Best editor?

[ChinStrap]

When not using the interactive prompt, what are you using? I keep
hearing everyone say Emacs, but I can't understand it at all. I keep
trying to learn and understand why so many seem to like it because I
can't understand customization even without going through a hundred
menus that might contain the thing I am looking for (or I could go
learn another language just to customize!).

Personally I like SciTE, it has everything I think a midweight editor
should: code folding, proper python support, nice colors out of the
box, hotkey access to compile (I'm sure emacs does this, but I couldn't
figure out for the life of me how), etc.

Opinions on what the best is? Or reading I could get to maybe sway me
to Emacs (which has the major advantage of being on everyone's system).

[wittempj]

I use gedit under gnome, works perfect, it is very easy to use, it has
the colours - it also supports other languages.

[beliavsky]

ChinStrap wrote:

When not using the interactive prompt, what are you using? I keep
hearing everyone say Emacs, but I can't understand it at all. I keep
trying to learn and understand why so many seem to like it because I
can't understand customization even without going through a hundred
menus that might contain the thing I am looking for (or I could go
learn another language just to customize!).

Epsilon http://www.lugaru.com/ is a commercial Emacs-like editor with a
built-in Python mode and will automatically treat .py files as being
Python. No fiddling is required. It works well, and I spend many of my
waking hours in front of an Epsilon (even created a Fortran mode :)). I
think Epsilon is used more on Windows than Linux/Unix, where Emacs and
XEmacs have existed for a long time, but an Epsilon license contains
binaries for Linux and other Unices as well.

XEmacs/Emacs frustrate me, for example constantly asking if I want to
enable a "recursive mini-buffer", which I have no clue about or
interest in. Epsilon is a well-done Emacs IMO.

A key benefit of Emacs-like editors, including Epsilon, is that one can
run the shell (cmd.exe prompt on Windows, bash/csh/ksh on Unix) from
within the editor. One can fill the entire screen with an Emacs, split
it into buffers for source codes and a shell, and live happily ever
after :). Standard output is not lost but can be retrieved just by
scrolling up in the editor. I am addicted to running a shell within an
Emacs-like editor.

Of course there are many good editors -- don't feel obligated to use
Emacs if you are happy and productive with something else.

[Georg Brandl]

be*******@aol.c om wrote:

ChinStrap wrote:

When not using the interactive prompt, what are you using? I keep
hearing everyone say Emacs, but I can't understand it at all. I keep
trying to learn and understand why so many seem to like it because I
can't understand customization even without going through a hundred
menus that might contain the thing I am looking for (or I could go
learn another language just to customize!).
Epsilon http://www.lugaru.com/ is a commercial Emacs-like editor with a
built-in Python mode and will automatically treat .py files as being
Python. No fiddling is required. It works well, and I spend many of my
waking hours in front of an Epsilon (even created a Fortran mode :)). I
think Epsilon is used more on Windows than Linux/Unix, where Emacs and
XEmacs have existed for a long time, but an Epsilon license contains
binaries for Linux and other Unices as well.

$250 just for an Emacs clone? Sorry, but this is a bit greedy. Sure, it does
some things differently, but in the same time you learn Epsilon, you can
learn Emacs.
XEmacs/Emacs frustrate me, for example constantly asking if I want to
enable a "recursive mini-buffer", which I have no clue about or
interest in. Epsilon is a well-done Emacs IMO.

constantly? You seem to make fundamental mistakes using Emacs. Reading one or
two tutorials could have helped.

mfg
Georg

[elbertlev]

Windows: textpad
Linux: vim

[Ivan Van Laningham]

Hi All--

el*******@gmail .com wrote:

Windows: textpad
Linux: vim

Windows: gvim
Linux: gvim, or vim if I have to.
Other unices: gvim, vim, vi

SlickEdit doesn't suck. Emacs doesn't suck, either.

Metta,
Ivan
----------------------------------------------
Ivan Van Laningham
God N Locomotive Works
http://www.andi-holmes.com/
http://www.foretec.com/python/worksh...oceedings.html
Army Signal Corps: Cu Chi, Class of '70
Author: Teach Yourself Python in 24 Hours

[Michael Hoffman]

ChinStrap wrote:

Opinions on what the best is?

The best editor? Ed is the standard text editor. Accept no substitutes.
--
Michael Hoffman

[Aahz]

In article <11************ *********@l41g2 000cwc.googlegr oups.com>,
ChinStrap <ca****@gmail.c om> wrote:

When not using the interactive prompt, what are you using? I keep
hearing everyone say Emacs, but I can't understand it at all. I keep
trying to learn and understand why so many seem to like it because I
can't understand customization even without going through a hundred
menus that might contain the thing I am looking for (or I could go
learn another language just to customize!).

Use vim. 80% of the power of emacs at 20% of the learning curve.
--
Aahz (aa**@pythoncra ft.com) <*> http://www.pythoncraft.com/

"The joy of coding Python should be in seeing short, concise, readable
classes that express a lot of action in a small amount of clear code --
not in reams of trivial code that bores the reader to death." --GvR

[Ivan Van Laningham]

Hi All--

Aahz wrote:

Use vim. 80% of the power of emacs at 20% of the learning curve.

I think Aahz has it dead on. Umpty-mumble years ago I spent six weeks
learning emacs lisp and customizing emacs until it did EXACTLY what I
wanted. It was a great user interface, logical, consistent,
orthagonal. It had only one thing wrong with it; it depended on
hardware keyboard features that PC keyboards don't have.

It would have taken me six weeks to retrain myself to the standard emacs
interface, so I used vi. When vim became available, I switched to
that. There's a good book available for vim:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...196910-2449750

It's excellent; even the index is useful, which is more than I can say
for 80% of the O'Reilly books out there, much as I love 'em.

Metta,
Ivan
----------------------------------------------
Ivan Van Laningham
God N Locomotive Works
http://www.andi-holmes.com/
http://www.foretec.com/python/worksh...oceedings.html
Army Signal Corps: Cu Chi, Class of '70
Author: Teach Yourself Python in 24 Hours

[Steve Holden]

ChinStrap wrote:

When not using the interactive prompt, what are you using? I keep
hearing everyone say Emacs, but I can't understand it at all. I keep
trying to learn and understand why so many seem to like it because I
can't understand customization even without going through a hundred
menus that might contain the thing I am looking for (or I could go
learn another language just to customize!).

Personally I like SciTE, it has everything I think a midweight editor
should: code folding, proper python support, nice colors out of the
box, hotkey access to compile (I'm sure emacs does this, but I couldn't
figure out for the life of me how), etc.

Opinions on what the best is? Or reading I could get to maybe sway me
to Emacs (which has the major advantage of being on everyone's system).

There is only a "best" editor if you aare convinced that only oine
measure is important, allowing you to place all editors on a single
straight line and declare the one that appears furthest to the left or
right the "best".

In practice, of course, different people value different editor
characteristics , so there are a multitude of opinions about which is "best".

regards
Steve
--
Steve Holden [phone] [phone]
Holden Web LLC http://www.holdenweb.com/
Python Web Programming http://pydish.holdenweb.com/