I ran across the Eclipse kernel configuration plugin today. I haven’t tried it — and I assume, forgive me, that it isn’t actually useful yet — but nevertheless I think this is a cool idea. First of all, any connection to the kernel is like magic dirt to rub on programs (in this case Eclipse) to make them more interesting. Second, the whole point of an IDE is to integrate the various development tools with an eye toward lessening the pointless drudgery that seems to typify programming. This seems like a natural fit.