Bare Bones Releases TextWrangler

Bare Bones has released TextWrangler, a new editor that fills the need for users who want the power of BBEdit, but don't do software development. It is available for Mac OS v9.1 and Mac OS X v10.1.5 and up, and retails for $49, while BBEdit sells for $179. It has the core text-editing functionality of BBEdit, but not the software development features (except a few, for integration with Project Builder). Seems like a nice tool to have around if you don't have BBEdit, or for using on machines that you don't do development on.

Comments

Re:I've never used BBEdit.

[CableModemSniper]

Famlirity. BBEdit is the defacto Mac text editor for coders, IIRC. its like asking what does windows have that Linux doesn't for 200 dollars. Hmm maybe I shouldn't have used that example :)

Re:I've never used BBEdit.

[Draoi]

Furthermore, it 'feels' a lot like the editor which comes with the Metrowerks CodeWarrior IDE, which many MacOS developers will be familiar with. It also integrates well with cvs (you can do checkins and checkouts from within BBEdit) and you can do CodeWarrior compiles without leaving the editor. Not to mention HTML markup support as well as compliance checking and syntax colouring for just about any language, blah ... plugin support ... blah ... applescripting ... you get the picture!

(Do I sound like a rabid fan? :-) )

Great! Now I can finally pay them.

[dpbsmith]

I've used and loved the freeware BBEdit Lite for, five? six? years now. It's just a perfect little gem. Everything I needed and nothing I didn't need. Opens big files beautifully. Fast, efficient, no bloat.

When I emailed them to mention that it had some issues running under Classic in OS X, they informed me that there WAS an OS X native version of BBEdit Lite, and that in fact it had gone through two major revs since I downloaded it. I hadn't even known, because BBEdit Lite was so satisfactory that I never got around to checking for updates!

It was at about that time that I tried to get them to accept a completely voluntary $30 donation for BBEdit Lite. I really didn't want or need the features of the full BBEdit, but I did feel that I morally "owed" them for BBEdit Lite.

They refused to accept my payment!

So, while I am very disappointed that they have withdrawn BBEdit Lite, nevertheless I will happily purchase TextWrangler, because I think it's above time I paid them back for all the use I've gotten out of BBEdit Lite over all these years.

No, I'm not shilling for them, and, yes, I'm perfectly sincere.

BBEdit Lite was just plain NICE, and I hope TextWrangler continues that tradition.

Re:I've never used BBEdit.

[Draoi]

No, I haven't. I'm a habitual vi user & it's my editor of choice when in the terminal app. I'm guessing gvim is Gnu VI iMproved, right?

For many folks, not having AppleScript would be a biggie. Sure, vi can run in batch mode, but it's not as intuitive as AppleScript. Imagine the average Mac user using a text editor to edit a text editor's batch script - oh, the horror! :-)

Shorter learning curve

[0x0d0a]

BBEdit has a much shorter learning curve than emacs. OTOH, it's also much less powerful.

[sigh] I remember when Bare Bones was a small company that made inexpensive products, and didn't try all this price discrimination crap.

Re:But they discontinued BBEditLite

[Daniel Dvorkin]

I think that's a huge mistake, honestly. I used BBEdit Lite for a couple of years before I finally decided to bite the bullet and pay for BBEdit. It taught me how to use BBEdit generally (it's a very intuitive program overall, but it does have its quirks) and, more importantly, convinced me that a text editor might be worth paying for -- "If the free version does all this, how much more cool stuff will I get if I pay for it?" TextWrangler may be cheaper, but not enough cheaper to create a bunch of "casual" users who will eventually pay for the full version, which was what BBEdit Lite did.

Re:JEdit fills the void!

[Anonymous Coward]

jedit... yeah right.

let's see...

slow...check!
ugly interface...check!
open sores...check!

Re:"while BBEdit sells for $179"

[nullard]

Why BBEdit rocks. Back in the day, I loved BBEdit's MPW integration. Since MPW is no more, I'll stick to those features that are still relevant. I haven't used it in years since I don't work at the same place, but this is what I remember:

Edit over FTP. Great for fixing problems on websites where the host won't give you shell access.

Works with perl. I hear that it works with the perl in OS X now. Before It worked with MacPerl for OS 9. It gives you a real perl IDE with syntax checking and everything.

Regex search and replace. Need I say more?

Unlimited undos - before they became common.

Built in diff. Now I use Apple's FileMerge, but BBEdit's was damned good.

Built in HTML reference form many tags and all ascii entities.

HTML validator.

AppleScriptability.

HTTP download. There was a pluggin that let you doiwnload data from any http url into a text file, headers and all.

Most importantly, I work faster in BBEdit than any other editor. I fell better working. I don't feel like I'm fighting the editor just to get my work done. I use Emacs and JEdit for similar reasons, but for just getting my work done, neither holds a candle to BBEdit. I've requested a Mac at work. One of the main reasons was so that so that I could code in BBEdit again.

If I get the cash, I'll buy it. Yes it is worth it.