loglow:
robtillaart:
Ever considered using an external editor? I often use notepad++ works quite well has several points you mention....The reason I posted this list isn't necessarily because I need a particular software solution for myself. Rather, I think the Arduino project as a whole and (especially) its primary piece of software deserve to be scrutinized and improved upon; not because they're unsatisfactory as they are, but because they're going to continue to gain (deserved) popularity and exposure.
The idea of making Arduino programming "beginner friendly" is excellent, and there's no reason the IDE should attempt to compete with the likes of Eclipse, AVR Studio, or the other editors mentioned above. However, I don't think any of the items on this list contradict that philosophy. There's no reason that this "beginner friendly" tool shouldn't aim for the highest quality, nor should it be desirable for those who have moved past the beginner stage to abandon it. I think "beginner friendly" is just another way of saying "thoughtfully designed."
I can walk into any RadioShack and buy an Uno, or any number of official Arduino shields. The packaging is beautiful, and the presentation and execution of the hardware displays a careful attention to detail.
There's no reason the software shouldn't live up to the same standard.
I completely agree. After digging into the code I gave up trying to improve the official Arduino IDE. Instead I started my own. It's still immature but already looks a lot better than the standard IDE.
You can try out the latest build here:
http://hudson.joshy.org:9001/job/ArduinoX/lastSuccessfulBuild/artifact/dist/