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<div class=Section1>
<p class=MsoNormal>I really don’t mean to whine. I’m actually only
sending you this email in the hope that something will get fixed.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Also, this email is long. Sorry. However, this is the only
time that you’ll hear about my complaint – because I run into
problems long before I become invested in your application. Thus, I want to
give enough background that you understand why I, and probably a lot of people
like me, don’t use Eric.<o:p></o:p></p>
<div style='mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid #622423 1.0pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in'>
<h2>Background<o:p></o:p></h2>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal>I first decided to try Eric in 2003 or 2004. At the time, I
was choosing my Python IDE. I have since re-evaluated IDEs several times; Eric
has always been on my list. However, Eric has never won – or really even
been considered on its merits – because of one critical, overriding, and
blocking flaw.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Installing the damn thing sucks.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>To me, and IDE is an application. It has competitors. Thus,
I try it, and several competitors out to see how they work for me. At this
point, I’m not invested much in any one application – as is typical
for a potential user. Thus, as is also typical, I want to quickly get in and
see what the app will do for me. In particular, any installation process only
gets in my way – the only thing it can cause me to do is to give up on
that application and only evaluate the competitors.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>That’s exactly what Eric’s install process has
done to me, 4 times now. Honestly, I only keep trying it because Eric claims to
have rope integration. That’s my only point of dissatisfaction with my
current tools. In other words, you’ve already lost, but this one feature
makes me willing to offer you a shot at best 5 out of 9.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Basically, I’ve got the following set of invisible requirements:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span
style='mso-list:Ignore'>1.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></span><![endif]>The app should be an app.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:-.25in;
mso-list:l0 level2 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>a.<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span><![endif]>It
should not mess with (pollute) any system resources (such as my python
install). Any dependency you install centrally means that I can now miss that
dependency when one of my applications has it. Thus, your IDE gives me the
chance to introduce a distribution bug in my application – and those are
one of the hardest types to detect and most embarrassing to ship.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:-.25in;
mso-list:l0 level2 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>b.<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span><![endif]>It
should also not depend on system resources. I am not going to worry about your
app when I update my system. If Eric breaks, I’ll just stop using it –
there are always other options.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span
style='mso-list:Ignore'>2.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></span><![endif]>As a human, I tell my computer my intent. It then does
it. I am not an automated script.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpLast style='margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:-.25in;
mso-list:l0 level2 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>a.<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span><![endif]>Thus,
your installer should instruct my computer how to do the install. I should only
need to say “yup, install Eric,” and then everything should work.
You really, really, really don’t want to force me to learn about your
internals before I can even install your app. At this point in the process,
knowing that Eric is written in Python is a <i>negative</i>. I don’t have
to know what Firefox is written in to use it. I only need to know that when I
want to extend it – and even then, not really – I just need to know
what language its interpreter runs.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Also, there are a couple of things I really don’t care
about. Use these to meet my requirements.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l2 level1 lfo2'><![if !supportLists]><span
style='mso-list:Ignore'>1.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></span><![endif]>I’ve got a fat pipe and lots of disk space.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:-.25in;
mso-list:l2 level2 lfo2'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>a.<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span><![endif]>I
don’t care about download size.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpLast style='margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:-.25in;
mso-list:l2 level2 lfo2'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>b.<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span><![endif]>I
really don’t care about install size. I don’t care about install
redundancy. Install a whole new copy of Python if you want. Heck, install 2. Install
one of every minor version from 2.2 through 3.1. As long as they’re
inside your app’s directory & don’t pollute my system, I could
care less what you do.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Remember: this is an IDE. It’s going to a non-server
machine. I’ve probably got about half a TB lying around even after
installing my games and music files. Even on a laptop, I’ve probably got
a few hundred GB free these days.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>So, with the above knowledge of what I’m looking for,
here’s the experience I have every time I try out a new round of IDEs:<o:p></o:p></p>
<div style='mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid #622423 1.0pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in'>
<h2>PyDev<o:p></o:p></h2>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Ugh. Another
Eclipse-based IDE. OK, fine. Maybe this time it’ll be worth it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l4 level1 lfo3'><![if !supportLists]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>1.<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Get Eclipse.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l4 level1 lfo3'><![if !supportLists]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>2.<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Hunt through eclipse for the right
way to get a plugin (can never remember as I only do this once a year or so).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l4 level1 lfo3'><![if !supportLists]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>3.<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Look around online. Find answer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l4 level1 lfo3'><![if !supportLists]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>4.<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Install PyDev extension plugin.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l4 level1 lfo3'><![if !supportLists]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>5.<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Start using. Discover that most of
