IDLE - Add an extension configuration dialog

[taleinat]

BPO	3068
Nosy	@terryjreedy, @kbkaiser, @taleinat, @ned-deily
Files	IDLE_configExtensionsDialog.080609.patch: initial patch taleinat.20140209.IDLE__Add_a_config_dialog_for_extensions.patch: updated patch (against branch 3.3; changeset 3e62c6c3977e) issue3068_osx.zip: zip file with screenshots jpgs cfg-ext-34.diff cfg-ext-34-2.diff: extra whitespace removed cfg-ext-34-3.diff: changes for Heblikar items 1-3. cfg-ext-34-4.diff cfg-ext-34-5.diff cfg-ext-34-5a.diff

^{Note: these values reflect the state of the issue at the time it was migrated and might not reflect the current state.}

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GitHub fields:

assignee = 'https://github.com/terryjreedy'
closed_at = <Date 2014-12-04.06:27:53.295>
created_at = <Date 2008-06-09.18:10:31.464>
labels = ['expert-IDLE', 'type-feature']
title = 'IDLE - Add an extension configuration dialog'
updated_at = <Date 2014-12-04.06:27:53.294>
user = 'https://github.com/taleinat'

bugs.python.org fields:

activity = <Date 2014-12-04.06:27:53.294>
actor = 'terry.reedy'
assignee = 'terry.reedy'
closed = True
closed_date = <Date 2014-12-04.06:27:53.295>
closer = 'terry.reedy'
components = ['IDLE']
creation = <Date 2008-06-09.18:10:31.464>
creator = 'taleinat'
dependencies = []
files = ['10561', '34014', '35559', '36840', '36904', '36921', '36928', '36931', '36932']
hgrepos = []
issue_num = 3068
keywords = ['patch']
message_count = 38.0
messages = ['67872', '67873', '210214', '210269', '210274', '210281', '210295', '210305', '210649', '210758', '210773', '210775', '210780', '220194', '220259', '223314', '223315', '223325', '228825', '228826', '228830', '228831', '228890', '229268', '229290', '229301', '229315', '229323', '229340', '229367', '229384', '229397', '229412', '229414', '229844', '229850', '229982', '232106']
nosy_count = 8.0
nosy_names = ['terry.reedy', 'kbk', 'taleinat', 'gpolo', 'ned.deily', 'weeble', 'python-dev', 'Saimadhav.Heblikar']
pr_nums = []
priority = 'normal'
resolution = 'fixed'
stage = 'resolved'
status = 'closed'
superseder = None
type = 'enhancement'
url = 'https://bugs.python.org/issue3068'
versions = ['Python 2.7', 'Python 3.4', 'Python 3.5']

[taleinat]

Attaching a patch for a straightforward extension config dialog, largely
based on configDialog.py.

This uses the multiple-tab-rows feature of the TabbedPageSet widget from
the tabbedPages module, as well as the included VerticalScrolledFrame
widget. Other than that there's nothing really new here.

[taleinat]

I forgot to mention:

This patch also removes the "paragraph width" option from the "General"
tab in the normal IDLE config, since that configures a parameter of the
FormatParagraph extension, which can now be done in the extension config
dialog.

[taleinat]

Is there any chance this patch could get some love? I've stopped using IDLE a long time ago, but this patch is a great improvement!

[terryjreedy]

I expect I will look at this eventually. However, my priorities are bugs, tests, and enhancements that benefit me. From the description, this moves one configuration option that I do not use to a new dialog. So I do not see any immediate improvement for me. Is the idea to have a framework in place for new extensions that have configuration options?

I am not really clear on why some features, like reformat, are considered 'extensions' rather than just normal features, and why its configuration should be segregated.

The comment "A pure Tkinter scrollable frame that actually works!" suggests that there is somewhere a scrollable frame that does not work. The docs? The tkinter package? In any case, this seems like something that perhaps should go in the tkinter package.

[taleinat]

As the title suggests, this patch adds a second configuration dialog, used to configure extensions.

This is useful because many extensions have parameters, but setting them can only be done by editing a file. Also, the documentation for such parameters is hard to find (when it exists). Finally, it allows us (the IDLE devs) to add more default extensions, allowing users to easily configure them or disable them, all without cluttering the regular config dialog.

Regarding the patch, please note that it is from 5.5 years ago. Back then there was no scrollable frame that worked properly, so I implemented one which worked well enough for the config dialogs. I didn't test it thoroughly enough in other scenarios to suggest adding it to Tkinter.

I think that since then a proper scrollable frame was added to Tk, so that part of the patch is probably no longer necessary.

