The IDE Flip-Flop

As a follow-on to my last post, I was thinking recently about the nature of IDE usage. More specifically, I was thinking about the motivations behind the usage of particular tools.

It seems to me we use specific IDEs for three reasons:
1) Dictated at work
2) Personal preference/familiarity
3) Task-based solutions (i.e. solves a specific problem at point X)

As I mentioned, I have recently reverted back to MyEclipse as my primary IDE from a period of using NetBeans for the same. But note I said "primary IDE." I still have a few different options, based on what I think will do best at the time. Example: I still use NetBeans for refactoring. I haven't yet found a better option, and I just like the way it works. So, I'll pull that in from time to time. Of course, MyEclipse is installed and used regularly. I keep an install of base Eclipse running to test some plugins and when I need to do something quick and dirty. I have a handful of other things I'm trying and testing at any given time.

My point is that I see a lot of flame warring based on IDE preference as opposed to functionality preference. If something does the job well, I'll use it. I'm not a zealot. So, being the agnostic I am portraying myself to be, I move from tool to tool as dictated. This basically covers my second two reasons for IDE useage.

The "dictated at work" theory is a bit more obtuse, as the dictations can range from "we're only doing free Eclipse" (my prior job) to "you must use IntelliJ" (the one before that). The danger here is that developers as a whole (me included) both love and hate these edicts. My life is easier if I'm in control of all my tools, but I have to play nice with my co-workers who are in control of theirs, builds are breaking, QA sux, etc. But if we are completely standardized across the boards, I feel more irritated at my boss for being...well... bossy and limiting.

So I'm left with the catch 22. My compromise currently is flip-flopping back and forth between tool suites based on needs, not on religion. I don't doubt many others are behaving similarly.

I am wondering: is this behavior "ok" or is it something to be frowned upon? Will we ever get to a true al-la-carte mode where I can select from a real list of things that will all play nice together, or will the vendor lock-in of project structures always tie my hands? I'm tired of flip-flopping back and forth. But right now, it's a necessary evil. Is there any relief in sight?

Moving from NetBeans back to MyEclipse

NetBeans certainly came a long way in the past couple years, and I've used it as my "primary" IDE for about half of that time. The main behind-door-number-one reason? I LOVE the Matisse (that was a codename, now it's something dull like Swing GUI Designer - boooooring) designer.

I was a MyEclipse subscriber until my NetBeans revelation, and I let it drop after that, since NetBeans was "good enough," free, and had Matisse.

Apparently, I had been living under a rock since then (that a buddy of mine was kind enough to lift today). MyEclipse has Matisse! This cross-over functionality is friggin' sweet, as they say, and it appears to have all of the Matisse functions. Not Matisse-like. It's Matisse itself as far as I can tell (how'd they do that?).

Well, since so most of my clients are in Eclipse shops and MyEclipse is already the must-have toolkit for Eclipse, I can't find a reason to stick with NetBeans any longer. Pretty packaging, free, all that aside. Time to get some work done, and if I can now do it with the same thing the world is using, then all the better.

Off to find the tutorials, and if that works out like I hope, time to renew my subscription. MyEclipse isn't free, but then, things of value are not always. And I'm not too proud to say nice job by someone else and give them some dollars for it if it helps me out.

Cloud Computing: Who to trust in the Future?

Gapingvoid inspired me this morning to chat about a topic I've had on my mind for a while.

What is the current perception of cloud computing? Is it one of fear, excitement, the tremble of unrealized potential? All of the above?

Most certainly cloud computing is compelling and its usefulness unquestionable. By eliminating the need for individual installations and simply utilizing a worldwide server group-think, we can all move in and out of our current software needs easily and endlessly on a whim. That type of potential is usually enough to get hard-core folks eyelids to raise.

But what happens as we enter and leave this cloud of data? We are swimming in the pool of human knowledge and ability, all the while perceiving that we are safe on this playground. But exactly WHO is controlling the pool?

Right now, it's companies we know and “trust,” like Amazon, Sun, Microsoft and others. An admirable list, and one built of companies that have big interests in bottom lines, customer satisfaction and market perception. In this new, bold market, who will the power broker be of the massive pool of data? At some point will we all attempt to consolidate rather than compartmentalize our stuff with company loyalties and lock-in access to specific cloud functions.

As mentioned, Gapingvoid has a nice write-up of this same issue. In his opinion, such a consolidation could lead to the largest company to ever exist. The old adage “information is power” definitely rings true here. Who emerges as the “leader?” An existing player? An outside source? A governmental entity?

The responsibility for the control of information is a high calling, and one I would wish on no one. But the idea of the controlled cloud is undoubtedly one that has bounced around in corporate board rooms, and it's not an idea that will die easily, I would imagine.