PLIEDIT - PL/I Editor for Eclipse
Copyright © 2009 William Fenlason
June 7, 2009 Click here to visit the Pliedit forums (bulletin board)
Description:
The Pliedit plugin for Eclipse provides a PL/I language sensitive
editor for the Eclipse framework. When a file with an extension
of ".pli" or ".pl1" is edited, it is processed by the Pliedit
plugin.
Syntax coloring is provided and is highly
customizable, including the ability to specify foreground and
background colors and font characteristics (face, size, etc.) at the token and individual
keyword level. Because keywords are not reserved in PL/I, the
coloring is based on semantic usage rather than syntactic content. For
example:
"IF IF = THEN THEN THEN = ELSE; ELSE ELSE = IF;" can be displayed as
"IF IF = THEN THEN THEN = ELSE; ELSE ELSE = IF;"
PL/I statement level syntax error checking is performed during source entry or
modification. Error and warning messages are provided in the
Problems view.
The PL/I grammar (language specification) is inclusive, and is based on
the full and subset ANSI standards with IBM extensions. It is
generally robust although some corrections, future enhancements and
refinements are expected. Preprocessor statement support is
limited.
Performance with large PL/I source files (up to 100K characters) is
quite reasonable. For very large PL/I source files (up to 1M
characters), performance is generally acceptable on modern machines.
Status:
The Pliedit plugin is essentially functional but numerous
peripheral features are missing and it is still under
development.
Because we believe it is usable and useful in its current state, a
functionally incomplete,
open beta test version is being made available at this
site. Our hope is that live user feedback will enable us to
prioritize the needed features and extensions for future work.
We encourage any users who find this plugin useful to give us
feedback. All requests, suggestions, criticisms and bug reports
are equally welcome.
Installation:
Pliedit is most easily installed by using the Eclipse Update Manager.
Pliedit may be installed on Eclipse versions 3.2, 3.3, 3.4
and 3.5. A separate update site is provided for each Eclipse
version, as follows:
- http://pliedit.com/update32/ (For Eclipse Version 3.2 / Callisto)
- http://pliedit.com/update33/ (For Eclipse Version 3.3 / Europa)
- http://pliedit.com/update34/ (For Eclipse Version 3.4 / Ganymede)
- http://pliedit.com/update35/ (For Eclipse Version 3.5 / Galileo)
The process of installing a plugin using the update manager is
thoroughly described in the
Eclipse documentation. Basically all that is necessary for
Pliedit installation is to use the appropriate URL from the above
list. The installation will fail if the wrong update site is used.
The Java runtime level must be 1.5 or later for all versions.
After the Pliedit plugin is installed or updated, it must be enabled for use (one time) by
selecting a check box located in the About... preference page.
NOTICE: If your downloaded version (0.0.4) does not run, please update the software to version 0.0.5 using the Update Manager. There was an initial problem which has been fixed.
About the Terms of Use:
This functionally incomplete Pliedit plugin version is provided on an as-is, time restricted, open beta
test basis. It may be used casually for evaluation and for
participation in the beta test.
Currently there is no registration requirement and no attempt will be made
to identify the users who download the plugin. No dynamic usage
feedback is provided to us via the web. We hope you will send us
email (at pliedit@pliedit.com) or become a registered user of the PLIEDIT forums to let us know who you are and how you
use Pliedit.
Here is an informal description
of the Terms of Use in the license:
First, as with almost all other software licenses, Pliedit comes with
no warranty and you assume all risk and liability for its use. If
you choose to participate in the beta test by using the as-is Pliedit plugin
with development or production level PL/I code, you must understand and
accept the risks you take.
Next, we tell you not distribute the plugin in any way. Do not
download a copy directly from the update site and save or distribute
it. You must use the update manager. This is because we
need to track the degree to which Pliedit is being installed by
monitoring the update
site activity. If your colleagues want to use Pliedit, please
tell them to use the update manager. (Obviously we
don't want you trying to sell it, either).
During the beta test, we would like all copies of the plugin that
are being used to be reasonably current. Each beta version of the
Pliedit plugin will have an enforced expiration date of a few months
after it is made available. The
Eclipse update manager can be set to automatically update the Pliedit
plugin to the latest version. Our intent is to always have
updated versions available (with a comfortable update window) until a
formal release is made.
The process of enabling the plugin on the About...
preference page is to inform you of the program expiration date, and to remind you
of these Terms of Use in case they were missed during the installation
process.
Pliedit is currently closed source. Be advised that there is no
magic involved, and we will be happy to discuss the tools and
techniques that are used. In order to improve performance and reduce the size of the
download file (our web host restricts file
sizes), the Java code has been optimized and names have been reduced to
one or two characters.
We don't want you to modify the program, or to decompile it so that you
can modify it. If
you have a legitimate need for the
source, please discuss it with us. We retain copyright and
ownership to insure orderly development of Pliedit in the future.
We think these terms are reasonable, and hope you do as well. If
you have questions or concerns regarding these Terms of Use, please
contact us at pliedit@pliedit.com. If you do not accept these
terms, do not download Pliedit. We reserve the right to change
these terms in future updates or versions.
Using the Pliedit Forums: Click here to visit the Pliedit forums (bulletin board)
The Pliedit forums do not require registration to be used. All
users may view the messages and post replies or new topics.
In addition to General Discussion and Help forums, the Beta Test forum
is provided to allow feedback from Bata Testers. All feedback,
positive or negative is welcome.
Registered user have a few additional capabilities. We hope you will register.
Copyright © 2009 William Fenlason - pliedit@pliedit.com - last updated June 10, 2009