OT: Text editors

[Ben Finney]

Tim Chase <python.list at tim.thechases.com> writes:

> On Sat, Jul 28, 2012 at 6:29 PM, Mark Lawrence wrote:
> > I highly recommend the use of notepad++.  If anyone knows of a
> > better text editor for Windows please let me know :)

I highly recommend not tying your editor skills to a single OS,
especially one as ornery for programmers as Windows.

> I'll advocate for Vim which is crazy-powerful and works nicely on
> just about any platform I touch.
>
> Others will advocate for Emacs, which I can't say fits the way my
> brain works but it's also powerful and loved by many.

Right. I'm in Tim's position, but reversed: my preference is for Emacs
but Vim is a fine choice also. They are mature, well-supported with
regular updates and a massive library of plug-ins for different uses,
have a huge community to help you, and work on all major programming
OSen.

> The ubiquity of these two platforms makes a worthwhile investment of
> time spent in learning at least one if not both.

I use both frequently in my work for different things, and they are good
for pretty much any task involving manipulation of text.

Learn one of Emacs or Vim well, and you won't need to worry about text
editors again.

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Ben Finney