The top 10 free web development editors
Here is my top 10 list of free text editors that are ideal for web development on Windows.
Please let me know if I’ve missed any good ones.
Notepad++ has evolved into the best development editor I’ve ever used. It’s got almost every feature I want and gets better with every release.
Like SciTE, Notepad++ is also based on Scintilla, but most of the options are set up in a visual interface rather than configuration files. All the settings are stored in XML files, so it’s easy to upgrade and copy them to other systems (I have an identical setup installed on a USB drive).
SciTE was originally built to demonstrate the power of the Scintilla code editing component. When I first used SciTE, I dismissed it as underpowered and impossible to set up … but give it a chance, and you’ll find that it’s one of the most powerful and configurable editors available.
The cause of my misconception was the fact that everything is set up using configuration files – and there are literally thousands of options. But do it once, and SciTE becomes a fantastic editor that is small, clean, fast, stable, and usable on Windows or Linux.
SciTE concentrates on the basics: text editing. There are no fancy file browsers, code generators, or project managers. It supports every language you can think of (and some you can’t!) and you can define your own. Syntax highlighting is probably the best you’ll ever get – language constructs can be shown in differing colours, sizes, styles and fonts.
Aptana is another Java-developed editor based on the Eclipse code base. The product shows how good Java software can be: this is a full IDE that is gorgeous to look at and use.
Aptana offers more features than most commercial IDEs. The interface is fully configurable, it is integrated with most popular PHP and JavaScript libraries, and has debugging and profiling support. Whilst the number of options can be daunting at first, it rarely becomes overwhelming and has been built by developers who really understand web development issues.
I’d like to say that I use Aptana full time: it’s the most powerful web IDE available. However, it’s still a beta product and, although it’s stable, many features are not working correctly. It’s also slow to start and a massive memory hog. It’s an excellent editor, but only for those using a ninja-PC!
I like PSPad and used it for several months before discovering my No. 1 editor. It comes with a lot of features that are not usually provided with other editors, e.g. file difference comparison and spell checking.
Unfortunately, it only supports monospace fonts, there’s no tag completion, and syntax highlighting is basic. Some functions are a little strange (like option tick boxes with three or more states) and the interface doesn’t always feel feel particularly cohesive. However, it’s a great editor and worth trying.
ConTEXT is very similar to Crimson: it has comparable features and speed, but is a lot prettier!
It’s certainly a viable Notepad replacement, especially on slower PCs.
Crimson’s been around for a long time, although development stopped a few years ago. Like SuperEdi, it’s more of a good general text editor than a professional IDE, but it’s fast and offers project and macro capabilities. However, the interface looks dated, it only supports monospace fonts, and tag completion is missing.
I used Crimson for a few weeks of PHP development and, whilst it wasn’t the most thrilling of editors, I didn’t have any complaints either.
Komodo Edit is a cut-down version of ActiveState’s Komodo IDE. The interface looks great and, although it’s a little slow to start, it’s fine in operation. I’d have liked a tag completion and a few more customisation options – most information windows are docked in the same place. However, I’m sure many developers will like it.
I was a die-hard PNP1.0 user for many years. The application is still fast, has good language support and colour-scheme configuration. You can organise files into projects, which makes handling easier, but I’d prefer a file browser too. Tag auto-completion is missing, but it’s still worth a quick look.
jEdit is a popular cross-platform editor with more languages, features, and plugins than most others. It’s Java-based, so it offers a similar interface on Windows, Mac and Linux.
However, it does look a little clunky, and Java doesn’t offer the fastest experience – even typing can lag. I nearly switched to jEdit a few years ago - it’s good editor, but I suspect it won’t be a favourite amongst Windows users.
SuperEdi is one of the more basic editors here, but that makes it one of the fastest. It’s simple for new users, reasonably attractive, and pleasant enough to use. However, it doesn’t store session state or offer tag auto-completion. It’s more of a competent Notepad replacement rather than a fully-fledged IDE.
TAKEN FROM www.optimalworks.net
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Comments
You forgot VIM! chex out vim.org for more info, they have a gui for winders.
VI & VIM is the best (for any sort of php/ruby/perl/bash editing)
Why? because its 100% keyboard shortcuts <– fast once you learn it.
And also, because if you happen to ever go onto linux command line, or SSH into a server, vim is a must, it’s installed on practically all servers and is very fast and efficient, especially if you don’t have a mouse.
Also it has a lot of plugins, spelling, languages, etc.
Plus you can say “Quit using the mouse for writing code, you ninny!”
For me, there it’s the first and last choice.
I’m a developer for a major university and I really like TextPad. It isn’t free, so it can’t make the list, and I certainly agree with a lot of your inclusions, but you can try it out indefinitely with a little advert message popping up every 20th (or so) time that you save a file. I think you’ll find that it has a lot of the raw power that any of these have and a bit more.
jEdit is a very nice editor. The nice thing is it’s easy. Also a vote for Notepad++. Good list, keep it up!
Hi,
Editplus is not free.
PSpad does offer tag completion, but you have to download “user extensions” from the PSpad website. The number of user extensions are few, but some of them are pretty good.
Nice list, and thanks for sharing this. Just a piece of advice, in the order of your list, don’t refer to software that you haven’t talked about yet in the article. It’s a little confusing, like:
“ConTEXT is very similar to Crimson”, makes one think: “what the h*** is Crimson? Did I miss the part where the author was talking about it? Oh wait, it’s right afterwards. So let’s just scroll up and down and up and down until we’re through the post.
Komodo Edit does have tag completion (’autocomplete’).
I was a TextPad user for many, many years but was looking for something a little more advanced for a long time. Aalthough I tried just about every editor out there in my time (including most of those mentioned here) it was only when I tried Komodo Edit that I was persuaded to move on.
I agree about the lack of window layout customisation, though.
well its nice sharing