Page 1 of 3

What a good editor should have...

Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2005 8:18 am
by tores
Hi all...

Have been browsing a bit in the following thread
viewtopic.php?t=6288,
as I'm looking for a new php editor to use... Currently I'm using Xemacs which is quite good, but lacks some functionality I'd like to have.
Below is a list of things I think an editor should provide (entries marked :) means that Xeamcs has this feature. Unmarked entries means that I don't know if that entry is available for Xemacs):

- Automatic identation :)
- Syntax highlighting :)
- Collapse functions or block of code
- Search & replace :)
- Remove lines of code without marking them first :)
- Different colours for different key-words, functions etc :)
- Support for embedded HTML code (typically by having "html" colours on the html and "php" colours on the php)
- Debuggingtool
- Goto-line functionality :)
- Switching among open files shoulb be easy :)
- Built-in php and html manual
- Autocompletion of keywords

There are certainly more useful features not listed here. If you want to you should post your own list. The goal should be to agree upon a editor (preferably free) that fulfils most of these features.

regards tores

Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2005 8:38 am
by Chris Corbyn
I can almost guarantee Burrito will come and post "Multiple Resource tabs"...

I like my editors to have Tab -> space and vice versa conversion too and also, automatic nesting. Bracket pairing is a must also.

I think you have it pretty much covered in what you have written and all I can say is that Zend Studio does all that and more (it even offers the parameters for functions if you want it to).

Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2005 9:28 am
by Weirdan
- editor must be written either in interpreted language or run on as many platforms as possible

Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2005 9:50 am
by pickle
Xemacs can have html colours in a PHP file and vice versa - just not at the same time. To alternate between the modes, type [Meta], then 'X', then type "html-mode" or "php-mode". [Meta] on my system is 'esc'.

Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2005 10:09 am
by Deemo
just by looking at that list, i can say the PHPEclipse does most of that, but its still a bit buggy and stuff, so therefore:

-is not buggy :P

Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2005 1:08 pm
by Skara
here's what I look for at least..

- Syntax highlighting
- Collapse functions or block of code
- Search & replace
- Support for embedded HTML code (typically by having "html" colours on the html and "php" colours on the php)
- Just line numbers are enough
- Switching among open files shoulb be easy
- Built-in php and html manual --would be nice, but not necessary
- Autocompletion of keywords --ditto
- work on both linux and windows would be a big plus

Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 6:00 pm
by Burrito
Umm...it needs to have multiple resource tabs

:D

just for you D11

Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 7:21 pm
by Roja
Its funny, I actually prefer my editor to *not* have almost everything being listed. I use Nano, a very simple (opensource, free, multi-platform) text editor.

The only critical features for me:

- Search & replace
- Goto line number
- No annoying and obnoxious "coloring" tricks.

I prefer for my OS and apps to get out of the way and let me get work done, not get in the way with rainbow screen vomit trying to "help" me do things. :)

Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 8:30 pm
by Buddha443556
Column mode that works with cut/copy/paste.

Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 8:53 pm
by Deemo
how about a built in MySQL GUI, that would be nice :P

Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 9:15 pm
by neophyte
Roja wrote: I prefer for my OS and apps to get out of the way and let me get work done, not get in the way with rainbow screen vomit trying to "help" me do things. :)
Couldn't have said it better myself. MS Office is perfect example of how programs that "do things for you" are total junk. I find that the amount of "tricks" and knowledge you have to learn to deal with the automation is roughly 2x what you would have had to learn had you learned the necessary skills in the first place. I use Dreamweaver for my html editor more out of habit than anything else. But I find with experience I'm using the drag and drop/push button features less and less. These I use more as a form of quick reference than for wysiwyg editing. Autocompletion stuff is crap. But I do like code hints and a handy reference manual. Line numbers and a good find and replace feature is a must as well. I almost always have php.net open some place for my senile moments.

Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2005 11:14 am
by jmut
I would add....
- line bookmarks - really helpful when working on long scripts
- abbreviations - so you can quickly insert code snippets that you use often

Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2005 11:51 am
by hawleyjr
Macros give me Macros!!!

Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2005 1:03 pm
by John Cartwright
Roja wrote:- No annoying and obnoxious "coloring" tricks.
I've rather learned to enjoy the beatiful colors, atleast different shades of the same colors. Allows me to spot parse errors that I may have mistyped sooner 8)

Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2005 1:14 pm
by Roja
Jcart wrote:I've rather learned to enjoy the beatiful colors, atleast different shades of the same colors. Allows me to spot parse errors that I may have mistyped sooner 8)
(I'm going to go a bit offtopic, pardon me)

Its funny.. I often wonder about this. I love movies and music, and things of that sort. But on my computer, I turn *all* sounds off, unless I'm playing music. I have very simple themes for everything, and prefer mono-terminal colors for everything except my prompt and directory listings.

ie, I'm very spartan, despite LOVING movies, music, and things of that sort. I always see/hear the syntax coloring and the computer sounds as distractions. Am I odd in that sense?