this tool to help out with these problems. It allows
you to dictate the order methods are written in before exporting your source
code, and inserts a space after each method body.
It uses the VAJ Tools API, so VAJ for Linux users will have to get
it for this tool to work.
Instructions
Extract the ZIP file into the ide\tools directory of your VAJ installation
(be sure to preserve
the folder names in the ZIP file). Then when you start VisualAge
and select one or more classes, the Tools pop-up menu will have an entry
"Code Export Tool." It's use should be pretty self-explanatory.
For convenience, the settings for export directory and "Automatically overwrite
files" are retained each time you invoke the tool.
If multiple classes are selected when the tool is invoked, it will
present a separate instance of the GUI for each class in turn.
Download
the tool
Email me
if you want to be notified when the next version is available
Limitations (as of version 1.1.2)
-
The method ordering for classes is not "remembered" across invocations.
This means that you will have to re-sort the methods to your desired order
each time you export through the tool. Supporting the ability to
remember the sort orders for recently exported classes is at the top of
my wish/to-do list for the next version that is under construction.
-
The tool currently uses Swing 1.0.3 (which is part of standard VAJ 2.0
and 3.0). I was able to get it to run in the Java2 "Early Adopters"
edition of VAJ by including the Swing 1.0.3 JAR file at the beginning of
my VAJ Workspace CLASSPATH (Window > Options > Resources), although it
seemed to be slower to start up under that configuration. The GUI
is undergoing a redesign for the next version, and a Swing 1.1 (aka Java2)
version will be provided in addition to the "standard" Swing 1.0.3.
-
The tool does not work on the Java core classes (java.* packages)
Updates
Since the release of the VA Assist product from Instantiations ( http://www.instantiations.com/assist
), I have been reluctant to do further work on this tool. That's
because VA Assist has the features of this tool, but taken to another level.
Although I think this tools provides a nice, free alternative to VA Assist
for the VAJ community, the reality remains that I have much less motivation
to improve it since I have VA Assist instead. But the biggest reason
I have neglected it is because I get very little traffic to this page and
have not had any requests for enhancements for a while. The only
requests I did get within the past year were for a Swing 1.1/Java2
compatible version. That, if anything, is what I would work on next.
To those of you for whom VA Assist is not an option, I apologize.
Source code for the tool is available to those who are in that situation
and ask for it.
If you have questions, problems, or suggestions, email me (Eric Rizzo)
at erizzo@tampabay.rr.com