the advertised good stuff isn’t actually there. It’s in the PyDev
extensions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l4 level1 lfo3'><![if !supportLists]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>6.<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Look up PyDev extensions. No free
trial. More install pain.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpLast style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l4 level1 lfo3'><![if !supportLists]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>7.<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Well, perhaps I’ll try those
out later. Let’s try a competitor first.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style='mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid #622423 1.0pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in'>
<h2>Komodo<o:p></o:p></h2>
</div>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l5 level1 lfo4'><![if !supportLists]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>1.<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Sign up. Hate to make an account
just to get a trial. Oh well.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l5 level1 lfo4'><![if !supportLists]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>2.<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Download.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l5 level1 lfo4'><![if !supportLists]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>3.<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Run Installer. Wait, and app opens,
ready to explore.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpLast style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l5 level1 lfo4'><![if !supportLists]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>4.<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Explore app. This is pretty nifty.
Certainly a strong contender. Let’s see what other options are out there.
In particular, I’d like refactoring. Hey, Eric claims good integration
with Rope. Let’s try that.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style='mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid #622423 1.0pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in'>
<h2>Eric<o:p></o:p></h2>
</div>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l3 level1 lfo5'><![if !supportLists]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>1.<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Hit the download page. I have to
what! You’ve got to be kidding me! OK, fine, I’ll try it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l3 level1 lfo5'><![if !supportLists]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>2.<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Download the app. Download 8
dependencies (I want to see the “optional” features, after all –
they’re the only differentiation between Eric and the competitors).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l3 level1 lfo5'><![if !supportLists]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>3.<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>It corrupts my system python? Screw
that. That’ll give me bugs in my apps.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l3 level1 lfo5'><![if !supportLists]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>4.<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Well, I could get around that with a
virtualenv or non-system Python install. Yeah, I’ll try that if the other
competitors all suck.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpLast style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l3 level1 lfo5'><![if !supportLists]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>5.<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Bail.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style='mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid #622423 1.0pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in'>
<h2>Wing IDE<o:p></o:p></h2>
</div>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo6'><![if !supportLists]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>1.<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Download the installer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo6'><![if !supportLists]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>2.<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Run it. Wait. App loads, and asks me
whether I want to start a free trial. Click yes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpLast style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo6'><![if !supportLists]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>3.<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>I’m in and exploring the app –
without any pain already built up. Means I’m much more likely to have
good impressions about their features.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style='mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid #622423 1.0pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in'>
<h2>Evaluation<o:p></o:p></h2>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>OK, so I’ve
got two of them that look good. Should I go back and try one of the others?
Well, both claim to add refactoring support. I’d really like that. But
both are a pain to install.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>I don’t
want to waste time right now. Let’s just use these two and get back to
work on the thing I actually care about – my project. Maybe I’ll
look at the others in a couple of weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>A couple of
weeks pass…<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>I don’t
even think to go back and try the others. I’ve learned how to make one
(or both) of Wing and Komodo do what I want. It never even occurs to me any
more to look for an IDE. I’ve solved that problem. Eventually, I see the
downloaded files & PyDev’s Eclipse instance lying around. I laugh and
hit the delete key.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>In summary,
I’d really like to try Eric. Rope integration makes it worth writing you
this email. However, it doesn’t make it worth corrupting my system Python,
going through a long, manual install process, or trying to adapt that install
process into one that doesn’t corrupt my Python.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>I hope, one
day, to be able to evaluate Eric on its own merits, rather than just on the
abject failure of its install process.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>In the mean
time, I’ve got 2 IDEs that are good enough, so no real skin off my nose.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Arlo<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
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