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This is a follow up to my original post which was in reply to Recommended Editor which was revisited by
jlongino with the post on IDEs that prompted me to revisit this topic as well.

I don't pretend to think that a list can include or accurately summarize all the editors available, but I want to attempt to shed some light on the options available since several of these were unknown to me until I either stumbled across them or someone pointed them out to me. I am sure each monks experience is unique.

An editor and the associated development environment can make a huge difference on ones ability to rapidly produce code, while no editor can make you a good programmer a syntax checker can assist in reducing the number of typographical errors you have to wade through while debugging. An editor becomes in a way your interface to a language and becoming efficient in one can make your life easier as you learn how to navigate your source and spot errors with its help.

IDE stands for Integrated Development Environment. The idea is that all the tools needed for writing applications/scripts is available in a single user interface (editing, compiling, debugging etc.).

I understand that IDE is a subjective term and I use it in the most liberal context. sauoq had a comment regarding an IDE in this node.

One thing that most editors (and/or IDE) lack is built in support for revision control. I find that trend a bit disappointing since revision control is a step (IMHO) in the road to professional/proper development. However in defense of other steps to good development and the companies/individuals that maintain editors and/or an IDE, it is time consuming and difficult to add support for the numerous revision control systems that are available. Perhaps a compromise would be adding the ability to launch a revision control GUI or console tool directly from within the application would be a step in the right direction.

For a list of GNU editors see:
Text Editors
Text Programming Editors

Other links of note:
Perl Oasis (outside link)
Text Editor other than Simple Text
Favorite Text Editor?
Editor Poll
code editor
an editor for perl
Text editor modifications
Perl mode for GNU Emacs
Perl Development Environments

I have added some links in the comment section that go directly to a reply to some of the other nodes since they contain information that may be helpful for a particular editor. Many of these links bring up the "holy war" surrounding editors, this is because an editor is such a vital part of a developers ability to get work done. To say one is better then another as a fact would be unwise, but please share your short cuts and tips on your favorite editor so other monks might take another look at your editor of choice or enhance their own arsenal of tricks if they already use it.

Not all of these editors support syntax highlighting, some are just text editors with little value add, but there are cases where your normal environment and tools might not be available so it may be beneficial to at least give the less feature rich examples a quick glance. Speaking from experience, this can be very important if you are a roaming monk or support multiple platforms with varying methods of access.

