Ask HN: What developer tool do you wish existed in 2026?
3•allenleee•2h ago
I’m looking for ideas to build and open-source.
Curious what problems you expect to matter in the next couple of years.
Thx!
Comments
markus_zhang•1h ago
One thing I want: something like a function call graph: you load some source code files, open a function in window A (windows A now shows Only this function with all functions calls and structs highlighted). Click on any function call then the callee shows up in a new window with proper highlighting. Click on a struct object it immediately shows the struct def in a panel stick to the bottom of the screen.
Essentially, it’s like VSCode Peek definition but with a different visual style, and similar to the same functionality of source insight but free and in Linux.
The purpose is to read xv6 source code. I have found some parts of the kernel, e.g. the file system to be convoluted, and I need to follow quite a few jumps to form the system mindset. Having such a small tool is very helpful.
Actually it doesn’t look too hard to implement. Maybe I’ll write it myself in QT.
markus_zhang•1h ago
Essentially, it’s like VSCode Peek definition but with a different visual style, and similar to the same functionality of source insight but free and in Linux.
The purpose is to read xv6 source code. I have found some parts of the kernel, e.g. the file system to be convoluted, and I need to follow quite a few jumps to form the system mindset. Having such a small tool is very helpful.
Actually it doesn’t look too hard to implement. Maybe I’ll write it myself in QT.