# Favorite Editors



## CodeBlock (Aug 9, 2009)

First off, mods, please don't murder me too brutally for this.

Second of all, without getting into a major uproar, what editor do you use, and what are your favorite features about it?

I personally use vim (and have been starting to use gVim a bit more). I love it's syntax highlight, line numbering, auto indent, function completion, all the plugins available for it, etc. Suits my needs very well. Vimtutor was also very helpful when I was first playing around with vim.


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## graudeejs (Aug 9, 2009)

vim, if not vim, then probably geany


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## CodeBlock (Aug 9, 2009)

killasmurf86 said:
			
		

> vim, if not vim, then probably geany



I've used Geany a few times. Not bad, but like you, I prefer vim.

I've used netbeans quite a bit for PHP dev. Not bad.


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## gilinko (Aug 9, 2009)

It depends.

In console I'm a vi/vim user with a tendency towards vi as I deal a lot with solaris and "older" machines. Programming etc it's emacs(or xemacs) and sometimes Eclipse for some java. I also use Texmaker (latex) for reports and such.

It all depends on what I want to do... dokuwiki is another "editor" that is used frequently.


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## mickey (Aug 9, 2009)

My personal favourite for all kinds of editing tasks (C, Java, Text, *ML) is clearly JASSPA MicroEmacs.

Features I like the most include, but are not limited to:

Highly customizable
Syntax Highlighting
Auto-Indentation that can be turned *OFF* 
Increase/Decrease indent of a marked code block
Fence Highlighting
Runs either in console or X mode
Also runs on Windows, so I don't have to switch


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## tangram (Aug 9, 2009)

vi/vim.

Have grown very much fond of it .


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## Brandybuck (Aug 9, 2009)

I have to shamefully confess that I have never learned all of the ins and outs of any editor. My preferred editor is XEmacs, just because it has a menu. Oh, and because it has awesome auto-indent. When I accidentally get into a console emacs, it takes me a while remember how to quit. But I like vi better. I've been using vi since 43BSD days in college. But I still don't know all the commands. Another reason I prefer XEmacs is because it has scrollbars, making navigation quicker in larger files. I prefer vi (and nvi) over vim.

Consequently I end up using both. XEmacs for programming and editing large files, and vi for editing config files and outside the gui.


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## Voltar (Aug 9, 2009)

I am actually fond of pico, as bad as that sounds, and ee (since it is in the base system).

I've never really like vi/vim, I know it can be very powerful if you take the time to learn it, I just never find that time.


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## rbelk (Aug 9, 2009)

vi/vim

A VI workalike editor is my choice, and most UNIX base installs have one. I use VIM when I can .


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## Alt (Aug 9, 2009)

console - lpe, mcedit 
xorg - geany


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## anomie (Aug 9, 2009)

I prefer vim on all my desktops. I generally don't go to the trouble of installing it on servers, so I stick with nvi there. 

I recommend ee to my shell users. Almost none of them wants to use any form of vi or emacs.

---

I'll add that if I am editing something for distribution to an audience via email (as opposed to on a wiki), I compose the document using OOo writer and then export to PDF.


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## aragon (Aug 9, 2009)

nvi, scite, or xfce4's mousepad.


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## Beastie (Aug 9, 2009)

Mousepad under X. Otherwise, it's nvi... what else?


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## fronclynne (Aug 10, 2009)

For editing config files?  /usr/bin/ee or /usr/bin/vi work equally well.

For programming?  Err, no.

For actual writing?  I just (re)discovered /usr/local/bin/jstar, and my 40+ year old typewriter may have some competition.  (once it's written, openoffice isn't a half bad layout editor, if a bit awkward)


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## rbelk (Aug 10, 2009)

fronclynne said:
			
		

> For editing config files?  /usr/bin/ee or /usr/bin/vi work equally well.
> 
> For programming?  Err, no.
> 
> For actual writing?  I just (re)discovered /usr/local/bin/jstar, and my 40+ year old typewriter may have some competition.  (once it's written, openoffice isn't a half bad layout editor, if a bit awkward)


fronclynne, what is jstar?


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## jb_fvwm2 (Aug 10, 2009)

editors/joe runs in several ways depending upon 
how you start it.  Yesterday I noted, 
#jpico
(More usable now at least, here, than jstar)


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## MG (Aug 10, 2009)

Beastie said:
			
		

> Mousepad under X. Otherwise, it's nvi... what else?



