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Learning a new editor can be a daunting task, and it is a task that I faced in
May 2013 when I switched to Komodo (briefly to Edit and then to IDE) after a 7
year history with my previous editor. After becoming familiar with the Komodo
interface and keyboard shortcuts, I quickly began looking for other ways to
boost my productivity. When I was researching new editors, I remember being
impressed with how easy it was to extend the editor’s features using languages
like JavaScript and Python which were already in my repertoire, and that was one
of the reasons I ended up choosing Komodo.
Komodo IDE does a good job of providing integrated productivity tools such as
its publishing feature, integration with source control, and Rx toolkit, but as
I became more comfortable with my new editor, I was looking for more. I decided
the best way to boost my productivity was to spend more time in the IDE instead
of switching between applications in my workflow. At about the same time I began
looking for more ways to maximize my time in the IDE, I began seeing posts in my
feed reader about “how to do (insert task here) from the command line.” This led
to one of the most productivity-boosting mechanisms that I have implemented
since switching to Komodo — using macros to call third-party scripts and
services such as the ones I use to manage my day-to-day schedule or code
deployments.
## Ticketing System
My employer uses [Jira]( https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira) to manage
developer tasks and projects, and I spent a lot of time toggling between Komodo
and my browser. Since I already had Python on the path of my development
machine, I installed [jira-cli](https://pypi.python.org/pypi/jira-cli). With
this switch, I can now look at the tickets that are assigned to me, comment on
issues, or create new tickets in Komodo directly. All of the macros I wrote that
use jira-cli use interpolation to execute commands, and the output from each
command is printed in the bottom pane of Komodo so I never have to leave the
IDE.
## Logging Time
The concept of billable hours is likely a familiar concept to any developer that
works at for agency or in-house shop. To keep track of my hours, I use a Ruby
gem called [Timetrap]( https://github.com/samg/timetrap). Once I look up tickets
from Jira, I start a timer to begin recording my time with another interpolation
macro inside of Komodo:
~~~js
// Sample macro to start the Timetrap timer.
// Note: Ruby is on my system path so the shell has
// access to the timetrap command
komodo.assertMacroVersion(3);
if (komodo.view) { komodo.view.setFocus(); }
(function(){
var command = ‘timetrap in’;
var task = ko.interpolate.interpolateString([“%(ask:Enter a task:)”]);
if (task) {
ko.run.runEncodedCommand(window, ‘timetrap out’, function(){
task = task.trim();
if(task.length) {
command = command + ‘ ‘ + task;
}
ko.run.runEncodedCommand(window, command);
});
}
})();
~~~
When I’m finished with the ticket, I can then run another macro to stop the
timer and see the total amount of time I spent on the ticket so I can record my
time in Jira:
~~~js
// Clock out of the task in timetrap and display the time
komodo.assertMacroVersion(3);
if (komodo.view) { komodo.view.setFocus(); }
(function(){
var command = ‘timetrap out’;
ko.run.runEncodedCommand(window, command, function(){
var command = ‘timetrap display -v’;
ko.run.runEncodedCommand(window, command);
});
})();
~~~
## Deployments
Once my task is complete, I need to get my code committed and deployed. I don’t
work in a continuous integration environment, so I need to get the updated files
to the correct target environment. Many of the repositories that I work with are
hosted with [Beanstalk](http://www.beanstalkapp.com/), which allows developers
to initiate deployments in their commit messages. In many cases, deploying to
production is as simple as adding `[deploy:production]` to my commit message.
For repositories that are not hosted with Beanstalk, I use a Komodo macro to
either SCP the files, which is mostly used when I am working off of a shared
development server, or call a custom deployment script that runs `svn up` on the
QA and production servers depending on the environment that is the target of the
deployment. For those without any of these options, there are other options such
as [Capistrano]( http://capistranorb.com/) that can be used to handle deployment
and could easily be bound to a Komodo macro.
## Conclusion
Komodo provides an excellent starting point with its tools. When combined with
custom macros, it is possible to implement a flexible workflow by leveraging
outside tools and maximize your time spent in the editor.
