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Jedit, Jext & J: Java-based Editors Compared
An anonymous reader writes "There are times when I want a lean, mean editor and times when I enjoy a good, bloated editor packed with wizards. We compare the programming editors Jext and J to Jedit and offer a revised opinion of the best Java for Linux."
I was reluctant to try out a java based editor (I'm a C++-er all the way :), but nedit was acting strangely as packaged in Mandrake 9.0, so I gave it a shot.
I really like the hyper-searching and the tabbed windows. There are a few annoyances such as the order it uses when you switch to the next buffer (uses opened order rather than Z order), but my main complaint lately has been speed. It has become quite a hog, probably due to too many cool plugins. I'm using the latest java from Sun. Perhaps I'll try one mentioned in the article.
All in all, I've been using it for about a month and I don't think I'll give it up.
...there are NUMEROUS plug-ins for ANT, JUnit console, editing macros, and even EMACS emulation. YOU should know what your are talking about before you open your fingers. JEdit is well one its way to being a fantastic programmers editor. The editor is EXACTLY the same on a MAC, Linux box (any type), or Windows. Just get the latest version and try for your self. It is especially snappy with the 1.4_01 jvm, and go to the plug-in manager and BAM, tons of stuff. Have fun!
It's not java based, so you either have to go through no end of hassle to make it work on your windows box, or get used to "one editor for *nix, one editor for *blows".
JEdit, on the other hand, runs fine and exactly identically on both linux and winblows. No need to get used to having one set of feature under one OS and another under the other.
Daniel
Carpe Diem
Ummm, you can get Vim for Win32. I use it all the time just as in Linux. It's not a cygwin port, either, it's a legitimate Windows program. See here.
To highlight a few things:
Understandably, people are biased against java client software. However, Jedit is worth the 10 seconds it takes to launch it. Aside from emacs, I don't think there are many editors which are that extensible and have that many extensions.
Jilles
It seems that your sysadmins need to get a clue. Don't blame their victims.
Setup the server in such a way that client computers can easily access files on it (e.g. by running samba). Running stuff locally is almost always faster so there must be something preventing the developers from doing so effectively (I suspect an overzealous attitude towards windows clients). Remove that cause and your problems are gone.
The sysadmins are costing your company money at the moment because they prevent a development team from working with the tools they need in an effective way.
Jilles
Maybe you guys should have run jEdit in server mode?
For my meager and small perl programs, I've switched from vim to jEdit. Just a really nice program. Syntax highlighting is very good but not quite up to par with vim. Little things are still missing, like coloring newlines/tabs differently than text. Bracket auto-completion/auto-formatting that highlights which bracket is being closed lets me work more efficiently. There's a nifty collapsable blocks setting that will 'minimize' a block, enabling me to get a better overview of what is happening.
jEdit also has a plugin-architecture with quite a library of plugins, including a mini-console, CVS integration, save over FTP, and a slew of Java-centric ones that look as though they would be useful.
In short, jEdit isn't an IDE but it will help you out in terms of "CVS integration, code style enforcement, and automation of repetitive build tasks." And it's not just for Java.
> Little things are still missing, like coloring newlines/tabs differently than text.
Get the WhiteSpace plugin through the plugin manager. It lets you pick separate colors for spaces, tabs, other whitespace, space from folds, and paragraph separators.
No sig, sorry.
- 100% Java
- Nicely done Win32 laucnher
- Tons of plugins
- Nice and easy way to install/update plugins
- Concise, Java-based installer
- Configuration is extensive
Not so nice:- No javaWebStart link available
- Icons are ugly
- Toolbars/docking is very fixed and wasteful
- No hex editor! (not even a decet plugin)
- Configuration organized haphazardly
Disclaimer: I use jEdit as a text editor, not an IDEA 'Hello World' applet run using appletviewer. Ok cpu usage is at 0.0% which is to be expected since the applet doesn't do anything once it's painted the display, but look at RSIZE. 13.4M.
Yeah, that's the VM overhead, so?
And you can expect that number to blow out pretty quickly as the code is extended to make it do something useful.
I assume that adding features in your favorite language actually causes memory use to shrink?
Hello World in C has a resident size of 304K. Granted that's just using printf to output to a console but it's still a dramatic difference.
Actually, 304K seems like a hell of a lot of memory to lose for a Hello World in C.
I used to be an emacs fan (I still like it), but IntelliJ just kicks ass for Java editing.
Code folding
syntax hilighting and auto-suggests correction, extracts code into a method
inlines code
inspects for common errors (like public defintions that could be private)
integrated with JUnit
has an Ant integration
works as a debugger as well as an editor.
easily renamed variables, method, classes, etc.
Auto-generates accessor functions
live templates (type iteritervariable and it expands out a for loop for the interation)
and bunches more...
It seems like about once a week I run across a new feature and go "IntelliJ is just so freaking cool!"