When Spring application starts, pop up a message that exposes Spring Boot Tools dashboard and also allows user to directly open browser

[Eskibear]

When developing a Spring application on the local desktop version of VS Code, when user starts up a Spring application, our extensions do not provide any visual hints. However, if user does this on Codespaces, it will pop up a message that provides a link that takes user to all available ports, and also offer an “Open in Browser” button

• We should implement a similar behavior on desktop version. When user starts up a Spring application, we should do a similar pop-up that offers two main features
• When clicking on “see all forwarded ports”, it would be ideal if we can take user to Spring Boot Tools dashboard instead and see all running applications
• When clicking on “Open in Browser”, it can directly open the exposed web endpoint like the current Codespaces does.

(cc: @martinlippert @Eskibear)

(originally from https://github.com/spring-projects/sts4/issues/759)

[Eskibear]

Something that could either go into the Spring Boot Dashboard extension or here. What do you think, @Eskibear ?

Originally posted by @martinlippert in https://github.com/spring-projects/sts4/issues/759#issuecomment-1118587093

[Eskibear]

I see two features here to notify:

• Open in browser
• Show dashboard (no forwarded ports in desktop env)

In VS Code, a running spring boot app can be launched by F5 or from Spring Boot Dashboard. Do we want to prompt notification for both cases, or only for the latter?

As for the implementation, I think it should better go into Spring Boot Dashboard. Think about the "show dashboard" feature (if we decide to implement), Spring Boot Tools extension has no awareness of the dashboard view, and it can work without Spring Boot Dashboard extension.

Originally posted by @Eskibear in https://github.com/spring-projects/sts4/issues/759#issuecomment-1118618997

[Eskibear]

In VS Code, a running spring boot app can be launched by F5 or from Spring Boot Dashboard. Do we want to prompt notification for both cases, or only for the latter?

Yes, I think so.

While preparing the demo session for JDConf I came across this overall topic here and there. The launch experience seems to be quite different, depending on whether I launch the Spring Boot app by explicitly creating a launch config and then start it from the run/debug perspective, or if I run the app from the button in the upper right corner of the editor or the "Run" code lens within the source code.

The button bar that contains the buttons to resume, stop, continue, step, etc. shows up only if I launch the app via the launch config perspective. It doesn't show up when I start the app from the editor button - even though I find this button bar very useful to stop the app again. Or is there another way to stop the app, beyond going to the terminal and press Ctrl-C?

So I think it would be best if the different ways to launch the app (launch perspective, boot dashboard, editor button, codelens, etc) would somehow behave the same and provide the same experience.

Coming from that perspective, I would love to have the popup to open a browser to always show up, independent of the origin of the launch action.

Having said that, the "stop" button didn't seem to work when I was trying the dashboard upfront to the demo session, but I should file that as separate bug on the dashboard repo.

As for the implementation, I think it should better go into Spring Boot Dashboard. Think about the "show dashboard" feature (if we decide to implement), Spring Boot Tools extension has no awareness of the dashboard view, and it can work without Spring Boot Dashboard extension.

I am fine with that. Please feel free to move this issue over then and we close this one here. We could also move the GitHub issue directly in case I would have write access to the destination repo... ;-)

Originally posted by @martinlippert in https://github.com/spring-projects/sts4/issues/759#issuecomment-1124988480

[Eskibear]

Or is there another way to stop the app, beyond going to the terminal and press Ctrl-C?

@testforstephen is currently improving java-debugger, to always show the "button bar for debug actions" no matter whether the app is running in debug mode or not.

We could also move the GitHub issue directly in case I would have write access to the destination repo... ;-)

Please go ahead to move it. Kris already has write access, and I just invited you as a collaborator as well.

Originally posted by @Eskibear in https://github.com/spring-projects/sts4/issues/759#issuecomment-1125609264

[Eskibear]

Or is there another way to stop the app, beyond going to the terminal and press Ctrl-C?

@testforstephen is currently improving java-debugger, to always show the "button bar for debug actions" no matter whether the app is running in debug mode or not.

Awesome!

We could also move the GitHub issue directly in case I would have write access to the destination repo... ;-)

Please go ahead to move it. Kris already has write access, and I just invited you as a collaborator as well.

That is great, but it looks like moving issues is restricted to repos owned by the same user or the same org... :-(

Originally posted by @martinlippert in https://github.com/spring-projects/sts4/issues/759#issuecomment-1125926494

[Eskibear]

Let's track this feature here.

[testforstephen]

Or is there another way to stop the app, beyond going to the terminal and press Ctrl-C?

@testforstephen is currently improving java-debugger, to always show the "button bar for debug actions" no matter whether the app is running in debug mode or not.

This has been supported by latest Java Debugger 0.41.0, which will show a stop debug toolbar for both run and debug mode.