text editor suggestion?

[Simon Forman]

John Salerno wrote:
> Ok, I know it's been asked a million times, but I have a more specific
> question so hopefully this won't be just the same old post. I've tried a
> few different editors, and I really like UltraEdit, but it's
> Windows-only and I'm working more on Linux nowadays.
>
> Here are my criteria:
>
> 1. syntax highlighting (highly customizable)
> 2. auto/smart indenting
> 3. ability to run script
> 4. light-weight text editor, not an IDE
> 5. cross-platform (not really necessary, but nice)
>
> That's pretty much all I need. It's nice when you can customize a bunch
> of other stuff too, but those are the most important.
>
> I've tried vim, but I really don't feel like taking the time to learn
> how to use it, given that I just like to casually program (not to
> mention that I prefer to use the mouse when navigating a document
> sometimes).
>
> I also just started using Scite, and I really like it, except I find its
> syntax highlighting to be very inflexible. You aren't able to define
> your own groups of words -- you have to use what's given, basically. One
> thing I like about UltraEdit is that you simply define as many groups of
> keywords as you want and then assign a style to each one. Scite has a
> very strange and rigid method of highlighting.
>
> So hopefully some of you might have some suggestions. My requirements
> are minimal, but I'm still not happy with the syntax highlighting I'm
> seeing in a lot of editors out there.

Have you tried IDLE?  It ships with python, meets your 5 criteria(*),
can be customized (highlighting colors and command keys and more), and
includes a usable GUI debugger.  It's got some warts, but I like it a
lot, it's pretty much all I use for my python coding.

http://www.python.org/idle/

(* It *is* an IDE, but a very lightweight one. :) )