Free text editors for web development

[liorean]

I'm trying to compile a list of free[1], full featured[2] text editors for web development. So far, I've gotten this (not that very long) list:

- SciTE (http://www.scintilla.org/SciTE.html) win, *nix, probably compilable for x11 on os x
- HTML Kit (http://www.chami.com/html-kit/) win
- Syn (http://syn.sourceforge.net/) win
- Crimson Editor (http://www.crimsoneditor.com/) win
- ConTEXT (http://www.fixedsys.com/context/) win
- SubEthaEdit (http://www.codingmonkeys.de/subethaedit/) os x
- jEdit (http://www.jedit.org/) win, *nix, os x
- 1st Page 2000 (http://www.evrsoft.com/) win
- FTE (http://fte.sourceforge.net/) dos, os/2, win, *nix, probably compilable for os x

[1] Meaning free of charge, not shareware or demos
[2] Meaning it has advanced search-and-replace possibly with regex, syntax highlighting, line and column numbers, toggleable line wrapping, brace/tag matching, supports [LF], [CR], [CR][LF] and possibly [NEL] line endings, and supports at least HTML and preferably also PHP, ASP, XML, CSS, JavaScript.




And an XML editor, the tree structure way instead of text editor, that I think is pretty good:
- Xerlin/Merlot (http://www.xerlin.org/) java2 (win, *nix, os x etc.)

[jeskel]

could http://www.phpedit.net/ be in your list? probably under [2]?

[mordred]

Without http://www.phpedit.com I feel naked doing PHP development... :)

Why did you omit http://www.eclipse.org in your list? Okay, it's not just a text editor, but a full fledged IDE capable of web development as well. Especially if your server-side components have something to do with Java (JSP, Servlets etc.). For almost any programming language there's a plugin available (of different quality though).

As aside, because it leaves the realm of free editors: Has anyone tried the XSL debugger and CSS editor of WSAD (http://www-306.ibm.com/software/awdtools/studioappdev/)? It truely rocks, although the recommended requirement of 1 GB RAM is quite demanding.

[jeskel]

I seem to remember that mordred made me discover phpEdit...

[raf]

PHP Coder from http://www.phpide.de/

Free and has about all the features you summed up + some extra's.
But it behaves weird sometimes. For instance: elastic scrolling --> you drag the scroll bar up and it flips right back down. Very annoying sometimes. Also bad selection-features (stops selecting after x characters for no reason at all) and if you jump to another doc and then jump back, the text looks selected but isn't (if you then ctrl-c it, it wount be on your clipboard). Has also got problems if you do a 'save as' (for instance to make a copy of a doc --> so you can make the copy, but then you need to close both docs and reopen one of them)

7 out of 10, i'd say.

[liorean]

I didn't know about Eclipse. Mordred, have you had a look at <http://www.garshol.priv.no/download/xmltools/cat_ix.html>? You might find a few things you like there...

[jeskel]

liorean: I think you might find some interesting things in that thread (http://www.codingforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=30121).
And I can confirm that mordred made me discover phpEdit.

[mordred]

Thank you very much liorean, the link was absolutely useful. Bookmarked. :thumbsup:

And to set the record straight, one bad thing about PHPEdit: It's only available for Windows.

[whackaxe]

HTML-KIt gets my vote

[liorean]

Heh, this was not for voting. If you know a program that qualifies both [1] and [2], I want it added to the list.

[me']

Feel like ploughing through a quick search (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=free+html+editors&btnG=Google+Search)? Sorry for being lazy ;)

[liorean]

Have already done that. The problem is that not all of them are so clear about their futures that I can know they qualify without trying them out, and that I really don't have the time for. That's why I want to hear your inputs on applications you actually have tried.

[percept]

just curious... I use dreamweaver for my php simply because it is my main application for web dev... would there be an advantage to use phpedit for my php and then insert the code into dreamweaver once completed?

cheers

[JAVAEOC]

i have checked out that html kit of urs....

its really cool but it works with IE

how can i tell it to work with mozilla

[Nightfire]

Huh?

