[barfbagginus]

I am leery about how they sweep the documentation use case under the implied rug of "just put the docs and your ide together on the same tiny laptop screen".

This makes even less sense in visual arts work, where having a second monitor for reference materials is always helpful.

My ide often needs to show multiple modules and a console, or else I'm constantly context shifting. So I benefit from a larger main canvas. Likewise, I also need to show API docs. Maybe two or three sets of them. This is like my palette and tool board.

I need serious space, because my working memory can only hold 2 or 3 facts. When I'm working in a serious context, I need to wrangle maybe 20 different facts - say 5 facts from one API doc, 5 facts from another, and so on. It helps to have all the references displayed at once. That way, when I'm working on a detail, I can easily pick up a little color - an important fact I forgot - just by looking at the pallete.

If I'm working on a smaller screen, API docs and IDE become too crowded. I must scroll to find key facts, or jump between windows and tabs. In each case, context thrashing increases. I actually forget things while context switching, leading to extra jumps to recall something that was just on screen a second ago. As a result I can't get as many facts into my brain, the work is very slow, it's not fun, and I'm likely to quit in favor of something more engaging and fun.

My diagnosis? The author understands the bane of context shifting and distractions, but they might not experience the struggle of tackling complex contexts with exceptionally poor working memory, and needing cleanly organized tools and reference materials in order to enter a fun and fully absorbed flow state.

In order to help me streamline my workflow and feel less of a need for a second screen, I invite the author to demonstrate how they track five or six complex documents on a small screen, without making the view ports so small that it incurs constant scrolling, window focusing, and other context thrashing. Failing that, I think the author can be more accommodating of other people's work styles and challenges.