RE: IDE

[Drew Adams <drew.adams@oracle.com>]

> > 3. Jumping around the project code and resources.
> > Jumping to around the project code and used libraries. Another
> > thing is jumping to/from resources (for example aspects can be
> > defined in an XML file and IDE could allow to jump to matching
> > classes).
> 
> Do you mean "jump to the thing at point"? That sounds complicated,
> and support for different "things" will have to be implemented
> separately.

Sounds like good ol' Emacs TAGS, to me (or across-project Imenu).
Of course, the limiting factor is TAGS files that support such
"things".  But the infrastructure is there for it.  People have
been using Emacs TAGS files to "jump to the [definition of the]
thing at point" for 40 years.

> > 4. Finding usages of fields, methods, types.
> > Helps to wrap head around project.
> 
> That's within the purview of xref, and up to CEDET or external
> tools to implement. But you can try xref-find-references now,
> for a quick-and-dirty Grep-based solution.

TAGS files are typically for definitions, but they can be for
anything, including "usages of fields, methods, types".  You
could have different TAGS files for each of these "usages",
and use (search) them selectively or together.

What has not been done is write the code to create such TAGS
files, AFAIK.  (Maybe Semantic helps here?)