Need text editor w/ GOOD CUSTOM SYNTAX HIGHLIGHTING. (Dont care what langs come with)


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Thread: Need text editor w/ GOOD CUSTOM SYNTAX HIGHLIGHTING. (Dont care what langs come with)

  1. #1
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    Need text editor w/ GOOD CUSTOM SYNTAX HIGHLIGHTING. (Dont care what langs come with)

    Preferably I would like one that also...

    "folds" syntax blocks
    has syntax layout/summary tree's
    has autocomplete/suggest


    MOST IMPORTANTLY - If it does not have GOOD(GUI), support for CREATING YOUR OWN syntax highlighting/folding layouts for COMPLEX and extremely rare lang's -- please don't bother suggesting it. There are a kajillion editors that highlight 50-300 lang's -- and I don’t care about any of those langs.

    Basically -- the ONLY lang I want to syntax highlight is "CfMC Survent/Mentor" – Now…. I highly doubt it….. but if someone knows a editor that highlights/recognizes "CfMC Survent/Mentor" -- by all means, please let me know, regardless of other features.

    BTW – I know this is a linux forum, but I am looking for an editor that runs on WINDOWS preferably. If it runs on linux, and can be run through through a SSH or telnet session, then that’s fine too – but I’m not interested a linux only GUI editor.

  2. #2
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    You are asking for too much. A GUI for custom syntax highlighting? You'd need at least some advanced knowledge of regular expressions, which questions the need for a friendly GUI to create it in the first place.
    "windows preferably" and "not interested [in] a linux only GUI editor"? Sorry, you shouldn't be expecting too many replies here.

    Why don't you hire a free software programmer, who'd happily create what you need for you? You'd most likely want to create a plugin for your language in the Eclipse IDE, it has the features you need in a GUI and doesn't only run in linux.
    Last edited by xrx; 05-01-2007 at 03:10 PM. Reason: spelling mistakes.

  3. #3
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    gvim with a couple of plugins.

    Not sure if those plugins are exactly what you are looking for or not, but it's a start. And with gvim, you can even make your own syntax files if you want.
    Knute

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  4. #4
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    @knute:
    thanks for the suggestion -- if things don’t end up working out with 'Econtrol syntax editor', I think I am just going to go ahead and try gvim. Especially, since If I did do that I could prolly use the same syntax files to highlight in vi, on the actual linux server, for when I'm just making quick edits.

    @xrx:
    Quote Originally Posted by xrx
    You are asking for too much. A GUI for custom syntax highlighting? You'd need at least some advanced knowledge of regular expressions, which questions the need for a friendly GUI to create it in the first place.
    "windows preferably" and "not interested [in] a linux only GUI editor"? Sorry, you shouldn't be expecting too many replies here.

    Why don't you hire a free software programmer, who'd happily create what you need for you? ….Truncated...
    ......Chill with the elitist attitude man..... It is SO last week….. and your not even doing it right…… A real elitist would have just said "syntax highlighting is for sissy's"


    Seriously though – if you even bothered to read that whole sentence between, "windows preferably" and "not interested [in] a linux only GUI editor", (you know the part in the middle you left out when quoting me – in that sentence I specifically mentioned that “If it runs on linux, and can be run through a SSH or telnet session, then that’s fine too”) you might just have realized that there are probably practical reasons, for my preferences, (and that I'm not necessarily unfamiliar with regex's). For instance the whole reason for my preference in a windows version is that, at my work, I sit at a windows machine. Granted I am logged into the linux box at my work through SSH all day, but I find I can generally code quicker, if I can use the mouse as well. (I know you can use the mouse in some SSH stuff too, but it's not the same) Personally, I would not care if it were a linux GUI, problem is I wouldn’t be able to use it at work, so it wouldn’t do me much good, at work, which is where I really need it.... (and that’s not even taking into account that the other 5 people at my work, that I would be letting use it, are also all at windows stations -- and they are not near as familiar with linux as I am, so they might not even use it on a linux box even if they had the choice a having a linux PC for their workstation)

