# RE: 'Best' IDE for testing and debugging **URL:** \ **Category:** Rails\ **Created:** [February 17, 2006, 11:01pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/re-best-ide-for-testing-and-debugging/53949 "2006-02-17T23:01:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HoganS\_Brian\_P](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/h/9de0a6/32.png) [@HoganS\_Brian\_P](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/HoganS_Brian_P)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 11:01pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/re-best-ide-for-testing-and-debugging/53949/1 "2006-02-17T23:01:01Z")
Bill: If you’re interested in Eclipse and RDT, I might suggest the setup I use in my development. I find it much more useful than RadRails\*\*\* but you have to build it yourself. (I do provide downloadable configuration files and templates to speed up the process. [http://www.napcs.com/howto/railsonwindows.html](http://www.napcs.com/howto/railsonwindows.html) Screens here: [http://www.napcs.com/howto/railsonwindows-screens.html](http://www.napcs.com/howto/railsonwindows-screens.html) \*\*\* RadRails [http://www.radrails.org](http://www.radrails.org) is coming along nicely though. ---
**Author:** ![HoganS\_Brian\_P](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/h/9de0a6/32.png) [@HoganS\_Brian\_P](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/HoganS_Brian_P)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 11:13pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/re-best-ide-for-testing-and-debugging/53949/2 "2006-02-17T23:13:10Z")
Great piece of writing. [del.icio.us](http://del.icio.us)’ed the link instantly. ---
**Author:** ![HoganS\_Brian\_P](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/h/9de0a6/32.png) [@HoganS\_Brian\_P](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/HoganS_Brian_P)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 11:40pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/re-best-ide-for-testing-and-debugging/53949/3 "2006-02-17T23:40:24Z")
From: “Hogan, Brian P.” [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) > If you’re interested in Eclipse and RDT, I might suggest the setup I use > in my development. I find it much more useful than RadRails\*\*\* but you > have to build it yourself. (I do provide downloadable configuration > files and templates to speed up the process. > [Setting up a Rails Development Environment on Windows Using Eclipse | New Auburn Personal Computer Services LLC](http://www.napcs.com/howto/railsonwindows.html) I should say that I found Brian’s instructions absolutely invaluable when I set up Eclipse and RDT. ---
**Author:** ![HoganS\_Brian\_P](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/h/9de0a6/32.png) [@HoganS\_Brian\_P](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/HoganS_Brian_P)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 1:32am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/re-best-ide-for-testing-and-debugging/53949/4 "2006-02-21T01:32:17Z")
Yes, Matt. It does, thanks to Ruby Developer Tools and the Web Tools platform for Eclipse… I have some Rails-specific templates available on my site. If you follow those instructions, you’ll be able to do quite a bit of completion. In an editor (rb or rhtml files) you can do CTRL + Spacebar and then type letters to start the completion process. It’s actually very handy and the only way we get stuff done around here. See [Setting up a Rails Development Environment on Windows Using Eclipse | New Auburn Personal Computer Services LLC](http://www.napcs.com/howto/railsonwindows.html) for details. As I learn more about Rails, I add more to the template files for my build. And I just received some wonderful news today that just by using the Mac version of Eclipse, my instructions can {mostly) be followed to make the environment available on the Mac under OSX. Instructions for Linux are coming soon, as I finally have it working on Debian. ---
**Author:** ![HoganS\_Brian\_P](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/h/9de0a6/32.png) [@HoganS\_Brian\_P](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/HoganS_Brian_P)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 6:03am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/re-best-ide-for-testing-and-debugging/53949/5 "2006-02-21T06:03:02Z")
Matt T. wrote: > Does Eclipse, in any form, support code completion and/or code > formatting? By code completion I don’t mean diving my method names > from objects, but more like when I type “def foo”, it automatically > inserts “end” below it. Same thing for code formatting, when I type > “def foo” or “if object.empty?”, it’ll automatically indent me two > more spaces when hit enter, end un-indent me when I type “end”. Radrails does this (both standalone and plugin): type “def” and ctrl-space in .rb file or in \<%%\> in .rhtml and you should get code assist with “def - method definition” highlighted. Hit enter and it puts in the “def” and “end” with “method\_name” highlighted; type the method name and it replaces “method\_name”. b ---
**Author:** ![HoganS\_Brian\_P](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/h/9de0a6/32.png) [@HoganS\_Brian\_P](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/HoganS_Brian_P)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 1:23am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/re-best-ide-for-testing-and-debugging/53949/6 "2006-02-21T01:23:15Z")
On 2/17/06, Hogan, Brian P. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > [http://www.napcs.com/howto/railsonwindows-screens.html](http://www.napcs.com/howto/railsonwindows-screens.html) > To: removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid > capabilities. > plug-in development. > [http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails](http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails) Does Eclipse, in any form, support code completion and/or code formatting? By code completion I don’t mean diving my method names from objects, but more like when I type “def foo”, it automatically inserts “end” below it. Same thing for code formatting, when I type “def foo” or “if object.empty?”, it’ll automatically indent me two more spaces when hit enter, end un-indent me when I type “end”. It’s a deal-breaker for me and when I last tried Eclipse it didn’t do this. Am I just ignorant about how to turn this on? Also, I’ve been mighty disappointed in Komodo. I loved Komodo for PHP work, but it just isn’t Ruby ready. The RHTML support is awful, the debugging breaks your scripts more often than it works, and it lacks all but the most basic niceties for Ruby editing. Unfortunately, the best editor I’ve found that’ll run on Windows is jEdit. I say unfortunately because, being written in Java + SWING, it’s slow as all get out to use. It just has that sluggish Java bloat to it that we all know and hate. It also takes a whole 'lotta configuration to get up and running in any usable way. But even with all of that, it still works the best. At least until UltraEdit gets Ruby support or Komodo cleans up its act. Really, a good editor is one of my biggest hang-ups with using Rails. I love the framework to death, but actually writing code for it is an excercise in constant frustration. I really wish TextMate would be ported to Windows, it would really help Rails adoptation. – -Matt T.