I found leafpad today. It's almost the same as mousepad, but it doesn't need the Xfce4 packages and it has no stupid root warning bar


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## Oxyd (Aug 11, 2009)

As an editor, I use also use vim.


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## Beastie (Aug 11, 2009)

MG said:
			
		

> I found leafpad today. It's almost the same as mousepad, but it doesn't need the Xfce4 packages and it has no stupid root warning bar


I used Leafpad before, and yes, they're very similar. But since I run Xfce, I just use what comes with it.


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## bhargava (Aug 11, 2009)

hail vim.


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## dh (Aug 11, 2009)

There's only one true editor and it's name is vim.


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## Levenson (Aug 12, 2009)

I'm Emacsen lover.


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## Oko (Aug 12, 2009)

rbelk said:
			
		

> vi/vim
> 
> You will always have vi on any UNIX base install .



Nonsense!!! 


First of all there are several different "vi" editors. For us on BSD systems vi:=nvi. For Linux people vi usually means vim. On Solaris vi is old vi from System V coded by Bill Joy (even that one has basically four flavors depends on the particular private version). Second of all default installation of NetBSD for instance doesn't have any version of vi. The only editor which is present on any Unix base installation is ed. By the way if you boot your computer in a single user mode (if you use BSDs) the default editor is ed.

Best,
OKO

P.S. I use 95% of the time nvi for editing. The other 5% of time I use ed.
As FreeBSD forum member rliegh once said:"Using vim on a *bsd box is just sick and wrong, imo. nvi for life! ". There is even a hospital here in California that can cure people from VIM.


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## rbelk (Aug 12, 2009)

Oko said:
			
		

> Nonsense!!!
> 
> 
> First of all there are several different "vi" editors. For us on BSD systems vi:=nvi. For Linux people vi usually means vim. On Solaris vi is old vi from System V coded by Bill Joy (even that one has basically four flavors depends on the particular private version). Second of all default installation of NetBSD for instance doesn't have any version of vi. The only editor which is present on any Unix base installation is ed. By the way if you boot your computer in a single user mode (if you use BSDs) the default editor is ed.
> ...



Oko, your correct The only version of UNIX and UNIX workalikes that I have used that did not have some form of VI after a base installation was NetBSD. I have used a lot, but not all, of UNIX and UNIX workalikes. I should have wriiten "A VI workalike editor is my choice, and most UNIX base installs have one!". I stand corrected and my original post has been edited!

BTW, I have written scripts with ed to do strange text manipulation, I know that's nuts isn't it!


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## graudeejs (Aug 12, 2009)

correct me If i'm wrong, but doesn't Single Unix Specification, say, that *Unix* has to have vi (or work-alike).
I know Linux/BSD aren't *Unix*


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## rbelk (Aug 12, 2009)

killasmurf86 said:
			
		

> correct me If i'm wrong, but doesn't Single Unix Specification, say, that *Unix* has to have vi (or work-alike).
> I know Linux/BSD aren't *Unix*



Yes the Open Groups Single UNIX Specification from Version 3 on does specify to have VI. Check it out at http://www.unix.org/, you will have to provide your name, email address, and location to view the specifications. killasmurf86, in my post I originally said UNIX :\

Guess what guys, I thought that FreeBSD was supposed to be SUS(Single Unix Specification) compliant, check it out http://www.freebsd.org/projects/c99/. At least it is trying to. I think I'll join the project.


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## Oko (Aug 12, 2009)

rbelk said:
			
		

> Guess what guys, I thought that FreeBSD was supposed to be SUS(Single Unix Specification) compliant, check it out http://www.freebsd.org/projects/c99/. At least it is trying to. I think I'll join the project.



FreeBSD is far behind any other BSDs project when it comes to implementation of c99. DragonFly is almost 100% clean of non c99 code. OpenBSD have also done great deal of code auditing.


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## lme@ (Aug 13, 2009)

Hail to the vim, Baby!


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## dennylin93 (Aug 13, 2009)

Vim is great.


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## CodeBlock (Aug 13, 2009)

Wow a lot more vim-guys in the crowd than I thought. I thought it would be a little more mixed up. . Well glad to see I'm not all alone then, vim is great!


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## rliegh (Aug 15, 2009)

Voltar said:
			
		

> I am actually fond of pico, as bad as that sounds,


I used to feel the same way, until I got used to vi (NOT vim) and realized that I already knew the important keys from playing nethack. 