[JAVAEOC]

if you do the preview thing... it opens in a IE window, but i need it to open in a Mozilla window

and it always messes up my js

[ronni_e]

I use Crimson Editor. You can specify from several different programming languages and it will highlight the code and format it accordingly, best of all its 100% shareware, totally free.

Crimson Editor (http://crimsoneditor.com/)

[ReadMe.txt]

erm if it's 100% shareware then u only get a free trial b4 you have to pay....

and PHPedit still isn't on that list of urs liorean, it's the best editor i've used.

[ronni_e]

sorry I meant to type freeware..

[JAVAEOC]

Can i tell crimsons editior to pring in color?

[ronni_e]

to my knowledge you can only print in black and white.. however ive not tried to find a setting. I would recommend you give the program a try..

[Paul Jr]

Well, it ain't up there, 'cause it's not free, but I really like Homesite. I downloaded a free trail of it a while ago, and I'm obsessed. I've tried many different editors, but I always come back to my Homesite. ;)

[JAVAEOC]

i think crimsons editior is the best, because it is free and most of all you can define shortcut keys for fucntions you can defin what to highlight and you can do a lot of other cool stuff :)

get crimsons editior now!!!!!!

[skinme!]

I use HTML-Kit for all my stuff. It's really really good, though it hasn't been updated in a while. I don't use it's internal preview though because most of my stuff has PHP in it so I need to preview using http://localhost/ so I don't know if it's possible to make it use Mozilla for the internal preview.

[justame]

lio...
"quote...I'm trying to compile a list of free[1]...endquote"

whattt just a bout® good ol' notepad™ ???

[liorean]

Doesn't qualify both [1] and [2]. Besides, I don't like it any more than I liked edlin for text editing back in the DOS days.

[Paul Jr]

Originally posted by liorean
Doesn't qualify both [1] and [2]. Besides, I don't like it any more than I liked edlin for text editing back in the DOS days.
Peh, you kids and your fancy editors. I like Homesite, but I don't even use it that much. Sometimes, I'll use it to add a block of code, so I don't have to type it all out, but that's just about it. Notepad has served me well, and I shall use it till I die!

[raf]

Notepad has served me well, and I shall use it till I die!
What are the advantages of Notepad over PHPEdit or PHPide or most of the other mentioned editors?

Whenever i ask that to a Notepad user, (like here for the last attemp http://www.codingforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=30121&highlight=syntax ), nothing sensible comes back.

Pencil and paper also served me well, but i kinda evolved and learned there were more efficient tools for some tasks :rolleyes:

[liorean]

Well, notepad isn't that bad a text editor, really. It just isn't good enough for the web development purpose. It didn't get standard keyboard mappings until Win2k. It didn't get a search-and-replace mechanism until then either, and the mechnism it has is far below what most other tools have. Dito modifying display fonts. It still doesn't support [LF], [CR] or [NEL] line endings. It doesn't support setting indentation size when you press tab, and it doesn't support chosing between horizontal tabs and spaces. It doesn't allow chosing the encoding you want to save your document in. It doesn't handle especially large files. It doesn't even support displaying line numbers, not to speak of column numbers.

[raf]

... and it doesn't have syntaxhighlighting, build in debugger, autocompletes, the ability to create toolbars for your most used operations, build in helpfunctions, project-management options, ...

Everyone that ever worked with PHPEdit or so knows what Notepad all misses, but what intriges me is : what does Notepad have that more advanced editers dont have?
There is absolutely no noticable performance-gain in using Notepad, so why prefere it?

[liorean]

Yeah, but those are nonessential features. The ability to at least display a document using different line endings (not necessarily write it), and the ability to chose what encoding you use for a text file are essential features for web design - one for displaying source code, the other for being able to use characters above US-ASCII unencoded in the file and still be able to have it display consistently across platforms and browsers. Those are the reasons for why notepad is directly unsuited for web development.

