editor : Java Glossary

The CurrCon Java Applet displays prices on this web page converted with today’s exchange rates into your local international currency, e.g. Euros, US dollars, Canadian dollars, British Pounds, Indian Rupees… CurrCon requires an up-to-date browser and Java version 1.6 or later, preferably 1.7.0_17. If you can’t see the prices in your local currency, Troubleshoot

editor

A program whose main function is composing and modifying text files, without embedded formatting for font, colour etc. A word processor, in contrast, creates proprietary format files that encode font, colour, size etc. One of the main uses of an editor is preparing Java source code or HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) for web pages. Every IDE comes with an editor. An editor might be used to create HTML, which has text formatting, but you work with raw text tags. It lets you create or modify plain text files such as *.txt *.bat *.btm *.csv *.java *.c *.cpp *.xml *.html. Word processors are not text editors, though sometimes they can be used that way. A serious text editor should have the following features:

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 (Integrated Development Environments).
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 1.6 or later to display prices in your local currency. . Programmable editors include:

Codewright
By Borland, now discontinued, née Premia, née Starbase was particularly good for columnar tasks. It was programmable in macros similar to C. It could also interface with DLLs (Dynamic Link Libraries).
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 using 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 1.6 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.

Tips

Text will not line up properly unless you have configured your editor to use monospaced font or ever better a programmer font.
Best to test drive an editor before purchase. You may hate something others like. I invite you to tell me about your favourite editors, where you can get them, and what you like/dislike most about them. What counts as a high end editor vs a low end IDE (Integrated Development Environment) is a gray area. Editors are typically much faster which is why I prefer them to IDEs for all but debugging.
Though you can use a general purpose text editor for nearly everything, you will find it more efficient to use specialised editors for Java (IDE), CSS, HTML, XML (extensible Markup Language), binary files…

CSS editor
HTML editor
IDE
Jikes
monospaced Fonts
programmer Fonts
SCID
text editor
XML editor

	available on the web at:	http://mindprod.com/jgloss/editor.html
	optional Replicator mirror of mindprod.com on local hard disk J:	J:\mindprod\jgloss\editor.html
	Please email your feedback for publication, letters to the editor, errors, omissions, typos, formatting errors, ambiguities, unclear wording, broken/redirected link reports, suggestions to improve this page or comments to Roedy Green : . If you want your message, your name or email kept confidential, not considered for public posting, please explicitly specify that. Unless you state otherwise, I will treat your message as a letter to the editor that I may or may not publish in the feedback section. After that, it will be too late to retract it. If you disagree with something I said, especially when sending an ad-hominem attack, a rant composed mainly of obscenities or a death threat, please quote the offending passage and cite the web page where you found it, tell me why you think it is wrong, and, if possible, provide some supporting evidence. I can’t very well fix erroneous or ambiguous text if I can’t find it.
Blog	Canadian Mind Products IP:[65.110.21.43] Your face IP:[184.73.7.143]
Feedback	You are visitor number 13,065.

editor : Java Glossary

Programmable editors

Codewright

EMACS

VIM

Non programmable editors

Notepad

Tips