    Secondly, I am quite familiar with regular expressions. By GUI - I didn’t mean something that would ask me simple questions, and generate regex's for me -- I meant more kinda like notepad++'s GUI for creating custom syntax highlights. So i can instantly see results, as I am building my regex's, (since, yes, these are some of the most complex regex's I've ever needed to make) and after defining tokens, I can easily click to pick color/fonts/size/bold/etc., again, all with instant “see as I click” feedback . This is my first time trying to actually "define" a lang's syntax, (and it's a really weird lang too -- pretty simple to use, but extremely weird conventions, compared to any other language I know or have even seen) which, for me at least, is a little more challenging than actually just using the language, and unlike some people I'm not perfect or an elitist, so I make mistakes. So it is SO much easier for me to work on it in a GUI, when I can make changes and see them instantly right behind the dialog I’m working in. The reason I don't just use notepad++, is that it doesn’t even seem to accept regex's!! And in general is much more limited that others I have seen that require you to make files, to use. Sure I could go to the trouble of making the actual files by hand, and if it comes down to it, I will -- But I just figured, since I'm doing this on my own time (my work wouldn't pay me to do it -- they haven’t used it in the 20 or so years they have been in business, and they figure there's no need for it. -- but I still think it makes my life easier) I would at least try to see if there is a decent GUI out there for making custom syntax highlight/folding profiles.

    Now, I'm not sure why you think "at least some advanced knowledge of regular expressions" has anything whatsoever, to do with the desire to use a GUI as opposed to command line for a particular purpose. They both have their ups and their downs, and a lot of it, is really just user preference. I personally prefer the command line/conf files for a lot of things -- however creating syntax highlighting profiles, with colors, fonts, and graphical display elements is not one of them.

    And lastly - you say "You are asking for too much." I disagree -- I wasn't asking for too much at all. There are plenty windows GUI editors out there, with GUI support for creating custom syntax profiles. However before now, from what I've looked at, they where to simple, and basic to do what I wanted. Such as notepad++. However since I decided to ask a bunch of other programmers on forums for personal opinions on the matter, I found "EControl Syntax editor" http://www.econtrol.ru/syntedit_e.html which is surely complex enough to allow me to do everything I want.

    WoW -- Didn't realize how much I just typed --
    Anyway the moral of the story is -- try not to notice the "windows preferably" and "not interested [in] a linux only GUI editor"? -- while inexplicably missing the “If it runs on linux, and can be run through a SSH or telnet session, then that’s fine too” right there in the middle. Oh - and get a life, seriously, why did you even waste your time responding, if your just going to have an elitist attitude and not help........

    p.s. yea, I know I just wasted a lot of my own time. But here's how I see it..... you wasted your time because you completely misread me as a complete newb, and wanted to make your self feel better by essentially trying to say I want everything handed to me on a silver platter because I don’t want a linux GUI, for this particular thing, and you must be so much better because you never use windows gui's for anything -- where as I wasted my time, wanting make my self feel better, by defending my intelligence level by calling you out on how stupid, un-thought-through, single-minded, and immature your response was.
    Last edited by bdb4269; 05-01-2007 at 07:26 PM.

  5. #5
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    Wow, you played the "elitist" card real quick.
    Is your real name "Al Sharpton" or "Jesse Jackson" by chance?
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  6. #6
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    removed by author, but since i am referenced later, i thought i'd leave it here.

    Good luck on your search...i dont program, so i have no idea.
    Last edited by happybunny; 05-02-2007 at 06:00 PM.

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    wow, just wow
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  8. #8
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    Al and Jessie don't need no stinking syntax highlighting, Kemo Sabe
    And for a fleeting second...I was not sure if I was a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or, a butterfly dreaming I was a man....Lao-tzu

  9. #9
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    I have used UltraEdit (http://www.ultraedit.com/) in one or the other of its various forms and it has/had the ability to add a language/systax, they even have some modules already setup from other users. It is Share Ware so after the 30 day trial you will need to come up with some funds to get them to send a unlimited time key. I don't think that the trial version is crippled but you can check on the above site.
    Last edited by JRefL5; 05-01-2007 at 11:08 PM. Reason: Typo

  10. #10
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    It doesn't have a GUI but VIM with a few pluggins over ssh is about the best I can think of, maybe emacs (please no flames about which is better)

  11. #11
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    @JRefL5&webwolf: Thx I'll check those out. It's always nice to have a few to pick from!

    Quote Originally Posted by happybunny
    a very strange, knee-jerk response i think.

    You come to a linux specific forum, looking for a preferable Windows based GUI editor, but you would agree to run it on linux via SSH?

    Then tirade against someone nice enough to respond with a "i don't think so" answer.

