JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA Blog

When you need to modify code containing the usages of methods with long parameter lists, it’s sometimes too complicated to realize what parameter you are modifying.


For example, you have a call like the following and need to know what exactly you are changing.




You might already know that IntelliJ IDEA has the CTRL+P shortcut that brings up a brief description of which parameters are passed to the method. It’s very handy and saves a lot of time that otherwise would have been spent looking up the method declaration.




The trick I want to tell you about is that you can use the TAB and SHIFT+TAB shortcuts, when the parameter description popup is open, to scroll through the list. IntelliJ IDEA will move the caret and highlight the parameter so you can easily see which value you are going to alter.



Though using too many parameters in a method is rare for our team, this little feature helped out when we used code like this:

We’re happy to announce the partnership with MB technologies, the company that developed Bindows support plugin for IntelliJ IDEA.

Bindows framework is the best commercial platform for developing of AJAX-enabled Web applications.


You are welcome to read the official press release, explore the plugin features and watch the live screencast showing them in action.


The screencast is also available from IntellJ IDEA Learning Center and from FTP server (44 Mb).


The plugin is available from IntelliJ IDEA Plugin Repository.


You can also download it via built-in Plugin Manager:

1. Press CTRL+ALT+S to bring up the Settings dialog
2. Select Plugins, then click Available tab
3. Right-click Bindows plugin from the list and select Download and Install
4. Restart IntelliJ IDEA to start using the plugin

This post is on one hand a response to the comment about several plugins that add IntelliJ IDEA toolbar icons not functioning in the latest Milestone release and a short how-to about customizing IntelliJ IDEA toolbars and menus, on the other.

Say, I have a SVN plugin command (for example, Browse Repository) I want to be accessible through a toolbar shortcut. Here’s what I need to do:

1. Open the Settings, Customizations dialog (CTRL+ALT+S then R shortcut).
2. Click + to copy the default toolbar and menu schema
   
   

3. Expand the Main Toolbar section and scroll down to the place I want the new button at.
4. Click Add after
5. Expand Plugins, Subversion Integration and locate the command I’m looking for.
   
6. Optionally specify the toolbar icon (a 32×32 PNG file). If it’s omitted, IntelliJ IDEA will use the fancy default icon for new toolbar command.
7. Click OK to close all dialogs and here’s the result:
   

We’re very glad to announce that our colleagues at Atlassian are running their second annual plugin competition.

This year, they’re giving away $20,000 in cash and a bunch of software licenses, including ones from JetBrains.

The person or team (up to three) who comes up with the coolest, most useful, most elegant plugin for each of Atlassian’s products (JIRA, Confluence, Bamboo or Crowd) will go home with the prizes.

The contest will run until May 13th.

Full details can be found here: http://confluence.atlassian.com/display/CODEGEIST

Good luck, and happy hunting!

The votes are in and the main JAX Innovation Award 2007 goes to… Groovy!

“The contribution “Groovy,” handed in by the Codehaus Community, won the first prize of the JAX Innovation Award 2007. “Groovy proves in a unique way that the Java Community is capable of substantial innovations even in the year 12 after its creation“, said Sebastian Meyen, member of the JAX Innovation Award Jury. “The project is a satisfying answer to the latest trends regarding agile, dynamic programming languages and helps users to secure their investments in the Java platform.”

Read the full post at http://jax-award.de/jax_award/gewinner_eng.php.

JetBrains, as makers of IntelliJ IDEA, concur with the jury. We also think Groovy is a great innovative technology! What is more, we’re working on extending the essential IntelliJ IDEA features to Groovy. These include compilation and building, code completion, smart navigation and search, and a lot more.

Look forward to Groovy support in IntelliJ IDEA!