Would you use Code Bubbles?

For languages like C# and Java where the actual organisation of code files and blocks (methods, etc) is fairly rigid (even more so in Java than C#) then something that provides a novel "view" of the code could probably work. You could allow the tool to organise your code with one class per file, methods sorted by visibility, or whatever coding standard you wanted, and the tool could handle it all in such a way that someone could still come along and look at the "raw" files and make sense of it all.

It would be a problem for a language like C++ where you can basically do whatever you like...

Think about it this way... What would be easier:

(1.) To have code bubbles in which you can view a chain of functions that are called from each other all in one simultaneous view

-OR-

(2.) Constantly tab back-and-forth between those functions, spread across 6 or 7 source code files, in a single text editor?

Would I use code bubbles? If MS doesn't come out with a VS equivalent in the next few years, I might suddenly develop a very keen interest in becoming a Java developer.

I'll definitely download it and try to use it when it's available. It looks like a neat idea that could speed debugging, code reviews, and some types of development. Also, the code bubbles FAQ said they support viewing whole files as large, scrollable bubbles - so you can break out if the bubble metaphor when needed.

Probably the biggest issue off the top of my head is I don't think there's support for anything but Java. I spent most of my time in C, and multiple language support is critical if they want this idea to really take off.

I would use code bubbles for many reasons, but one that really jazzed me is the debugging. I like the idea that when you step into a function it opens a new bubble for that function, so you can review the code that called the function and the same time see the function its self, i think that's good productivity.

Gath