Which is the best editor for C code etc?

[esbo]

I think that some of your criticism of Notepad++ is unfounded.
This can be changed in the settings (uncheck "Remember the current session for next launch" in Preferences -> MISC), but...
... unfortunately there does not seem to be such an option for per-directory sessions.

Yes switching it off, is not realy a great help though, the thing is it is a really simple
change to make to have a per-directory sesion, I just stored the configuration in
the dirctory I was working in and then read it back in when I restarted. Obvioulsy you
could store the info elsewhere, but it makes life a lot easier if you are working on several 'projects'.
Some might even call it 'object orientated

Notepad++ can indeed do column-wise selection. Press the ALT key while selecting the text.

So it can. Thanks for that, I guess I will have to read the manual sometime, although it does not appear to have one. Unfortunately it does not work too well if you try and paste
past the end of the line, but that is due to the way a lot of editors work if you click past the
end of the line, they put the cursor at the end of the line, not where you clicked. Mine,
of course would back fill with spaces so if I pasted past the end of the line the column
would remain vertical.

"It also did keyboard macros."
This is also supported by Notepad++.

Yes, I was not suggesting it didin't, maybe it sounded like that though.
I imagine mine were better though

"Another useful feature of notepad was it would detect if a file had changed and ask if you wanted to reload it."
This is also supported by Notepad++.

Yes, that is what I said, mine actually would not do that, I guess you would need to periodically test the file or something like that. A slight nusiance is that it asks you if
you want to reload the file, I would rather do this automatically, or at least have an option
to set it to reload changed files automatically, obviously it might be unwanted in some
situations.

That said, I suggest that you try out other text editors and IDEs to find out which suits you best. It may well turn out that you would like a particular IDE for C and C++ development but wish to use a text editor instead for a general purpose text editing tool, and this could just be what you started out with, i.e., Notepad++. Or perhaps you truly are inspired to write yet another text editor

I will have a look at all the suggestions and see which is most suitable although I think it
will take me a while to do that, some require you to install various bits and pieces as well.

As to writing another text editor, I will give that a miss I think, I might have a go at doing
something with the one I wrote before, I just remembered I think I have it on a floppy disk somewhere!!! However it was written for unix using the 'cursors' package, so I would need
to find a winidows equivilant of that. It was stuff like this:-
http://www.mkssoftware.com/docs/man3/curs_refresh.3.asp
But I think I will give it a miss actually. Notepad++, is pretty good in many respects but occasionally I would like to have more than two 'windows' visable.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

By the way, I at least I don't have to use the vBulletin editor, as you can see I tend to struggle with that, as you can see by the line lengths etc...!!

[esbo]

The jEdit editor is my preferred code editor for all languages.

And yes, it has rectangular selection

Yes I just has a look at that, gives you plenty windows, looks quite promising.
Looks like it only allow you to save one configuration of the previously opened
files though. Having one configuration per folder can be really useful, you can
come back to something you were lookinig at weeks ago and it will open all
the relevant files automatically. It is so simple to do yet it can save so much time
and effort. It just requires changing about one line of code!!

Actually as it if released with the full source code..........

I might be able to do it myself!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Actually having thought about it I think I might be able to 'force' notepad++ to do the same.
All I would need to do is fine where is stores its configuration then copy that to the current
folder and then back again when I want to start up. So I would need to 'warp' a function/batch file around it to do that.

[Dave_Sinkula]

Got to be free though

Why?

My editor's promo:

We are a company of power programmers working to develop the tools that power programmers demand, tools that provide the best editing capabilities to help you write your code the way you want.

We take great pride in delivering unparalleled power, speed, and flexibility to our customers. Our goal is to remove the tedious tasks involved with programming, allowing you to focus on the reason you first got into programming: the thrill of writing great code.

I'll ask any company I work for to afford me this.

[esbo]

Why?

Because I don't like paying for stuff!!
I am not a comercial organistion, can't afford to pay £50 everytime I
want to a relatively simple task!!
Anyway there is plenty of free stuff available.

I doubt their stuff is as good as wot I could write anyway

If they give me a job I will gladly buy their products

Probably be sacked within a week though - too many global variables

[Dave_Sinkula]

Because I don't like paying for stuff!!
I am not a comercial organistion, can't afford to pay £50 everytime I
want to a relatively simple task!!
Anyway there is plenty of free stuff available.

