SIGHT-C-ING
SIGHT-C-ING™ was the premier multiproject source browser for NeXTStep. If you were an object-oriented developer, SIGHT-C-ING's unique combination of essential features, simple interface, and integration into the NeXTStep environment made you far more productive.
SIGHT-C-ING allowed you manage both simple and complex software systems graphically, in terms of their inherent structure, freeing you to concentrate on what you're building. While HeaderViewer allowed you to intermittently look up code information, SIGHT-C-ING would become your primary means for interacting with your source code. With SIGHT-C-ING, you could:
• Browse Objective C and C (and soon C++) code
• Graphically link class hierarchy information to architectural drawings by dragging SIGHT-C-ING's projects, classes, or methods inro other applications such as Diagram!
• Instantly find the definition of language elements such as cypedefs, defines, globals, and methods
• Print project and class trees
• Work with multiple versions of a class
• Cross-reference classes and projects using multiple class browser windows
• Change source or ProjectBuildcr files and classes were automatically reparsed
SIGHT-C-ING let developers easily accomplish the following tasks:
- Inspect class definitions
- Follow message chains
- Identify how and where source code elements were defined
- Link object model diagrams to source code
Inspect class definitions - When determining what objects to use, and how to use them, one needed to inspect the relevant classes and their super classes to determine an object's behavior and capabilities. SIGHT-C-ING made this easy by graphically displaying critical class and hierarchy information, and allowing developers to quickly retrieve an object no matter where it was located on the file system. Further, SIGHT-C-ING organizes related classes into groups by using a graphical tree view, that was synchronized with the project files created by Project Builder(tm). This important feature let developers navigate through large object-oriented systems, since they could focus on the portion of the class hierarchy of interest. This was a feature that was lacking in many of the higher priced source browsers available on other platforms. As an alternative to a hierarchical view of classes, SIGHT-C-ING could also display a straight multi-column listing of a project's classes.
Follow message chains - When adding new features or debugging a program, the developer needed to follow message call chains in order to determine how existing methods behave and interact with other objects. SIGHT-C-ING supported this activity by providing multiple source browsing windows and instant method retrieval capabilities. When SIGHT-C-ING was used to follow a message chain, the developer used the browser windows to subsequently display each class and method in the message chain. This allowed one to easily follow message call chains, and then jump back and forth between the code segments of interest.
Identify how and where source code elements were defined - As code was designed and implemented, it was often necessary to determine how and where a particular element or class was defined. To accelerate code element searches through hundreds of possible objects, SIGHT-C-ING used an Indexing Kit store to save object definition information. Thus, by using services or SIGHT-C-ING's find panel, developers could instantly display all the objects and modules that define critical code elements, such as typedefs, defines, globals and methods.
Link object model diagrams to source code - When designing a new application, or adding new classes to an existing one, it was best to work with an object model that captures the dynamic relationships and associations between the objects in the application. Developers that use Diagram! (or other applications that support pasting link buttons) could connect the projects, classes and methods displayed in SIGHT-C-ING into their object models. Then when they clicked on a class node in Diagram!, the location of the class in the hierarchy as well as its methods and other class details were displayed in SIGHT-C-ING. This feature supported the design phase of a project, since developers could define the headers of classes, using comments to describe how methods behave. This was a simple and powerful way to design a system and then connect its object model directly to source code. Thus, object models were not only valuable during the design and review phases, but also prove valuable during the development and maintenance phases of an application.
BENEFITS:
- Improves individual and team productivity.
- supported the design review and code inspection processes.
- allowed for a greater level of software reuse, since the information for any object in a system was at the finger tips of every development team member.
- allowed for higher quality software designs.
- Improves software maintainability.
- Speeds up debugging.
- Minimizes ramp-up costs for new developers.
DETAILED FEATURE LIST:
- Browse the class hierarchy of Objective-C and C code (and soon C++). Quickly examine the behavior of all classes in the hierarchy branch, no matter where they reside in your file system.
- Paste-and-link SIGHT-C-ING's projects, classes, or methods into other applications such as Diagram!. Create architectural designs and then click on a graphic's link button to see the detailed definition of objects in SIGHT-C-ING.
- Simultaneously display multiple class browsers. This allowed you to cross reference classes and projects. It also allowed you to easily follow message chains.
- Graphically view the entire project tree at once. This allowed you to quickly jump to different projects, or pop up the project's Project Builder(tm) panel.
- Easily view the class hierarchy of any project. Double-click on a project to view the classes of a project and all its subprojects.
- Identify all classes that respond to a specific method.
- Instantly find the definition of code elements such as typedefs, defines, globals and methods.
- Print project and class trees. Great for code reviews.
- Work with multiple versions of a class.
- Focus into specific portions of a class or project tree.
- supported RTF format.
- Graphically peruse class libraries.
- Integrated with DELTA-T, Hypersight's upcoming visual configuration management application.
- And more...
Easy to Use
- Simply drag-and-drop source directories into SIGHT-C-ING's project tree.
- Classes were automatically reparsed when files were changed.
- Classes were automatically added and removed from the source browser as they were added or removed from Project Builder.
- Rearrange projects in the project tree with simple drag-and-drop actions.
- Reshape project and class trees to make optimal use of screen space.
- Set project and class colors within any tree view, by dragging and dropping color tiles.
- Zoom in and out, change fonts, and more...
Hypersight. Inc.
S49S
$295 Registered Developers
Academic discounts were available.