[JAVAEOC]

Personally I dont like HTML kit because it makes chages to ur code that may destroy it. I have not yet found a way to switch that of so i just stoped using it :)

[Paul Jr]

Originally posted by raf
what does Notepad have that more advanced editers dont have?
You're getting it now. ;)
Now, all those hulky, spoiling, "features" (as you call them :rolleyes: ), are nice and dandy -- if you need them, or want them (who really wants all that?). But who needs them? I don't. As most things come down to, it's basically a matter of preference. I don't much need anything more than Notepad gives me, and therefore, Notepad is a good fit for me. ;)

I don't need syntax hightlighting, and numbered lines... pfft, I'll count untill I find a problem. The only thing that I Homesite for is the code templates. I can hit Ctrl+J, and I get a menu filled with code blocks to pick from. That is the only thing that use Homesite for. Other than that, Notepad suits me just fine.

I suppose when I get a bit more involved with different languages, and start spreading around to PHP (which I currently am doing), and a bit deeper into JS, I might find lots of those features usefull, but right now, to hell with 'em.

[me']

What's wrong with features? If an editor has small enough amounts of features to be a small executable, a quick download and quick to open and close, I see no problem.

I don't see how you can't find syntax highlighting useful. When you start using 20 different colours along with heavy text formatting, I'd call that over the top, but differentation between tags and normal text, isn't that useful?

[raf]

Originally posted by Paul Jr
You're getting it now. ;)

I'm still waiting.
I don't much need anything more than Notepad gives me, and therefore, Notepad is a good fit for me.
Is about your only sensible argument. But it says more about the code your writing with it, then of the usefullnes of Notepad for web development (which is about a high as copycon )
I don't need syntax hightlighting, and numbered lines... pfft, I'll count untill I find a problem.
But not everyone has the time to count till line 1789. You obviously never code large files or you would know that linecounts are vital for debugging.
And you obviously are not a real coder else you would know how handy it is to immedeately see what sections are comments, what are the variables, what are stringvalues, what are functions etc.

Peh, you kids and your fancy editors.

I'm probably older then you and to me there is nothing fancy about these tools. They are essential for me to efficiently create, maintain and reuse code.
I suppose when I get a bit more involved with different languages, and start spreading around to PHP (which I currently am doing), and a bit deeper into JS, I might find lots of those features usefull, but right now, to hell with 'em.
I suppose this thread is intended for coders that are already involded with coding.
If you realy want to do serious scriptingwork, then i would recommend you to bookmark this thread and try some of these editors.

[jeskel]

I definitly agree with raf. Paul Jr: if you have a lot of free time and that you enjoy counting lines it's up to you. I used to code in notepad when I first started. It took me seven days to realize that it would just be impossible to go on like this and that it would drive me insane to differenciate straight html from html inside ASP etc... Moreover if you're not involved yet in coding you're more likely to make mistakes now. Which means that you'll need to debug your code.... which means that you'll have to count lines every time something goes wrong. But since you like it... One other thing. It is just so painfull that when you double click on a part of code in notepad it will just always highlight more than what you want. Even at your level (since you said you were not deeply involved in coding) I don't know how you can stand it. I guess that only a few people need 20 different colors and such things. But between notepad and such 'fancy' editors (to use your words) there's a middle way that you should maybe try.

[whackaxe]

in what does html-kit modfy your code?:confused: i never had thse troubles.

and for previweing in mozz:
either go to view->preview in browser->mozilla (along with all other borwsers installed) or jsut lcick to shortcut in the top bar

[JAVAEOC]

it wont let me chage browsers

see pic

and when i load a document in html kid it modifies the code to fit the STANDARS but it put my whole js into the body without a script tag

guess what: the script didnt work :: it messed up the page :: and the worst thing is i cant edit anything in the output window