Exam Diff in files and directories

[Arthur]

What I have just needed and was not available to get out off HippoEdit is the ability to exam differences in files and directories.
Is that something others want? I bet this is a cool extra help for us.

[Stefan]

 

What I have just needed and was not available to get out off HippoEdit is the ability to exam differences in files and directories.
Is that something others want? I bet this is a cool extra help for us.

Why "directories" ?
i use my file manager for this issue.


The same for file diff, my file manager have an build-in diff and let me use an external tool too for comparing files.

Because, I can imagine that this is  a lot of work to do, --implementing an own diff tool.
And it will never be as good as an tool extra build for that very one issue.

How about to enhance the HE-Tools ?
I want to discuss this in an older thread ==>    
External Tools: Idea collecting thread

[Arthur]

What file manager is that?
It is more convenient to have the ability to do it in HippoEdit session my thinking.

[Stefan]

>What file manager is that?
I use Total Commander.
If you once discover all the hidden features and pimp it as you like (menu, plugins, portable) it's the most powerful file manager for me.

>It is more convenient to have the ability to do it in HippoEdit session my thinking.
Me too. An simple text diff side-by-side would be nifty.
But for each task there are appropriate tools.
And Alex has planed to implement an plugin system.
So user can choose what they need within an text editor.

[alex]

I have a simple Diff in plans, as some how view plugin.
But this would come with a time I hope...
Here is a list of Views plugins planned to be implemented:

Diff View
CVS View
DHTML View (HTML WISIWYG editor)
HEX View
XML View
HTML View

[Yoyo]

Hi all, lovely to meet you!  

This is my first post here ...  I come to you courtesy of your offer on GiveAwayOfTheDay last October, and let me tell you, I'm impressed!

Often, like Arthur, I need to view and edit hexadecimal values.  The viewer is the most critical.  If the worst comes to the worst, you can always enter a hex value using the Alt-numpad method, eg º is (Left)Alt-(Numpad)0186.  Having the hex viewer then lets you confirm the entry. 

So I searched, first in the View menu for a simple hex viewer, then in the Syntax list, and finally in the character Encodings, but in the end I was amazed that HippoEdit, for all its many capabilities, did not even have a hex viewer!

One very useful hex viewer from days of yore (a.k.a. DOS) is the venerable List.com by Vernon Buerg; its formatting of the hex view and navigation is an excellent model.  At a pinch, I use this to check hex values and confirm Alt-Numpad character entry.

I agree that it's much more convenient to do all one's text editing in the one tool.  Once, long ago, I used and proselytized for an excellent DOS tool, namely "Blackbeard, the Programmer's Editor", even many years after its developer abandoned it.  HippoEdit comes closest of anything I've seen to replicating the enormous and very useful feature set of Blackbeard.

Alex, I sympathise entirely, in the full knowledge that even a simple request may require weeks of work to get right.  My working rule of thumb as a developer has always been:

• Analyse the job into its component tasks;
• Estimate the amount of time those tasks _ought_ to take you to do _yourself_, assuming NO interruptions;
• Add up the times;
• Then triple the total.

That's right - use a multiplier of 3.0!  Amazing how often I've got jobs in on the schedules resulting from that approach, while my colleagues were struggling to even get one estimate right.  Even so, it still sometimes takes a few all-night sessions to get the job done on time.  People whose teams only work 8-hour days should use a larger multiplier, say 3.5 to 4.0.

Last thing I want to say right now is this: Your idea of implementing a plug-in system is a good one.  Don't underestimate, though, the effort necessary to design and document the interface requirements, or the ongoing requirement to test that submitted plug-ins meet those requirements (a purpose-built validator may be useful here).  If you get it right, it can be as successful as the plug-in architecture of an Adobe Photoshop, or - perhaps more to the point - an IrfanView.

Keep up the good work! 

Regards,
Yoyo

[alex]

Hello Yoyo,

thanks for your feedback and welcome to community .

I would take into account your wish about plugin system and HEX module
I promise that first viewer plugin for HE implemented would be a HEX viewer

Best regards,
Alex.