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Adding entries to the task list is a matter of building a query on a repository. The query pulls the matching tasks (bugs in the case of JIRA and Bugzilla) into the workspace where they can be manipulated. Offline manipulation of tasks is supported; work that you do offline can be resynchronized with the repository the next time you connect. Creating repository queries is very easy using wizards, like that shown in Figure 8, that resemble the corresponding Web user interfaces.

Repository-based tasks are automatically updated on a regular (configurable) interval. Tasks that change are marked in the Task List, making them easy to spot. Mylar lets you attach additional information to the tasks, including such things as schedule information (when are you going to work on task), how long you estimate the task will take to complete, and how much of the task is complete. It also keeps track of how long the task is active.

There's an "Attach context" feature (see Figure 9) that lets you package up your task context and attach it to the task in the repository. The task context contains information about the artifacts that are made visible in your workspace views. In essence, by attaching your context to the task in the repository, you are allowing other developers to share the trimmed list of artifacts that you were working with at the time you saved the context. Other developers who work on the task can retrieve the context by selecting "Retrieve Context" from the pop-up menu for the task.

Building additional task repository connectors is made possible through a public API; connectors to other sources of tasks, including Web services, databases, and proprietary task management software, can be constructed, making it possible for Mylar to be your single general-purpose focal point for task management.

Five:
Mylar Has a Really Slick Look And Feel
Mylar integrates very naturally with the Eclipse workbench. The Mylar developers have taken the "less is more" mantra to heart and have refined the user interface to be intuitive and powerful, but without excessive complexity. In the workbench, Mylar is everywhere without being in-your-face. Many of the views (including the Navigator, Package Explorer, and Outline) are Mylar-aware, but still work the same way, so there's very little new learning required to be functional with Mylar. Mylar does add some new user interface notions (like Alt-clicking to temporarily expose hidden contents), but these mostly exist for convenience and are easy to master. In the spirit of keeping things as simple as possible, Mylar adds entries to existing menus rather than creating its own.

Mylar looks good and behaves in a predictable way. Pop-ups that appear unobtrusively in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen let you know that changes have been made to tasks you have included on the Task List (that is, when another developer makes a change in the task repository, Mylar tells you about it). Mylar also provides visual cues on the Task List to let you know which tasks have changed. Hover help on the Mylar views is informative and visually appealing (see Figure 1).

Mylar is a powerful tool with a refined look and intuitive user interface.

Conclusion
For any given task, Mylar presents the artifacts that you will most likely require based on your past activity. Mylar effectively turns the traditional notions of integrated development environments around: rather than bringing a collection of integrated first class tools to a problem, it brings a focused subset of a problem to a collection of integrated first class tools. This may be a subtle point, but it is an important one. Mylar integrated with other first class tools forms a potent combination that streamlines development and makes developers even more efficient and productive than current development environments allow.

To fully realize the potential of Mylar, you need to gain experience defining fine-grained tasks. As tasks get larger in scope, the focus that Mylar provides becomes less effective (Mylar provides as much focus as your task allows; if your task is too broad in scope, Mylar's filtering will expose a broad set of artifacts).

Anybody who's worried about lack of innovation at Eclipse needs to learn more about Mylar.

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