Request recommendations for Code Editors (Win/OS X)

[cmorgan]

OK, I have been playing around with editors for a few years now, and I have the following very, very useful tools, all PC based:

 

NotePad++ (with Mike1072's QuickText, a custom syntax highlighting library, it is the strongest and easiest for most functions - on several folk's recommendation).

 

Textpad/WildEdit (highlighters built, good for big projects and search/replace with regexp. Not the best combo for new users, but it is great - costs cash - on Miera/Darious' recommendation).

 

PSPad (on Miloch's recommendation - no syntax highlighter built yet, but is is clean, easy to use, and low profile).

 

Crimson Editor (on JCompton's recommendation - the best for multicolored categorized syntax highlighting, as it accesses more keyoword divisions: it also has great simple column editing work).

 

ConTEXT (Idobek's originals got me into the whole syntax highlighting thing in the first place, and with predefined code templates, simple to use custom syntax highlighting, etc., still the simplest and best way to get rolling - though my old machine choked on heavy syntax highlighted files, my current machine can deal with several hundred very long files simultaneously, though not as efficiently as NotePad++).

 

 

I went looking last year for a Mac version of any of these, and all i could come up with for free was TextWrangler. I created a simple highlighter for it, but it only has one color, has no folding, etc.... basically, it was what I had at work, which uses macs, and I did not see much need to do anything with it as I could draft code during breaks there and then load it up at home for cleanup.

 

Now I just got my wife a MacBook pro because she has had to lug her work computer back and forth for years, and I just realized that I could be out and about with it when she is not using it, instead of hiding in my study with my heavy rig blasting hot air at my legs for hours at a time... Which (finally) leads me to my central question:

 

1. Is there a native OS X/Leopard code editor with decent (more than 4 categories) syntax highlighting and code shortcuts/templates?

 

2. Is there a way (perhaps under Wine?) to get the MacBook pro to run one of the above editors, so I don't need to go find/pay for a new editor when I have several that are pretty darned good?

 

Currently, the Macbook pro has TextWrangler and Openoffice installed.

[Mike1072]

2. Is there a way (perhaps under Wine?) to get the MacBook pro to run one of the above editors, so I don't need to go find/pay for a new editor when I have several that are pretty darned good?

Mac noob here, but... boot camp?

[cmorgan]

I am looking into that - with an ed discount, I might be able to purchase a second Win XP. Currently I am using the XP and Vista x64 I own on the dual-boot configuration, so I can't legally install a new copy on the MacBook. BootCamp allows a dual boot config, but you have to provide a working XP or Vista OS yourself.

 

But I was really hoping there was a way of simply running the darned thing in an automatically launched VM, like I do sometimes with really old games like the SSI Gold Box series, rather than confusing her with a dual boot option. Or, find something that runs universally.

[erik]

No idea about native OS X programming editors, still not a Mac guy. (Though random googling turns up TextMate http://macromates.com/ )

 

But as for windows-programs-on-mac, I can give you a few hints.

 

If you can scrounge up the money, Parallels + some Windows is the best you can find, I think. Parallels Desktop ... runs Windows apps seamlessly. I've seen it, it's damn cool.

 

Crossover Mac or Crossover Games Mac is probably good enough, and far cheaper than the parallels+windows combo... (commercial Wine for Mac OS X, has a downloadable trial, at least Notepad++ is said to work well) http://www.codeweavers.com/

 

Noncommercial winehq.org Wine is likely to be a lot of hassle on OS X, so I'd advise you to skip that as an option.

 

Did that help?

[devSin]

If you can scrounge up the money, Parallels + some Windows is the best you can find, I think. Parallels Desktop ... runs Windows apps seamlessly. I've seen it, it's damn cool.

VMWare Fusion, bitches.

[Taimon]

There should also be a Mac port of vim, if you want to try a unix style editor.

[devSin]

vim and emacs should already be installed by default.

 

BBEdit is boss, but you have to pay for it, and if you want expanded language control (for syntax highlighting and folding), you need to create a real language module (the XML format allows you to specify keywords and pre-defined words, string and comment patterns, and folding patterns, but you will only ever be able to get the default behaviors). It's also skewed more toward HTML and similar in some places than generic coding languages.

 

TextWrangler is to BBEdit like a little poop coming out when you fart is to a big fat dump.