    Weird.
    @happybunny:

    I came to a linux (specifically justlinux.com) programming forum, because I know this is a good active forum, and I'm sure many members have to use windows at work just like me, and therfore might have good suggestions for windows text editors. I mean -- I guess I could have put it in "off-topic" but I thought, despite my gui preference (and inability to use a linux gui at work) it made more sense to post it here.

    As far as what you said about the tirade "Then tirade against someone nice enough to respond with a "i don't think so" answer.":
    I know my response was over the top, and I'll say more about that later, but I don't understand, how it's completly off base.
    I'm not clear on how you consider telling someone they are incapable, based on something as trivial, as gui/non-gui preference (interpreted as need) in a text editor, a nice response? Unless you actually know enough about a person to know what they are capable of, and capable of learning, I can't see how it's anything but rude, to tell someone, that they shouldn't even try.
    And for that matter even if xrx did know me well enough to make that assumption, the way it was phrased, was anything but trying to be nice, about conveying his opinion that i shouldn't even try. I would even say it was a specifically snide way to express the thought. Now that may only be my opinion - but I feel it's plain fact, that xrx was not trying to be nice. Does anybody else think xrx was trying to be nice? - Seriously - I mean, I certainly wouldn't intentionally tirade against someone who was trying to be nice, even if I did feel they where basing their opinion on trivial misinterpreted facts.


    @everyone:

    As far as my response goes, I know it was way over the top, as is this one
    -- I normally just ignore posts like that - but it always annoys me when people put posts in forums like that. I mean what's the point? (OK - xrx did suggest Eclipse IDE, but I haven't even checked it out yet, because he certainly didn't seem confident that it would be what I wanted it to be, based on the fact he said i was asking for too much) Other than suggesting Eclipse at the end, all he said was:

    "You are asking for too much. A GUI for custom syntax highlighting?"
    Since there plenty to choose from, and I think I already found what I need, I don't see why I'm asking for too much.

    "You'd need at least some advanced knowledge of regular expressions, which questions the need for a friendly GUI to create it in the first place."
    Firstly, I never said wasn’t familiar with regex’s and what in the world would make you think someone trying to create a custom syntax highlighting scheme for an obscure, proprietary lang, wouldn’t be familiar with regex’s just because they said a gui would be nice? Secondly, I never said I “needed” a gui, I said I preferred one.
    So based on that - Am I the only person that thinks like that sounds passive-aggressively elitist? That its only real purpose is to essentially say “Use a gui to help make a syntax profile!?! – if you where smart enough to do it, you wouldn’t need a gui you sissy – go back to kinder garden, and just pay someone to do it because your incapable.” [a bit overdone, just to get my point across]

    I’m plenty familiar with regex’s – and yes, making this syntax profile, will be a bit more than I have done with them so far – but that’s a good part of the reason I want to do it. Because I will learn more about regex’s, what I can do, and how to do it. For this I would prefer to use a program where I can enter regex’s in a dialog, and watch the “maximized” editor behind it, showing me exactly what im selecting with the regex in real time, because this will help me more quickly learn to use more complex regex’s. Because I can read a book/forums all I want - and I do read plenty documentation to get me started, and when I get stuck - but to actually “learn” syntax’s, I have to actually do something with it/make something work.

    Anyway – point is, that’s why these kinda of posts always annoy me… (though I normally just don’t respond) Since I’m here asking this question, obviously, I feel I'm capable, and am just looking for suggestions if anyone knows a good editor that has features to make it quicker and easier for me. It just seems rude, and antithetic, to the whole purpose of forums, for someone to assume I couldn’t possibly do this myself, and literally tell me:

    “… "windows preferably" and "not interested [in] a linux only GUI editor"?” ignoring the fact I noted non-gui linux suggestions where welcome “Sorry, you shouldn't be expecting too many replies here. Why don't you hire a free software programmer, who'd happily create what you need for you?...”

    Here I am asking for suggestions, and I’m being told by someone who has assumed that because I prefer a gui editor, that I probably have only rudimentary knowledge of regex’s, if any, that I surly can’t do this myself, and that I should just pay someone to do it for me.

