Eclipse Code Recommenders Overview
Eclipse Code Recommenders is an innovative plugin designed for the Eclipse Java Development Tools, aimed at enhancing the developer experience by providing intelligent code completion and other productivity-enhancing features.
What it Does
Eclipse Code Recommenders leverages the collective knowledge of the developer community to improve code completion suggestions. Instead of relying solely on alphabetical ordering or static lists, the plugin uses a database of usage patterns gathered from large-scale analyses of open-source repositories, such as GitHub, and historical data from the development community. This approach ensures that the most frequently used and relevant code completions are prioritized, making the development process more efficient and intuitive.
Key Features and Functionality
1. Intelligent Code Completion
The plugin analyzes how developers use APIs and methods, and rearranges the completion proposals based on their relevance and frequency of use. This means that the most commonly chosen completions are displayed at the top, reducing the time spent searching through lengthy lists.
2. Subword Completion
Code Recommenders supports subword completion, allowing developers to find methods or classes even when they only know a part of the name, not necessarily the beginning. This feature significantly enhances the usability of the autocompletion functionality.
3. Extended Documentation
The plugin provides an Extended Documentation view that shows how often certain methods are called or overridden. This feature is particularly useful for learning new APIs, as it offers real-world usage insights that traditional documentation often lacks.
4. Smart Template Engines
Code Recommenders includes tools that help developers find and share frequently recurring code snippets and method call chains. This feature simplifies the process of working with complex APIs by providing pre-defined templates based on common usage patterns.
5. Crowd-sourced and Usage-Driven API Documentation
The plugin enriches API documentation by incorporating real-world usage data extracted from existing code. This approach ensures that the documentation reflects how developers actually use the APIs, making it more practical and relevant.
6. Call Chain Recommendations
Code Recommenders can suggest call chains, helping developers navigate through complex method calls, such as finding the Active Window or Status Line Manager. This feature is particularly useful in deep call chains common in Eclipse development.
Data Sources and Privacy
The data used by Code Recommenders is sourced from open-source repositories and, in earlier versions, from community feedback. However, due to privacy concerns, the community feedback feature that sent usage data to the Codetrails server was discontinued in later versions, such as those shipped with Eclipse Mars.
Conclusion
Eclipse Code Recommenders is a powerful tool that leverages community-driven data to enhance the Eclipse development environment. By providing intelligent code completion, extended documentation, smart templates, and usage-driven API insights, it significantly improves developer productivity and reduces the complexity of working with large APIs.