Just to be clear, I'm NOT asking for a work around, I am already aware that there are ways to get library file into the IDE.
My point is that, by the default the IDE won't open .cpp and .h files.
Because of this, I was, for ages, under the mistaken belief that library files were unreadable machine code or at very least an unfamiliar programing language.
Given that the Arduino project is all about acessabilt it seems this odd to me that this needless herdal hasn't been eliminated already!
Incidentally dose anyone know why the IDE wont open these files? was there ever a reason?
SavageRodent:
Because of this, I was, for ages, under the mistaken belief that library files were unreadable machine code or at very least an unfamiliar programing language.
Given that the Arduino project is all about acessabilt it seems this odd to me that this needless herdal hasn't been eliminated already!
I do think it would be beneficial to make it easier for Arduino users to explore and experiment with the library code. Too many see libraries as "black boxes" when really it's just the same C++ code we use in our sketches. I like to use the same program for editing my sketches as well as libraries, rather than having to jump back and forth between the Arduino IDE and a text editor.
SavageRodent:
Incidentally dose anyone know why the IDE wont open these files? was there ever a reason?
The IDE is designed to compile and upload sketches. You can't do that with a library. The people who would most benefit from being able to open libraries in the Arduino IDE are also the ones who won't understand this difference. This could cause some confusion. The solution is to disable the compile and upload functions when a library is open but even then I foresee the inevitable "I can't upload Ethernet. Why is the button grayed out?".
Many of the people who are advanced enough to be writing their own libraries will be annoyed by the limitations of the Arduino IDE's editor and will already be using a separate editor so they wouldn't see any benefit in being able to open libraries in the Arduino IDE.