Open Source Programmer’s Editor

By | May 2, 2004 | Open Source

6
  • Print
  • Print

I recently received an email recommending I take a look at JEdit based on my coverage and recent commentary on open source at SitePoint. What a great tip that was!

I downloaded JEdit for my production machine (OS X notebook) and was pleasantly suprised with several features. I work on projects involving html/xhtml, Java, PHP and XML among others, and the syntax support is excellent (supports 90 file types). I have been hooked on BBEdit for years, however, JEdit may just knock that to the side.

Some features that jumped right out at me:

*Support for executing JavaDoc while in the JEdit interface and continuing to work on source code
*Ability to create Jar files within JEdit and also compile source files and packages
*XML plug-ins for validating xml against DTD’s and transforming xml files via XSLT
*Ability to connect and query SQL servers within the JEdit interface
*The ability to browse and edit files via FTP on a remote server

Built on Java 2, the editor works on Linux and variants, OS X and Windows. It utilizes the Java 1.4 platform and for those daredevils already running the Java 1.5 beta, it supports you too!

Written By:

Blane Warrene

Blane is a writer and researcher focusing on Apple and Open Source technologies. Prior to this, he helped found a commercial software and consulting venture, and worked in the financial services sector as a director of technology and in varying technical roles. Blane maintains Open Sourcery: SitePoint's Open Source Blog.

Website
>> More Posts By Blane Warrene

 

{ 6 comments }

zjcboy May 10, 2004 at 11:18 am

well, fonts are really ugly on Windows, especiall for me (already used to the good-looking ClearType fonts by MS :(

zjcboy May 10, 2004 at 10:32 am

what about SciTE? I think it’s great, although some bugs still exist

Octal May 4, 2004 at 9:25 am

I have been using JEdit for about a year myself, don’t know how I survived without it.

Anonymous May 3, 2004 at 10:41 am

It’s even got a plugin for reading blogs (HeadlinsPlugin). :-)

Pete Prodoehl May 3, 2004 at 10:33 am

A BBEdit user, eh? See: http://community.jedit.org/cgi-bin/TWiki/view/Main/SwitchingFromBBEdit

And you definitely do have to go through the extensive plugin list, and pick the ones that will work for you. They really help make jEdit a great text editor.

sylozof May 3, 2004 at 6:31 am

And do not forget the dozens of plugins available…

Comments on this entry are closed.