Welcome screen should be handled like a regular editor

[vogella]

IMHO currently the welcome screen is useless to me and the users I know of.

It blocks the full screen with information which does not feel important. I'm not aware that Eclipse IDE users interact with this view other than closing it to remove the "block" of the IDE.

Also if I minimize it adds to the toolbar in a way I find not adding value to my IDE experience.

I also do not know how to get back to the main Welcome screen once I clicked on of the buttons.

Vscode handles its "News" as a regular editor which I find much more engaging as it does not block the IDE or clutters the toolbar with new items.

Therefore, I suggest we also open the Welcome screen in the editor area. This would allow the user to use it without blocking the whole IDE if it is open.

cc @merks @HeikoKlare WDYT?

[vogella]

Notes for myself:

The "special handling" refers to the dedicated workbench area, the IntroLaunchBar, and the StandbyPart lifecycle, which are no longer necessary when the Intro is treated as a regular part in the editor area.

  To fully simplify this in the codebase:

   1. Refactor CustomizableIntroPart: Simplify the implementation by removing the StackLayout and the StandbyPart handling.
   2. Remove / Deprecate IntroLaunchBar: Delete the IntroLaunchBar class and its references, as editors do not require a separate launch bar for minimization.
   3. Clean up IntroURL: Remove actions related to standby mode and switchToLaunchBar.
   4. Remove / Deprecate StandbyPart: Delete the StandbyPart and related classes from the org.eclipse.ui.intro bundle.

[merks]

There's a back button for navigation:

Should we really assume that no downstream application has any use for this as it currently is? Of course regular repeat users don't generally need it, but it's part of a framework that is used in different ways by downstream applications...

[vogella]

Should we really assume that no downstream application has any use for this as it currently is?

None of my RCP clients over the last 20 years were using it (because of its flaws), so I assume the usage is not wide-spread.

I can change our IDE handling and deprecate the rest so that clients will have the change to speak up.

[vogella]

Event the working group opens a new view for their "advertisements" of giving money to the working group. If the welcome screen would be better, I assume they would have used it for this information.

[merks]

It seems only one opinion matters. I’m very unhappy with that approach. How is that supposed to work if anyone can go in whatever direction they see fit with complete disregard for anyone else?

[vogella]

@merks what triggered that comment? My draft pr to see if the suggestion is feasible?

[merks]

As a stupid unreasonable analogy, suppose that I propose to remove dark theme because I find it to be so 80's cathode-ray tube and I find it almost impossible to write an application where I know how to set the color of anything because the color I set is not the color the thing ends up having. And then despite other people suggesting that my personal opinion doesn't make that a good idea, I create a PR to see if it's feasible. Suppose all that happens while you're on vacation where you really need to pay attention that poof, it's not already pushed through. I know that's extreme, but you might imagine being at the other end of that.

It doesn't help that I find this comment (which I miss in the flood of email during vacation) to be a misrepresentation and actually kind of snippy and pointless:

Event the working group opens a new view for their "advertisements" of giving money to the working group. If the welcome screen would be better, I assume they would have used it for this information.

The notifications are intended to be entirely dynamic content that provides functionality such as installing support for the just-released Java 26 support. The uptake of milestones has increased significantly with earlier testing and problem reporting. I don't see how the welcome screen is related nor do I see that as a suitable vehicle for the intended purpose. I.e., I don't expect to be having a discussion about "advertisement" on a welcome screen issue.

It just seems to me that given the welcome screen infrastructure exists and functions as intended and as designed that it's mostly a disservice to deprecate it based on assumptions and personal opinions. There are hundreds of issues open where we know what people are having problems with and what they would like to see. I simply don't see removing or re-engineering the welcome framework as a compelling value proposition. It feels more like wanting to remove a view because I never use it and I don't know anyone who uses it.

[vogella]

@merks obviously I will not commit changes which may have a huge impact without consent, exactly why I added you to the issue in the initial comment. Building a proof of concept to demonstrate how it would look like is not bad in my opinion.

And this suggestion is not about removing the view but about a discussion how it could become useful to our users instead of the thing which in my opinion (and they way I see users handle it) you have to close to start working with the ide.

[merks]

Those are all valid points. Thanks.