[terryjreedy]

(Because of PEP-434, this could be added to all current versions if and when it is added. Marking for 3.5 is enough for now.)

I am not yet very familiar with either extensions or configuration.

many extensions have parameters, but setting them can only be done by editing a file

If this is true of existing extensions (and I don't even know which features are 'extensions), then this patch would be useful now. Otherwise, it could wait until new extensions are included.

As I understand the patch so far, it creates a generic tab from a section of a configuration file. Would 3rd party extensions add such a section? Or do we really need a mechanism for extension files to define a tab for the extension. (This would also enable custom placements of fields.)

I personally have no need to disable extensions, but if there were another 10 or 20, I can imagine a class instructor would like a way to easily simplify the interface, or to make a custom extension easier to work with.

the documentation for such parameters is hard to find (when it exists)

I recently disabled the useless help button on the configuration dialog. I think what is needed is a tab-specific help text. That would work especially well for extension-specific tabs, but we would need a mechanism to get help text from an extension file.

[taleinat]

(This is a bit long; there's a TL;DR at the end.)

You'd be surprised how many of IDLE's features are implemented as extensions. These are simply included in idlelib, enabled by default and configured with reasonable values.

Take a look at Lib/idlelib/config-extensions.def, and you'll see all of the bundled extensions' configuration values. (Every extension must have a section in config-extensions.def or a user's config-extensions.cfg to be enabled.)

So, for example, auto-completion is an extension. Besides disabling it completely, a user can also change the delay before the completion list appears automatically by setting 'popupwait', and customize the key bindings for the 'autocomplete' and 'force-open-completions' events.

The 'ParenMatch' and 'CodeContext' extensions also each have several configurable settings. And most extensions have at least one event to which keyboard shortcuts can be bound.

If after all of the above you look again at the 'FormatParagraph' extension, you'll see that it's breaking the convention. The maximum line width is configurable, but isn't found in config-extensions.def! Instead of using the normal extension configuration mechanism, FormatParagraph reads the 'maxformatwidth' config value from IDLE's main configuration on every call to format_paragraph_event().

Why was this done? To allow users to configure this setting using the GUI instead of editing a config file! If a config dialog for extensions had existed, this hack wouldn't have been necessary.

So what does my patch achieve?

• It makes many more of IDLE's settings easy to discover, set and fiddle with. Some of these are actually useful, e.g. AutoComplete's 'popupwait' setting.
• Makes it reasonable to tell a user "just disable auto-completions from the extension config dialog". (Without this patch: "find your .idlerc folder; open the config-extensions.cfg file or create one if it doesn't exist; find the [AutoComplete] section; make sure enable=0 is written directly under it".)
• Removes the inconsistent hack in FormatParagraph.format_paragraph_event().
• Makes it more reasonable to bundle more extensions with IDLE (such as my Squeezer extension; see bpo-1529353).

[terryjreedy]

Thank you! This is a bit of the 'Idle Developer's Guide' that I wish existed. It turns out that the exceptional FormatParagraph.py is the one extension file I am really familiar with, because I worked with a GSOC student to write tests and fix/improve it. I agree that this would be useful now.

[terryjreedy]

I tried applying the patch and Hg say this:
abort: unable to strip away 1 of 1 dirs from Bindings.py
Since the patch just adds a line, I do not understand the message.
Do you have any ideas?

[taleinat]

It's an old patch and it may not be in a properly recognized format.

I'll create a new patch soon.

[terryjreedy]

Please do; the devguide says which format is preferred. While you are at it, please

1. write it against 3.3, leaving a 2.7 backport for last;
2. just add the new stuff, leaving format-paragraph changes for a separate patch;
3. consider the format points I raised with bpo-20569 (if you disagree, let's discuss)
   a. 'import tkinter as tk'
   b. a new test file
   c. shorter, lowercase title, such as 'configex.py', or...
   d. is a new file really needed? or add to what is now called configDialog.py?

I am ready to do this. While it is too late for 3.3.4 and 3.4.0 (rc1) due out today, I would like to have this in and tested in use for subsequent releases after that (2.7.7, the final 3.3.5, 3.4.1, and of course, 3.5.0).

While reviewing bpo-20569 I realized that having an easy way to enable/disable extensions would lower the bar for adding new ones. The fact that some people would not want something present would not prevent having it available to others. (This point is true even if a clipboard history or snippets list could not be added as an extension.)

A current 'Future of Python' thread on idle-sig reminded me that multiple people would like 1 or more of the tested idlex extensions added. This dialog would make additions easier by making their use easier. That thread also suggested that Idle needs more 'excitement', which means some new features. Tests and bug fixes, though important, tend to be boring to most people. So I have adjusted my priorities a bit.