editor : Java Glossary

• Very rapid startup so they can be used for tiny editing jobs.
• Ability to edit UTF-8 encoded files.
• Ability to configure to the keystroke commands to familiar patterns.
• Ability to write macros (ideally in Java) to automate features, and run them by clicking a configurable icon.
• Allow you to edit files too big to fit all at once in RAM (Random Access Memory).
• Programmability gets more important over time as you learn to automate repetitive tasks. Programmability also lets you correct errors in the editor’s design.
• An editor often has a feature to invoke the compiler without leaving the editor. It can analyse the error messages and jump you to the next error in your source with single keystroke.
• They should do syntax colouring, or they are useless for Java.
• For serious work you will need a diff function for comparing file versions
• You also need a code beautifier so that all code is formatted in a standard way before committing it to the repository
• Programmers are notoriously bad spellers. A spell checker can help with documentation and choosing meaningful variable names.
• Editors don’t have integrated debuggers. If they did, they would be called IDEs.
• There are editors specialised for editing HTML such as Dreamweaver. These could be thought of as a specialised sort of word processor.

Your choice of editor is crucial. You will use it more than any other program. It is very hard to switch editors, because they each work differently, and you do most of your editing without conscious thought about the particular keystrokes.

My favourite editor is SlickEdit®. My least favourite editor is EMACS (Extensible Macro System). It is just too unlike any other Windows program. Not even the mouse works the same way. It has a powerful LISP (List Processing language) macro language which is why people fall in love with it.

Programmable editors

Prices are in CurrCon Applet needs Java 1.5 or later to display prices in your local currency. . Programmable editors include:

• Codewright

  By Borland, now discontined, née Premia, née Starbase was particularly good for columnar tasks. It was programmable in macros similar to C. It could also interface with DLLs.

• EMACS

  programmable in LISP. A religion rather than an editor as you will find out if you ever say anything unkind about it. Works in ways quite unlike any other Windows/NT program. Even the mouse works a different way. You can think of it as a programming environment. Free.

• jEdit

  programmable in Java/Bean Shell. Open source. written in Java. Can write macros and plugins in Java. Syntax highlighting for 130 file types. Free and open source. It has a unusual way of flipping between documents you are editing. Click the name of the document you are editing in the top left and a menu will appear of other documents you are editing. You can then select from there. It supports rectangular column selection by usingh the Ctrl key.

• Multiedit

  About $140.00 USD . C-like macro language. Focus on code beautification.

• NoteTabPro

  Programmable in its own macro language. It is fast capable of handling many documents simultaneously. It is available only for Windows. $30.00 USD

• SlickEdit®

  programmable in SlickC. Can also interface with DLLs. It is fast, powerful and extensible. On the downside, I would prefer its macro language were Java rather that SlickC. It is available for Windows, Linux, Solaris etc. About $300.00 USD . Ironically SlickEdit better at the bread and butter tasks such as adding hyperlinks and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) styles, not because it was designed for HTML, but because it has programmable macros so you can do these jobs in one click or keystroke.

• UltraEdit

  $60.00 USD

• VIM

  A VI clone often distributed with Unix. It adds functionality to VI for programmers. It is not a user-friendly editor, more in the tradition of EMACs with a long learning curve.

Non programmable editors

Prices are in CurrCon Applet needs Java 1.5 or later to display prices in your local currency. . Non programmable editors include:

• Bluefish

  Free and open source. No macros or plugins. Focus on HTML editing.

• Ed

  simple editor.

• JCreator

  easy for beginners. Runs well on modestly powered machines.

• Notepad

  comes free with Windows. Has nothing else to recommend it other than ubiquity.

• Notepad++

  free, Written in C++ for Windows. Allows plugins written in a variety of languages including Pascal, Oberon and Python. Has keystroke recorder macros.

• TextPad

  has syntax colouring. Only $30.00 USD to register.
• Zeus: shareware.