Open Source

vim,my favorite!

I just use vi via ssh session in putty. I dont do much with a gui interface...

I use VI on unix/linux but when on *indows I use crimson.

why use syntax highlighting? If programming, then a development IDE is better, has a good debugger. Helps deal with runtime errors.

By the way.. many vim users use caps lock instead of escape, to go to command mode. And, I think, they do basic thimgs in text mode as oppose to command mode, like new lines(enter is easier than escape->o) and perhaps deleting a few charachters near the cursor, they would use Del and backdlete, as oppose to ESC, x and X.

The text editors in a lot of IDE's are moronic. Being designed to edit code beyond anything else, they contain features specifically designed for certain languages and formatting styles, but more often than not, programmers end up fighting these features rather than using them. So, even when they use an IDE, a lot of programmers prefer to edit the code in something else.

Using an IDE also forces you to do things a certain way. KDevelop forces me to use automake, for instance... This is a big problem because I hate automake. It's just that bad. KDevelop and automake singlehandedly gave me the impetus to learn the art of makefiles.

Also, a lot of the time, a full IDE is overkill. Know any good IDE's for bash? Fat chance. Do any text editors have syntax highlighting for bash? Plenty!

Also, not everyone uses the same IDE. I'm not about to buy CodeWarrior for the privilege of editing someone else's source code, and want to avoid cramming my own IDE-of-choice down their throat.

Lastly, some people, for some reason, find smaller, tighter programs easier to use than all-singing-all-dancing-mash-everything-together-into-one-giant-interface monstrosities. I can't imagine why.

yes, I understand all that.. smaller is better. Large IDEs are greedy, annoying to learn your way around.. a nusiance just learning how to compile the program within the IDE!!

However, a debugger is very important!! Setting breakpoints. Watching variables. A text editor, as far as I nkow, doesn't offer this. I have heard that emacs has a debugger, but a poor one.

Not just a nuisance learning to compile inside it, it's even more of a hassle learning to compile outside it.

Emacs is a fine operating system, but I prefer linux.

Did you check that program I linked, the Data Display Debugger? It's got all that good stuff you mention without an IDE. I find it essential for debugging any code that isn't my own.

So you can have an editor that's good at editing and a debugger that's good at debugging, instead of one glorious hole that's not really good at anything.