This talk attempted to zoom out and present some of the impending challenges for IDE design — particularly around GUI. The current MDI stype IDE interface has remained essentially unchanged since inception, while using 2+ large monitors has become increasingly common. Many people now develop while on the road (train tracks in my case!) using a laptop, where screen space is much more constrained. Input devices are also changing, with support for multitouch and gestures already in mainstream use. Developers are also building larger systems and require more focused and efficient filtering of information. Multiple CPUs allow the IDE to be more proactive in offering developer assistance, without disrupting the developer’s chain of thought with modal operations. Apparently developers are also spending far more time exploring and reading code, rather than “just” editing source files.

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