    Is it just me that thinks that this is rude, pointless, and even antithetical, to the whole purpose forums got created in the first place? (not rhetorical, I’m really curious what people think)

    I want to be clear, I’m not asking if you think my response was normal, or reasonable. As I said earlier, I quite aware that my response was way over the top, as is this one. (probably because I was venting from all the other times I just ignored it) at this point, I am really just curious, if everyone thinks, like happybunny, that I'm completely off base, and xrx was really just trying to be nice, or if anyone at least agrees, that even though my response was way over the top, that xrx was in fact being rude and/or perhaps even even antithetical to the point of forums.



    p.s. je_fro, I don't know a whole lot about those two, what I do know, is they are into civil rights, and are both ministers. And that Al Sharpton is Pentecostal. And based on what you said, I’m assuming they complained a lot about elitism. which in a way is kinda funny, since I tend to think a lot of Pentecostals have elitist, tendencies. Anyway, I digress, obviously I am not either of them, though yes I am a strong believer in civil rights, but am a devout atheist, so I wouldn't personally compare myself with Al or Jesse. But it was certainly an interesting, odd, and new experience for me, being compared to them.
    Last edited by bdb4269; 05-02-2007 at 03:28 AM.

  12. #12
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    any-way...
    I jokingly asked because those guys are quick to throw the race card: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_card
    Just like you were too quick to throw the "elitist" card. The way I read it, everybody's been pretty tongue-in-cheek.
    Anyway, suggestions have been made (If you can find gvim for windows try that - professional coders swear by it once they learn it) and we can all move along now....
    Last edited by je_fro; 05-02-2007 at 03:43 AM.
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  13. #13
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    I agree with je_fro. I use GVIM in windows everyday for work. I program in many different languages but mostly one that no editor or IDE would have support for. We use custom syntax files for highlighting. I didn't create the files, but I know that someone here did and it wasn't so difficult if I remember correctly. I also use Gvim everyday through ssh and I love it. I believe GVIM also has folding and it's regex support is kind of funky if your used to perl regex's but you get used to it pretty quickly.

  14. #14
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    Goodness, I never imagined my admittedly irritable post would generate such a stir.

    You wouldn't believe how many people I meet who thinks creating programs is just answering a few questions and dragging and dropping, like the Yahoo PageBuilder for websites. They never stop to realize that there is a bit more to it. I try to be polite to them when they ask me for a "easy program creating software", just hinting that it would be a bit unrealistic to have an easy gui to specify what the software would do.
    When I first read your post, while I was tired and waiting for my thousand line program to compile with different gcc versions, that's the first image that popped in my mind. It was stupid of me to not have a second thought about what you really wanted to say. Obviously, it was extremely rude of me to jump to conclusions about you like that, when you really do know your stuff.

    My prejudice was based on this line from your first post (I tend to read words written in all caps as being SHOUTED at me):
    Quote Originally Posted by bdb4269
    If it does not have GOOD(GUI), support for CREATING YOUR OWN syntax highlighting/folding layouts for COMPLEX and extremely rare lang's -- please don't bother suggesting it.
    My initial impression was of some doctor or statistician working on a company-forced obscure computer language, who wanted their text to be more readable after being fed up over it, and was irritant about it.
    When you shouted _good_, I assumed you meant easy (as opposed to just being useful or "good", which is what you probably meant). I was just voicing my surprise in you wanting something as complex as custom syntax highlighting, and then worrying about whether its easy (again, I was wrong. You meant useful).
    I have nothing against GUI editors or GUIs in general. In fact, they're dead useful. I was focusing on (free) GUI custom-syntax-highlighting+folding-builders, which to my knowledge was mainly a text area (GUI or command line) to write the regex lines and write/select the color/font. It felt a bit unusual on seeing someone insisting on a good (and I thought easy) GUI for it, when to me the only GUI part was the text box and the font-selector, which can't really be called a "good GUI". Creating all those features you wanted with a simple gui was unusual; that's why I thought you were asking for too much. Obviously, I was wrong.

    Quote Originally Posted by xrx
    "windows preferably" and "not interested [in] a linux only GUI editor"? Sorry, you shouldn't be expecting too many replies here.
    This forum is known for going as far as to _lock_ threads which dared to even look for alternative sites to get windows-related help. I was just playing on that fact.

    Just a suggestion: it may be an idea to ignore posts made by brainless trolls like me, instead of writing an entire report on it. Or perhaps be short and polite in saying how stupid I am instead of wasting your time on a page of anger.
    I misunderstood you, being in the pressure of multiple projects, and would've done better to avoid posting. I really do hope you calmed down a bit, I never intended you to get so distressed and annoyed over my foolishness , I come in peace

  15. #15
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    Thanks for the reply. I definitely have more respect for where you are coming from, even if I don’t agree with it.