I doubt your stuff is as good as wot I could write anyway

Time is money. Your call.

[whiteflags]

>> By the way, I at least I don't have to use the vBulletin editor, as you can see I tend to struggle with that

Well I don't know if I would call this an "editor" but mostly the only reason you have problems with it is because you try to wrap your own text instead of letting the browser do that for you. But perhaps you would find the "Preview" or "Go Advanced" buttons useful when you make a reply, as they let you see your post before it's written in public.

That said, kate's another good editor for the terminal.

[esbo]

Time is money. Your call.

I have more than enough money.

Anyway it's a bit like asking a 'traveller' to 'Tarmac ya drive sir?'

[Dave_Sinkula]

I have no clue what the last sentence meant. But no bother.

Like many of us, we edit many languages and like a vast array of customizability. I've enjoyed my present editor since its '97 incarnation. I like it when someone else updates my editor to my needs. I have little issue with tossing a couple dozen bucks of my employer's money at it. YMMV.

[esbo]

>> By the way, I at least I don't have to use the vBulletin editor, as you can see I tend to struggle with that

Well I don't know if I would call this an "editor" but mostly the only reason you have problems with it is because you try to wrap your own text instead of letting the browser do that for you. But perhaps you would find the "Preview" or "Go Advanced" buttons useful when you make a reply, as they let you see your post before it's written in public.

That said, kate's another good editor for the terminal.

Yes I do have major probs with the line wrapping.
Why do they give me a tiny little edit box in the first place, even in 'advanced' mode. I just find it automatic to hit a carriage return when I get near the end.I like to see what I am going to get.

As to why there are acres of space either side of this tiny edit box, well that's anybody's guess.

[esbo]

I have no clue what the last sentence meant. But no bother.

Like many of us, we edit many languages and like a vast array of customizability. I've enjoyed my present editor since its '97 incarnation. I like it when someone else updates my editor to my needs. I have little issue with tossing a couple dozen bucks of my employer's money at it. YMMV.

Well certain 'travellers'/gypsies make a living tarmacing people's drives (usually shoddilly) so they are as sure as hell not going to pay someone to tarmac their own drive, even if they had one!!

Basically I don't lilke paying for stuff I could do myself anyway, especailly when I can get something adaquate to do the job for free.

[whiteflags]

>> I like to see what I am going to get.

Then I don't see why you have a problem with it if you're willing to take the time to get it to look good anyway.

>> As to why there are acres of space either side of this tiny edit box, well that's anybody's guess.

From my point of view, it is either that or acres of negative space, and particularly the people who write these "pages" are the ones concerned with economizing their screen real estate.

[Dave_Sinkula]

Basically I don't lilke paying for stuff I could do myself anyway, especailly when I can get something adaquate to do the job for free.

As I do not like to pay for stuff either (translation: cheapskate), understood. An editor for a person who writes, however, is a different matter.

It merely becomes a game of 'how many flaming hoops do you want to jump through?'

You get what you pay for.

[esbo]

>> I like to see what I am going to get.

Then I don't see why you have a problem with it if you're willing to take the time to get it to look good anyway.

>> As to why there are acres of space either side of this tiny edit box, well that's anybody's guess.

From my point of view, it is either that or acres of negative space, and particularly the people who write these "pages" are the ones concerned with economizing their screen real estate.

I expect it to look good first time.
They are not economizing anything, just wasting my screen space.
Why have long lines in the final version but short ones in the editor?
Not a very good design IMO.

[esbo]

As I do not like to pay for stuff either (translation: cheapskate), understood. An editor for a person who writes, however, is a different matter.

It merely becomes a game of 'how many flaming hoops do you want to jump through?'

You get what you pay for.

And I don't want to get a vastly over-priced editor.

I would rather spend my money on something I value.

[CornedBee]

Yes I just has a look at that, gives you plenty windows, looks quite promising.
Looks like it only allow you to save one configuration of the previously opened
files though. Having one configuration per folder can be really useful, you can
come back to something you were lookinig at weeks ago and it will open all
the relevant files automatically. It is so simple to do yet it can save so much time
and effort. It just requires changing about one line of code!!

Install the Session plugin. Each session remembers the files that were open when you closed it. On editor start, the last active session is restored.