Hi guys.
Do we have any decent editors for OS4? NotePad is too simple. MultiEdit has block indent moving but aside from that I don't see any other perks. CodeBench is slow to start up and won't load text files in like a standard editor.
I find Amiga editors tend to be too simplistic and lack basic features. Well too basic for my needs. For example syntax highlighting, block indent management and auto indenting, and red lining errors.
Perhaps a port of Xed from Linux would be good. The plugns do most of what I want. Though I would prefer a proper native program.
I did cover most of the available editors that work well on AmigaOS 4, having in mind the developers, at https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YAOQkVkmHMM
Also, you can find a review of the editor I am working on porting to OS 4 at
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=APhAWnJzNfg
Thanks walkero. I'll take a look.
@Hypex
Probably we still have none of "100% better than other ones". Every editor on amiga we have has its own set of issues. But ones which are "close" to being everyday use for me, that still basic NotePad and MultiEdit. I tried everything, StormEd, CodeBench, CodePad, etc, etc, everything start to be slower, or started to luck basic features. CodePad, which is still in beta, and just simply attempted to add richeditor.gadget to a pure notepad, was almost what i need, but, it starts to be noticeably slower. Not _that_ slower, but not ultra-fast as i love it to have for text editors.
So, i end up with a simple notepad when i need to just change a little bit small files, and multiedit when i need to "work".
@kas1e
I tend to use Notepad a bit. Maybe because I get lazy in getting a better editor. CodeBench is nice but CodePad is old now and lacks basics like block indent and and setting tabs.It does however syntax highlight. But I need something to help decode cryptic GCC errors. It's too easy to miss a character and then I waste hours to days looking for some stupid thing out of whack because the compiler isn't smart enough to find where the error really is. One thing annoying me is editors using different tab settings. My files used to be neatly tabbed but now it's all over the place, with spaces there and tabs here, I really need an auto indenter to clean it up. I used TIDE once but I think it had a save crash. That's weird, nice setup, but who ever ported it didn't test it by the looks of it and didn't leave the source as when I save it crashes. I recall I used to use Cubic IDE demo or poor mans version. But my files are over 500 lines in my sources so it won't work now. I wanted to try LiteXL, which looked nice, but unfortunately it doesn't work on my X1000 and throws a 81000009 guru. Such is the world of OS4. :-)
Choosing an editor is very personal. Almost bordering on religious preference.
I spend more time editing than all other Amiga activities combined, and I know the little details matter a LOT to me. That doesn't mean that what works for me will be good for you.
I originally used the Lattice "lse", later SAS "se" as my editors. All the shortcuts became automatic muscle memory for me, and learning something different was not easy to do.
"se" has been gradually less and less useful as the OS changed, and I needed to replace it.
I've tried all that you mentioned, and I eventually settled on "Annotate".
At first try, I didn't much care for it, but my opinion has changed.
It has the most customizable UI I have seen. Yes, you can make it almost identical to LSE/SE,
or any editor interface you wish. adjusting all the options took a while, but was time well spent.
Yes, it has Syntax highlighting, and I have scripts that will scan the current includes and create
updated highlighting files for it.
It had a nasty problem with occasional crashes, but source is included. It turned out to be related to
screen handling, and since I always run on workbench, it was an easy fix.
Downside? Syntax highlighting is a bit slow on an A1222. but that's the only complaint I have left.
And since I have the source (with my few edits), I don't feel like I'll be left hanging in the future.
LyleHaze
I totally agree with that. I can't remember how many editors I tested and switched to in my development career.
Annotate is a great editor, and the author is keen to update it. Whenever I sent him bugs he fixed them and sent me fixed versions back. I wished it was available somewhere in a repo, so people could create PRs, but it would be good to contact him, show our appreciation, and encourage him to continue the work on it.
It would be good to send your changes to the author, so he might include them.
Is it the scrolling of the syntax-highlighted code or setting the colours to the text itself that is slow?
"It would be good to send your changes to the author,"
Except that I didn't "fix it" properly, I just did a workaround that assumes I will ALWAYS be on the Workbench screen. Lazy on my part? Sure. But I was wanting to get on with my project.
My FIRST requirement for an editor is stability. "occasional" problems are a deal breaker, as I need to know that any machine problems are from my code, not my editor. Once the single bug I mentioned was patched, it's been solid as a rock.
"Is it the scrolling of the syntax-highlighted code or setting the colours to the text itself that is slow?"
At this poing I cannot recall, and my A1222 is no longer functional.
I'll admit making pretty BIG highlighting files, once I got the system automated.
LyleHaze