You seem to be combining two different things here.
I gave one example of someone who likes the VS plugin. So what has the message got to do with anything other than someone has publicly stated they like the plugin?
You might say that most of the 90 followers on http://visualmicro.codeplex.com also like the plugin. And a large proportion of the 20,000 people that have downloaded it over the last 11 months might also like it. But who cares how many, this is a useful tool for anyone who wants to use it. I say that because I find it useful.
I don't understand. Why include Eclipse in the search? What has Eclipse got to do with "Class Diagrams" and development tools for new users (other than IT propeller heads). That is what this post is about!
Many windows users tend to prefer msi installers and as you have said yourself, your Eclipse plugin is for advanced users. The Visual Studio plugin is for all levels of user. But again what has this got to do with this post? You are free to post about what eclipse can do for people, just as I am free to post about VS.
- The Visual Micro plugin is an Arduino and a Microsoft solution. Users will look to both Arduino and Microsoft web sites to find this product so this is one or two places where I should tell people about this plugin.
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Actually, I don't really know what we are discussing here. The Arduino plugin for Visual Studio is immensely useful for a wide range of users. There are other plugins for other users which yourself and others have the same opportunity to announce. As I have said the xcode multi platform design really works well for some, your Eclipise plugin will work for advanced users. I know there are other plugins all at different stages of maturity but they are all well advertised and not my concern.
One thing is for sure, the Linux and Eclipse users are extremely vocal for their cause, whilst the Microsoft users seem to stay a little quieter. Time will show us what this means.
So back to my original post...
The Visual Studio plugin is very easy to use and provides great features such as the "Class Diagram" tool that I outlined at the start of this post (sigh). Visual Studio also provides some very useful code explorer tools such as the ability to right click any Arduino code and see a list of locations where the code is being used/referenced.
Features like this are a crucial aid for users who are new to any open source Arduino project (but maybe not the blink sketch). This is because code explorers make the code more visible and reduce the learning curve by a huge factor.
In some ways, for new users to any project, tools like this are the difference between being able to make code changes and not being able to make changes. The reason being is that we have to be sure of the the impact of any changes. This is usually a more difficult task using conventional code search such as "Find in files".
Class Diagram of the ArduPilot pressure sensor libraries using the free Arduino Plugin for Visual Studio
