Better code snippet management with distributable bundles

Originator:ljredpath
Number:rdar://9587558 Date Originated:10 Jun 2011
Status:Closed/Dupe Resolved:
Product:Xcode Product Version:4.0.2
Classification:Enhancement Reproducible:Not Applicable
 
Summary:

Currently, the Xcode 4 code snippets library allows user snippets to be created but they are all grouped together in one big folder. The more snippets a user creates, the more unwieldy this list becomes to manage.

In addition, there is no easy way for users to organize or distribute/share their snippets with others.

Solution:

Allow users to package their snippets as "bundles" that appear as distinct groups in the code snippet organizer and that can be shared with others; bundles could also be stored in source control too.

Users would be able to download code snippet bundles and install them in Xcode simply by double clicking on the bundle (which would open Xcode if it isn't open and prompt the user to install the code snippet bundle).

Further enhancements would be a more dedicated code snippet bundle manager where bundles can be enabled/disabled or removed entirely.

A good archetype for this functionality is the bundle system in the Mac text editor, TextMate [1]. Whilst TextMate bundles can actually define a lot more than simply code snippets, its a similar to what I had in mind.

[1] http://macromates.com/

Comments


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