Home
| Calendar
| Mail Lists
| List Archives
| Desktop SIG
| Hardware Hacking SIG
Wiki | Flickr | PicasaWeb | Video | Maps & Directions | Installfests | Keysignings Linux Cafe | Meeting Notes | Blog | Linux Links | Bling | About BLU |
On 3/1/08, Derek Martin <[hidden email]> wrote: > > > Thanks for the recommendation! I'm unfortunately in the market for a new > > love affair with an editor. > > You didn't really say why, and you didn't give any hints as to what > about the 2 standards (vi (or vim) and emacs) make them inadequate for > you. You may want to elaborate on those topics, to maximize the > usefulness of your recommendations. > Well, I really shouldn't have started an editor war or anything like it. :^) Honestly, I just can't adapt to vim or emacs. I grew up with MS-DOS and Windows, and quit using Windows full time some time in the past few years. I have no trouble using CLI programs (non-interactive; using switches and pipes and all that) but I simply can't adapt to any interactive program that uses an interface unlike the standard so-called WIMPy interface: windows and pull-down menus; a smattering of keyboard shortcuts available as keyboard chords DISPLAYED IN THE MENUS, etc. Every program I use every day is like that: Eclipse, Firefox, Nautilus, Pidgin, Midnight Commander, etc. I simply can't get over the learning curve of vim's and emcas' UIs where you have to explicitly ASK for help, and absolutely must remember certain keyboard commands to get anything done. So I'm looking for a new favorite WIMPY editor, with desktop integration, syntax highlighting in more than a few languages, call tips, etc. But most importantly, it's gotta have pull-down menus. :^b So far, other features I DON'T like that come to mind (I said this in the other thread): * jEdit's Open/Save dialog box has strange keyboard behavior. If the filename textbox is focused and empty, [BkSp] changes the currently viewed folder up one, to its parent. Likewise, typing a path with a [/] immediately erases that part of the path you already typed and changes the viewed folder to that path. It might sound nice to you, but it's disconcerting to me and unexpected and not like any other desktop program I have ever known, and there's no "use host environment's open/save/print dialogs" switch. And the whole app doesn't use GNOME's color scheme right; using Ubuntu's default GNOME color scheme which works fine in other apps, jEdit's menu background and highlighted menu item background are nearly the same color. jEdit needs a lot of UI work. I will say, though, that jEdit's search/replace, syntax highlighting and plugin system all rock. * Eclipse takes too long to start, and it's so modular, it's often unclear exactly what is causing or not causing a certain behavior and where you should go to change it. So, I know what I don't like and what I don't want. I'm really just a spoiled little brat. I'll let you know when the gods provide me with the nonexistent ideal editor that pleases me 100% of the time. :^) What do you like about editors you don't use? What do you hate about your favorite editor? Brendan Kidwell -- This message has been scanned for viruses and other dangerous content. Be warned, however, that it may still contain dirty or offensive thoughts. -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [hidden email] http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
BLU is a member of BostonUserGroups | |
We also thank MIT for the use of their facilities. |