There's still a lot of neat tricks you can do in simple vi that I'm not aware of how to do in other editors (eg. :<line number> to go to a specific line, instead if hitting "page down" or scrolling).
also, hitting <number><action> to repeat an action (eg 23dd to erase 23 lines of text) is also pretty neat as well.


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## Beastie (Aug 15, 2009)

Yes, there's no doubt vi is super.

How about commands like *:10,15 w somefile* to write (save) lines 10 to 15 only, or motion+operator couples like *d$* to delete till the end of the line, or *10dk* to delete 11 lines above and including the current, or *11~* to toggle the case of the next 11 characters, etc?
Plus these are all very simple commands once you understand how vi works, i.e. its logic, mnemonics, etc.


Also, you can make your life easier by adding

```
set leftright
set number
set ruler
...
```
and many other options to your /etc/vi.exrc

and

```
set showmode
set verbose
```
if you're still new to nvi and need some "pointers".


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## oliverh (Aug 15, 2009)

vi/vim, as last resort emacs.


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## pripiat (Aug 15, 2009)

Emacs for Erlang and Lisp, but I use TextMate for doing everything else (Ruby, Python, etc.).


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## bsdhosting (Aug 15, 2009)

vi/vim.  It is God's editor


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## jrick (Aug 18, 2009)

vim user here, and I love it.

I want to give yi a try as well, but it seems that we need a newer ghc port first before I can compile it.


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## roddierod (Aug 18, 2009)

jrick said:
			
		

> "Gentlemen! You can't fight in here! This is the war room!"
> --President Merkin Muffley, Dr. Strangelove



Nice sig. Great movie!


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## phoenix (Aug 18, 2009)

At a FreeBSD console, it's *ee*.  At a Linux console, it's *nano/pico*.

Personally, I can't stand (n)vi(m) or emacs or ed or anything like that.  I don't edit text files enough at the console to bother memorizing a bazillion different keyboard shortcuts.  Give me an easy to navigate menu system any day.

At an X11 GUI, it's *Kate* or *KWrite*, depending on if I need to edit just 1 file or multiple files at once.

And for non-plain-text documents (or text docs longer than a couple screens/pages), then it's *WordPerfect* anywhere I can get it to run, or *OpenOffice.org*.

[This would have been better as a poll.]


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## roddierod (Aug 18, 2009)

phoenix said:
			
		

> And for non-plain-text documents (or text docs longer than a couple screens/pages), then it's *WordPerfect* anywhere I can get it to run, or *OpenOffice.org*.
> 
> [This would have been better as a poll.]



I used to run the Linux version of WordPerfect back in the day on BSD, I wish there was still a version to use on FreeBSD 

And to keep on topic. ee and mcedit are the console editors I use the most. In X it's geany.


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## socillion (Aug 18, 2009)

console - ee
lisp - emacs w/ slime + sbcl
config files/xml/text - gedit
c/c++ - codeblocks (+1 for awesomeness)
java - eclipse
perl - eclipse or gedit
random notes/planning - zim
geany - installed but not really used

I don't really subscribe to the idea there is One Perfect Editor, as is probably obvious . 
For some reason, vi just seems to get in *MY* way. I'm only saying that I *personally* avoid it when possible.
On a related topic, does anyone use anjuta?


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## DutchDaemon (Aug 18, 2009)

I'm also fond of ee at the console. I tend to save mnemonic energy for stuff more worthwhile. I can handle vi, but it will never become a favourite of mine, and when I stand behind someone working in vi, I get cramps because of the amount of keystrokes needed to do basic stuff ...


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## jrick (Aug 18, 2009)

DutchDaemon said:
			
		

> and when I stand behind someone working in vi, I get cramps because of the amount of keystrokes needed to do basic stuff ...



Interesting, because I get that same feeling when I try to use ee.


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## rghq (Aug 19, 2009)

Vim - you get used to all the nice commands 

Sometimes also Scite / mcedit


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## dennylin93 (Aug 19, 2009)

jrick said:
			
		

> Interesting, because I get that same feeling when I try to use ee.



At first, I thought that vi and Vim were hard to use because of all the commands, so I stuck with ee. Later on, I forced myself to learn vi and Vim. It takes a while to get used to, but I think Vim really is better than ee (I go berserk when I use ee now).


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