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Text Editors A REPORT ON SOME OF THE BEST TEXT EDITORS AVAILABLE AND
THEIR PROS AND CONS
Edward Eldridge | Software Development | 22nd of November 2016
EDWARD ELDRIDGE – SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT (GMIT) – 22/11/2016
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Contents 1. What is a text editor?
2. Why use a text editor?
3. Most popular text editors
4. Conclusion
5. Bibliography
EDWARD ELDRIDGE – SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT (GMIT) – 22/11/2016
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What is a text
editor? A text editor is simply defined as a program that can be used to
edit or create text. The most basic example of a text editor is
Notepad. This is included on all computers but is extremely basic
and should only be used for very basic tasks.
Examples of text editors with more functionality include
Notepad++, Sublime Text and Vim. I will be talking about these
three different editors in this report.
EDWARD ELDRIDGE – SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT (GMIT) – 22/11/2016
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Why use a text
editor? Text Editors most basic function isn’t complex. They are used to
edit and change text or to create text documents used as a reference
for other programs.
They are often used to change configuration files such as ‘.ini’
files, documentation files included with software or sometimes
even to write source code.
For simple tasks such as changing one or two variables in a
configuration file or for taking simple notes, Notepad will suffice.
However, if you are going to be spending a lot of time editing text
files, having the advanced functionality of another text editing
program such as Notepad++ or Sublime Text will make your life
easier and save you a lot of time.
Editors such as Notepad++ or Vim are used to create and edit
HTML documents, CSS Files or even for creating complex
configuration files. They are used instead of normal text editors
because of their extra functionality such as the ability to break
down the text into a more readable fashion using color and
paragraphs and also their ability to use plugins tailored for specific
needs.
I will go over some of my favorite text editors and their pros and
cons.
EDWARD ELDRIDGE – SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT (GMIT) – 22/11/2016
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Sublime Text
Due to it’s cross-platform and feature packed nature, Sublime Text
is one of the most popular text editors available. It supports a wide
variety of programming and markup languages.
Pros
Performance – Compared to other text editors
such as Vim and Notepad++, Sublime Text requires very
little system resources. This makes it useful for using on
laptops and other mobile devices.
User Interface – Due to it being a paid piece of
software, a bit more thought has gone into the user interface.
It’s easy on the eye with lots of customizable options. It also
EDWARD ELDRIDGE – SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT (GMIT) – 22/11/2016
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supports a large range of simple shortcuts to making
navigating your text that bit easier.
Cons
Licensing – Unfortunately, Sublime Text is
not an open source program and requires a license to
use. You can download it for free but it will continuously
prompt you to purchase it. The price isn’t cheap either,
$70 for a text editor is a large sum of money.
EDWARD ELDRIDGE – SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT (GMIT) – 22/11/2016
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Notepad++ Notepad++ has been around for a long time. It’s
usually used as an upgrade to Notepad or
WordPad
Pros
Document Map – Lets you see the
document in it’s entirety in a small window on
the side of your screen
Availability – Notepad++ is free and open
source. It can also be installed portably so it can
be ran from a flash drive or a cloud storage
service such as OneDrive or Dropbox.
EDWARD ELDRIDGE – SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT (GMIT) – 22/11/2016
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Cons
Interface – Compared to Sublime Text,
Notepad++’s interface is nowhere near as
streamlined or visually appealing.
EDWARD ELDRIDGE – SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT (GMIT) – 22/11/2016
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Vim I had never personally heard of Vim up until doing
this report but it has been hailed as the ‘Holy Grail’
of text editors. Work started on Vim in the late 80’s
and it’s still used today.
Pros
Open Source – As is with all pieces of
software, eventually someone will come along and
make an open source version. Vim is the open source
text editor. It’s cross-platform and also free.
EDWARD ELDRIDGE – SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT (GMIT) – 22/11/2016
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Customization – Due to it’s open
source nature, Vim can be customized to suit the
user’s needs. If the user is in desperate need for a
specific feature they can develop an add-on
themselves for Vim.
Scripting Language – Vim even
has it’s own scripting language called ‘vimscript’ or
‘VimL’. It has the very basic functionality of an
object oriented programming language. This allows
the user to manipulate text using actual code.
Cons
Steep learning curve - Even
though it’s simply a text editor, Vim has been known
to have a rather steep learning curve. This is due to
it’s user interface which isn’t user friendly in
comparison to say Sublime Text or Notepad++.
EDWARD ELDRIDGE – SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT (GMIT) – 22/11/2016
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Conclusion In conclusion, we can see that most text editors
are quite similar. The majority have tabbed
interfaces for management of multiple files,
highlight different text depending on it’s
function. Their differences however are in their
functionality, Notepad++ for example is useful
for simple editing of configuration files and
HTML documents. Sublime Text may be more
suited to a business environment as it is a
professionally made program and Vim may
appeal to the programmer who wishes to support
open-source software and to also have the ability
to tweak it their own needs. Therefore, we can
say, that there is no ‘best’ text editor. It is
completely up to the user.
EDWARD ELDRIDGE – SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT (GMIT) – 22/11/2016
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Bibliography 1. Lifehacker Top 5 Text Editors)
(http://lifehacker.com/five-best-
text-editors-1564907215)
2. Sublime Text
(https://www.sublimetext.com)
3. Notepad++ (https://notepad-
plus-
plus.org/download/v7.2.1.html)
4. Text Editors
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T
ext_editor)
5. Vim (http://www.vim.org)
6. GitHub’s Text Editors
(https://github.com/showcases/
text-editors)