    About your suggestion (ignoring posts like that) – I actually usually do, well really it would be more accurate to say, I always have before this time. I just happened to have some time to kill, and decided I was not going to ignore it this time. Which is part of the reason I went on so long, as in my head, I was responding to all the similar posts I had ignored before, which was wrong, on my part, to do.

    And yes – your post certainly did annoy me – but not distressed. I’m sure most of the people here have felt reading through my stuff that I was a lot more upset than I was. Which is understandable – Partly because of how long my posts were: I am a naturally long winded person, so when I get going on something – I really tend to go all out. Not so much because I am “distressed” as that I end up trying to get my point across in a way that covers every single little bit of what I am talking about. Verbally, people just think I talk to much, though in text this often comes off to people, as me being way angrier than I really am. So, normally, since I am so bad and making a point briefly, I specifically try to look at long pieces of text (posts – emails – what have you) and summarize better after I have written the whole long thing – but in the case of these posts, I was annoyed enough that I didn’t care to go through that extra trouble. Also – I know my use of bolding tends to make people think I am more heated than I am. Really, my use of bolding, has little to do with how annoyed I am, and is mostly just a function of how long and drawn out my post is. I know realistically, that the vast majority of people are not going to read my entire long post. So I try to bold the smallest amount of stuff (I know a lot of you are laughing, I just said “smallest” – which is understandable – I almost a chuckled a little as I typed it) that most succinctly gets the majority of my points across.

    I tried to show that I wasn’t so much “blind with rage”, (as just a bit annoyed, eccentrically long winded, and trying to make a point) by being especially cordial (smiley’s and all, which I’m not usually to big on) to the people who where offering suggestions, etc. in hopes that would offer a clue, to some of those reading it, since a person that’s as “blind with rage” as I probably sounded to a lot of the people here, usually would not take the time to do that.

    And lastly, just a suggestion for you: It may be nice, to ignore posts made by people who appear to you to be type who think it’s easier than it is. Even if you think someone’s incapable, or asking for to much (and they very well may be), you should realize, that it’s not their fault that they don’t understand how complicated certain things would be to do (I mean - if they have never tried, how should they know) And anyway -- if you just leave them alone it wont take them to long to figure it out – and they will either give up – or will decide they still want to learn and start asking more reasonable questions – and though I may get annoyed at posts like yours, it’s obviously (since when I get fed up, I rant, not runaway) not going to make me want to stop trying to keep learning – but a lot of the people who are as novice as you took me to be, would get quite discouraged about trying to learn this stuff, if every time they ask for help, people essentially tell them, they shouldn’t even try. Maybe they shouldn’t try – but if that’s the case – they aren’t going to try for very long anyway. And on the other side of that coin, they may well be plenty intelligent, but a complete newb to the area -- and it would be a shame for them to give up to early because of posts like that.

    Anyway – I want to thank you for the explanation, I think it shows a lot of character that you took the time to reply.


    @everyone:
    Again, sorry if my post is a bit long (again).


    @je_fro:
    I see where you were going with that now. [slaps forehead.... "duh!"] I couldn’t disagree with your analogy more though. For those who didn’t follow the race card link – This is the first line of the wikipedia article, summarizing the meaning.
    “Playing the race card is an idiomatic phrase, referring to an allegation raised against a person who has unnecessarily brought the issue of race or racism into a debate so as to obfuscate the matter.
    Before my initial rant – this thread was not a debate, or argument by any sense of the word. It was just a discussion, based on my question. After I posted my rant, I was making a controversial point, and this thread could be considered a discussion of conflicting opinions, in other words a debate. I may have called xrx an elitist to quick, (and I admit that) but if anyone here played a “_____ card” I think it was you. My post was about my disagreement’s with xrx’s post (one of which is that I thought it sounded elitist) – and by immediately accusing me of playing the “elite card”, which was bringing, an issue that was on the sidelines of my argument against xrx, you where actually obfuscating the original purpose of my post. I don’t think you where intentionally trying to do it – I just wanted to point out, that my calling xrx an elitist to quickly, wasn't playing a "card" -- I wasnt trying to use that to obfuscate my argument against his post, to confuse people into thinking I had a valid argument -- It just really came off as elitist to me -- I can see now there were other motives behind the nature of the post.
    Last edited by bdb4269; 05-03-2007 at 02:43 AM.

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