I'm not sure when it happened, but at some point since I started using IDEA I lost the concept of saving my source code. Since version 2* IDEA has automatically saved changes when focus to the window was lost. I don't really know how long it took, but over time I stopped paying attention to file saving. From time to time, I would edit a text file in notepad or use someone else's IDE and bang my head against the wall as I tried to run without committing my changes. Apparently it was a common mistake. Eclipse eventually added a warning dialog: "You have unsaved changes. Would you like to save them before you run your program?". What the hell kind of question is that?!? Why would I have changed my code, and run my program if I didn't want to see those changes reflected in my application?!?

I guess having a warning is better than what notepad does... but then again, is that really the mark of a great IDE: "at least we're better than notepad!"

*version 1 of IDEA was a JBuilder plugin, so it might have been a little silly to do it then

Labels: Programming

posted by Bryan at 2:57 PM