EDITOR	COST	PLATFORM	GUI or Console	COLMUN SELECT SUPPORT	COMMENTS
Komodo	Free - $500 The Free version (if still available) is not recommended since it is an older buggy version.	Linux/Windows	GUI	Yes	LINUX open file process is cumbersome, nice debugger. Speed really depends on your hardware, don't come with a slow CPU and/or limited memory and expect to be happy. Update (25AUG2002): While my hardware didn't change the performance has, in later releases ( 1.2.9 at the time of writing) the performance is better. This editor supports column selection WINDOWS Right click is "broken" under 2000 and the debugger has to be started two to three times before it runs correctly. Update (25AUG2002): The broken right click issue under 2000 has been solved in newer releases, however since I don't run a windows environment any longer I can't say anything more then what their readmes on that platform say. My review of it , not updated to the current 1.2.9 version however, which I am far more fond of.
UltraEdit	$39.95	Windows 9x/ME/2000	GUI	Yes	easily execute your scripts and reatin the output in the editor, this is priceless on a 9x or ME machine. Easy to preview your output in your default browser. Nice default highlighting.
UtlraEdit	$39.95	X with Wine	GUI	Yes	Still good, but haven't taken the time to figure out how to run a DOS command. I haven't tried real hard either :)
SciTE	Free	GNU	GUI	Yes, this is basicly what Komodo is based on so there are many similar functions	Just didn't feel right, haven't used it for at least 4 months. Update: I have started to really like this editor, it took me a little while to become comfortabe with it, but it has easier to manage support for various file types then Komodo does. I also like to use different editors on different projects so I can better mentally separate them.
Nedit	Free	GNU	GUI	Yes	I really thought this was going to be a more capable editor, but it just never clicked with me. I haven't used it since 2000 and it is my understanding that a lot has changed since then. Update: greenFox likes this editor for its macros and ability to do column selections.
vi and/or vim	Free	GNU/Windows	Console/GUI	Yes	goes against my keep it simple principle, you mean I have to send keystroke to enter the edit mode? How TRS-80 Update (25AUG2002): I still don't like this editor, I went back to look it over after this harsh review, but it just don't work well for/with me. However this is my bias, this editor can do practically anything and should be explored and not just dismissed out of hand by my comments. You really might like it. (should vi and vim be handled as too distinct editors?)
pico	Free	GNU	Console	No	often negelected as an editor and never run it without -wb for the params, this gets you global replace and no force hard return word wrap. Update (25AUG2002): I love pico. I have since found some more goodies. You can go to a particular line number doing Ctrl-w then Ctrl-t , there is ability to go to the top and bottom of a file as well under the Ctrl-w sub menu. It should be noted that pico is part of the pine project, pine is an email client and pico is the editor used for composing emails.
notepad	Free	Windows	Might as well use edit in a DOS window :)	No	I know it is everywhere, but it doesn't do anything to help you, and its support for \n is horrible. Was that on purpose :)
Kdevelop	Free	GNU (KDE)	GUI	?	This could be a really good Perl editor, but it is designed for C++ and C files. If you open a project you are stuck with limited options and I can't get it to create a new perl (.pl) inside of one
Kate	Free	GNU	GUI	?	I like the file open window and the fact that you can have console at the bottom of the editor, makes it very flexible.
mc - Midnight Commander	Free	GNU	GUI	?	This would be a much higher rating if the copy and paste via ssh worked better, maybe it was the version I was using, but it would add an additional tab to each line which made it brutal for remote editing. I did like the ability to place the cursor with the mouse however See also: Re: Recommended Editor (Juerd)
gedit	Free	GNU	GUI	?	Another editor that just didn't click with me.
(X)Emacs	Free	GNU	Console/GUI	Yes	It does so much, but I find it cumbersome to use since I switch between Linux and Windows frequently. I tried the windows port, but it just loses so much without the shell power of Linux. Update (25AUG2002): My new favorite quote on this editor, "a near vertical learning curve" - from The Pragmatic Programmer See also: Re: Favorite Text Editor? (premchai21)
joe	Free	GNU	Console	?	ADDED (25AUG2002): This is one edit I some how forgot on the first go around and have since had more time to use. It is an ok editor, but no feature in it really stands out. Thanks to jlongino for reminding me about it.
CodeForge	$79.95	GNU	GUI	Yes	ADDED (25AUG2002): I have tried this for two separate thrity day trial periods, it just didn't click with me, it does however have built in support for debugging using ddd and has some native support for CVS which is nice, but I found it too cumbersome interface wise for my tastes.
Visual Slick Edit	$299	GNU/Windows			ADDED (25AUG2002): Highly recommended by Rex(Wrecks) - "has all the faetures of a great editor, as well as an IDE. It has different precanned setups (Emacs emulation, vi emulation, MS emulation) as well as the ability to totally customize everything." and "multiple select modes, builtin version control support for most basics and the ability to define a new type of version control"
jEdit	Free	Anywhere Java is supported	GUI	?	ADDED (25AUG2002): See also: Re: Recommended Editor (WrongWay)
Below are from the post by jlongino , and are billed as IDEs
ActiveState Perl Development Kit 4.0	$195.00	Windows	GUI	Yes	This really isn't an IDE or editor, but it was in the original list provided by jlongino. This is an assortment of tools that assist development on the Windows platform. I am not sure if this comes with any license for Komodo at the $195 rate, if it does I would consider it an IDE at that point. ASPN Perl includes a Komodo license.
Crimson Editor 3.4	Free	Windows	GUI	?	Re: Recommended Editor(impossiblerobot)
DzSoft Perl Editor 5.2	$49	Windows	GUI
Perl Builder 2.0d	$279 (Proessional) $179 (Standard)	Windows/Linux	GUI
Perl-Express 1.1	$59 (individual) $259 (corporate)	Windows	GUI
Opti Perl 3.5	$39 - $99	Windows	GUI		was listed as Visual Perl 2.6, this was most likely changed due to a conflict with a product of a similar name released ActiveState
VMPerl 1.0 b	$29.95	Windows	GUI
Open Perl IDE	Free		GUI

DISCLAIMER: There is no "perfect" editor / IDE for everyone and it is completely an individual fit for which editor is comfortable and efficent for each developer.

UPDATE: Removed three columns that were not relavent. This should make it display better on lower resolutions.

In reply to Editor / IDE Consolidation by trs80

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