#3 Choose Your Weapon

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A bit of background


Find out the basics of text editors

Text editors come in all many different forms, but at their hearts they all do the same thing - allow you to edit files that are composed of straight forward, everyday text. HTML & CSS files are like this, their contents are simply plain text.

Your computer may already have a text editor on it. If you're using a Windows based computer then you'll likely have Notepad (Programs > Accessories > Notepad). If you're using an Apple computer then you'll have VIM already installed (Applications > Utilities > Terminal and then type in VIM and press return). Finally, if you're running Linux (bonus points if you are) then you'll certainly have one of either VI/VIM, emacs, Kate or gedit. 
 
Not all text editors are created equally and whilst VIM is a truly splendid text editor, it has a steep learning curve. Unless you can already use it, then we'd recommend something else for now. You can always come back to VIM later on.
 
If you're running windows then Notepad has the opposite problem to VIM - it's too simple. You'll be fighting with it all the way to use it to do serious webcraft work.

Task Discussion


  • Shoe Mogul said:

    I like Notepad++

    on May 11, 2013, 10:09 p.m.

  • alhassan said:

    I am familiar with Notepad++ and Notepad. I think both are OK but I love Notepad++. Perhaps another + may have to be added to make it Notepad+++. [JK!]

    on May 11, 2013, 2:04 p.m.

  • bbennett said:

    Here's one that is not heard of very often - Scite. Fairly simple with some nice features. Easy to use, easy to modify. It handles HTML and CSS nicely. I got started with Scite many years ago when I started developing in Ruby.

    http://www.scintilla.org/SciTE.html

    Available for both Linux and Windows.

    on May 9, 2013, 11:54 p.m.

    Mark Valentine Aikins said:

    Ohio Opposing Kofioil Oz
    on May 10, 2013, 8:55 a.m. in reply to bbennett

  • Mark Valentine Aikins said:

    I am familar with Notepad ++ and notepad

    on May 9, 2013, 1:27 p.m.

  • steffano said:

    Sublime text editor is by far my favorite http://www.sublimetext.com/

    on April 26, 2013, 11:03 a.m.

    crum4519 said:

    Looking into it, thanks for the tip!

    on April 30, 2013, 11:35 p.m. in reply to steffano

    Nathan V said:

    Sublime is what I use.  It's an excellent option.

    on June 11, 2013, 4:05 p.m. in reply to steffano

  • mixmaxmin said:

    I have used Notepad++ over the past couple of years as it easily monitors all unclosed tags and can be used for other tasks as well.

    It is free which is always a ++

    on April 26, 2013, 5:55 a.m.

  • Anonym said:

    A Short Review of 7 Free Editors

    While there are many fantastic source code editors out there to choose from for any platform I think it's worth looking at free and open source options for those of us who can't justify the expense of a commercial product at this point in time.

    1. Vim

    Vim can do amazing things in the hands of an experieced user, things which other editors are not able to accomplish. This is not to say that Vim is easy to master, far from it, you'll need to dedicate many hours learning the various key strokes until they become second nature. Don't let this steep learning curve put you off, if you want to learn how to manipulate text like a wizard and impress your boss or friends then set the time aside for this little gem. There are many ports available to make everyone happy, even an Amiga port.

    2. EMacs

    GNU Emacs has similar power editing features that Vim has but comes bundled with much more making it more bloated than Vim but able to do more than just editing. There has been a flame war over these two editors for many years and I am not going to throw any fuel on that fire. If you like Vim, use Vim, if you like Emacs then stick with Emacs.

    3. Notepad++

    Notepad++ is a Windows editor and continues where Notepad ends. Notepad is primarily a basic text editor while Notepad++ is capable of working with many programming languages, scripting languages and markup. Notepad++ uses the free open source Scintilla editing component for Win32 and GTK+. Notepad++ provides syntax highlighting, code completion, code folding, PCRE - Perl Compatible Regular Expressions, macro recording and the GUI is totally customisable. Unfortunately Notepad++ has no server tools and cannot handle very large files.

    4. Textwrangler

    Textwrangler is an Intel Mac editor that has the features of Notepad++ and many more. Textwrangler does support FTP and SSH but if you want more advanced server functionality you will need to upgrade and buy BBEdit.

    5. JEdit

    Jedit is a powerful and fully customisable cross platform editor written in Java that supports over 130 languages. JEdit has a multitude of plugins and macros, has the ability to split its window and has a multitude of clipboards for cutting and pasting.

    6. Crimson Editor

    Crimson Editor is a Windows editor that supports over 60 languages. This editor has a small file size and is very fast loading, great for making quick edits when you don't have the time for a more bloated editor to load.

    7. Komodo Edit

    Komodo Edit has a very minimal and sleek interface that is well suited for web development with support for languages and markup such as Python, PHP, Ruby, Perl, HTML, CSS and JavaScript.

    While there are dozens if not hundreds of free editors out there I thought I would just review a few and leave further research up to you, happy coding.

    on April 24, 2013, 12:16 a.m.

    sidzonline85 said:

    Hey thanks for the reviews. Much appreciated :) yes

    on April 30, 2013, 4:47 a.m. in reply to Anonym

    kistlerlf said:

    Thanks for this information! Really helpful to me!

    on April 30, 2013, 3:49 p.m. in reply to Anonym

    Denise Cheek said:

    Thank you! I was just about to post/ask for a good Mac program (my main computer is an iMac).

