Thanks, @RedBeach – I take your criticism as positive. Please take my “rebuttals” in the same vein. 
1. Long Files - I see breaking the code into chunks as an intermediate step toward getting rid of more code in the future. I’ve been writing code since the mid-80s and it ticks me off that I have to keep writing the same things over and over. I’m not necessarily wanting a fill in the blanks environment, but I think there’s a middle ground between “writing every stinking line” and “drag-and-drop” that hasn’t been adequately explored, yet.
If I can figure out how to put a picture in here I’ll show you one option I’ve been playing with. If you drop an image in the Outlaw/Desperado editor it pops up a window with a bunch of defaults you can change and then it inserts the generated code where you dropped the image. Right now it’s a one-way trip, but I want to be able to either A) select the chunk of code and parse it back into the dialog, or B) turn it into a “component” that can be referenced in the code, but doesn’t actually exist in the code. (Think along the lines of a prefab in Unity.)
While the details of that may not be your cup of tea, I hope I got the concept across – less code to type that has nothing to do with the program/game itself – let something else keep track of the minutiae so developers can focus on the creative parts of programming.
2. Variables Away from Code – True, but only the global vars are out of sight; all the local variables would be right there in the function view. And in the current version there’s a specific “place” for global vars, so viewing them is as easy as viewing any function. Also, I don’t know anyone who defines global variables in amongst their functions, so their global vars will be out of sight in any case.
3. Screen Space Used – While I tend to leave the function list open, everything else can be shown/hidden with a single click which gives you most of the screen for code. Yes, there’s room for improvement with the current UI, no doubt. I should have put keystrokes on the show/hide pane options, for example.
As a developer, my main concern is always to improve my coding efficiency, which translates to more bug-free good-quality code in less time as possible.
I hear you. Which is why I want to write less code and have the IDE write it when it makes sense. Desperado allows you to write shorthand and then it expands those when you run the project.
Thanks for the conversation – pounding on ideas is the best way to see which ones crumble.
Jay