    Very helpful!

    http://realcheekydesign.wordpress.com/

    on May 14, 2013, 4:34 p.m. in reply to Anonym

  • Matthew said:

    I've actually started this course on android using a nexus 7.. Just thought it would be quite an interesting way of attempting this course.. I'm going to check the play store to see what I can find in the way of text editors. Wish me luck :-). 

    on April 22, 2013, 9:25 p.m.

  • WinchesterGirl said:

    Notepad++ is free and very useful if you are interested!

    I use it all the time and it highlights the tags in colors to seperate them from the rest.

    on April 18, 2013, 10:26 p.m.

    mixmaxmin said:

    Agreed. Very useful tool.

    on April 26, 2013, 11:27 p.m. in reply to WinchesterGirl

  • Agamos said:

    Hello Everybody.

    1. PLATFORMS: I work on all three platforms Mac OS, Windows OS, and Linux OS. Since last year mainly on Mac OS.
    2. CODE EDITORS: I use several code editors, from those of general purpose to others specific to a certain programming language. I have never felt the necessity to choose only one. In fact I jump from one to another from time to time. I don't know if it is recommendable, but it makes me feel comfortably. I must agree about the steep learning curve for Vim, in fact I wouldn't say I have mastered it, but in my daily routine (HTML/CSS/JS, PHP, Python, ...) I have not met any situation where those awesome Vim capacities were missed.
    3. IDES: I am familiar with Eclipse, Netbeans, Aptana and Komodo. Also with MS VisualStudio10, more or less. I have not mastered any of them. I think it has to do with my particular manner and jobs.
    4. ABOUT IT ALL: The relevant questions in my opinion.
    on April 10, 2013, 3:16 p.m.

  • Vicky said:

    I used coffeecup and like it but one thing I need is wrap around features with the coding. I will have to try Note++ (sorry on the incorrect SP) and play with it.

     

    My current tool I am using from PC Magazine is Kompozer which is free

    on April 2, 2013, 2:10 p.m.

  • chad said:

    Hello Everyone,

    My main OS (operating systems) are Linux and BSD (an offshoot of Unix). On these platforms I use VI, Emacs, and gEdit, as my code editors.

    They all have numerous features and plug-ins that make code writing and editing a breeze.

    I also use the IDE (Integrated Development Enviornment) NetBeans.IDE's are for the more advanced programmer, but I believe they should be introduced early on in one's programming education.

    Occasionally, but not too often, I work on a Windows box, I use NotePad++. It is by far one of the best applications of its kind.

    All of the above mentioned software is free!

    Chet

    That's a Blog!

     

    on March 31, 2013, 5:04 p.m.

  • vgvenkat said:

    I have been using notepad_++ for a long time.. loving it.will stick with it

    on March 31, 2013, 1:15 a.m.

  • shashank said:

    i am using notepad++.  Its nice would recommend new users. Nice editor

    on March 25, 2013, 3:54 p.m.

  • Steve said:

    I used Aptana IDE for a long time but recently, I turned to two ideal solution for me:

    1°)  Netbeansc => http://fr.netbeans.org/
    2°) Cloud9 IDE => https://c9.io/
     
    I chose these two solutions because they offer the possibility of developing remote directly on my web hosting. NetBeans has a synchronization system and Cloud9 is a Cloud solution, an online publisher
     
    I feel comfortable with these two solutions. Netbeans is easily configurable and Cloud9 available wherever I am.
     
    Both solutions are free with some limitations regarding Cloud9
     
    Cloud9 Interface
     

     

    on March 20, 2013, 7:01 p.m.

    Mandy Real said:

    Nice feedback on Netbeans. I'm inclided to use it as well due to the real-time syntax check, and more so because it can be used to code other stuff like java, PHP, CSS other web programming stuff :) 

     

    on April 15, 2013, 9:40 a.m. in reply to Steve

  • v4lent1na said:

    All right, I'm a Mac user and I found VIM on Terminal.

    Though I'd rather user a dedicated text editor.

    I've tried both Text Wrangler and BlueGriffon, but I like the former best.

    On Macs there's also BBEdit but for now since I use it rarely (all I need to do is editing little strings of code inside blog posts and such) I make do with Text Wrangler which is a lite (free) version of Bare Bones editor.

    on March 18, 2013, 7:36 a.m.

  • NYoung said:

    I recently read a blog post about various uses for Evernote that are often overlooked. One of their suggestions was as a text editor for coding. As a Chromebook user, I'm planning to toy with that idea. 

    on March 14, 2013, 9:47 a.m.

  • Jaemi said:

    I could never take to Notepad++those I tried many times. The only alternate editor I ever really took to for web was EditPlus, though of late I've noticed Sublime Text 2 is pretty slick. I still do plenty in Notepad2 (a slightly grown up version of Notepad).

    on March 13, 2013, 4:19 p.m.

    Rodolfo De Nadai said:

    Have you ever try Sublime Text??? I find the best text editor ever... ok perhaps VIM is the best ever, but sublime is that good...

    on March 15, 2013, 3:09 p.m. in reply to Jaemi

  • zuizui_123 said:

    Notepad is powerful! :))

    on March 11, 2013, 5:56 a.m.

  • Jae said:

    I once had an instructor that said using anything but notepad is cheating, lol. But now I have a fancy new text editor!

    on March 9, 2013, 7:19 p.m.