I have looked at some related posts, such as Vim as Visual Studio IDE.
The poster seems to want to bring the full power of VIM into Visual Studio, which I understand to be a fairly messy procedure. This is not what I want.
I just want plain vanilla VIM to be functional with the VS IDE. That is, all I want is to be able to switch between Normal and Insert mode (for starters), where I can move through code within Normal mode and type in text within Insert mode. Using the search and marking features would be nice as well, but I just want to make one step at a time. Of course I can just open up a terminal and VIM through the source code, but I would not have the useful VS IntelliSense at my disposal.
I am asking for suggestions/advice on how to achieve the above but a good reference (book, article, another stackoverflow post, etc.) on how to achieve the above also suffices for an answer.
I'll caveat this answer by saying that I don't use Visual Studio, but the options available are similar regardless of the IDE.
If I understand your question correctly, I think you have two options:
1) Install a vim emulation plugin. This should be able to integrate basic vim functionality into the IDE off the bat. Vim by vscode looks like it might satisfy your requirements; the repository states that it implements Normal Mode and Insert Mode, searching with / and ?, and some mark features. (source: ).
VsVim by Jared Par, is also another option, although less well documented.
2) Set up vim as an External tool in your IDE. Open the External Tools (Tools > External Tools). Set the command to point to your vim installation and the arguments"+call cursor($(CurLine)$(CurCol))" $(ItemPath) (you might need to play around with escaping to get this to work). This should open the current file in native vim at the current position. To make this transition as seamless as possible, I would recommend creating a shortcut. Were you to choose this option, you could also experiment with utilising the other arguments provided by VScode, like passing over the currently selected text over to vim, for example.
Out of the two, installing a plugin is quicker and easier and might suit your needs. However, you may get frustrated at the differences to native vim - the lack of support for some features, the inability to configure using a vimrc and through native vim plugins. Ultimately, the right option will depend on how you use Vim at the moment. Personally, I settled for the second option.
I would like to start programming in GO. As I am a Windows user, I understand that it possible to do so using the GO plugin for NetBeans.
Until now, I have written GO programs in text files and run them using the command prompt, but I prefer to use another platform/environment so I would be able to debug the programs.
The code examples in this forum are syntax highlighting and seem to be taken from an environment like Visual Studio. Does anyone know about the environment?
I would appreciate a simple solution. Thank you! :)
IDEs built specifically for Go and still actively maintained:
LiteIDE: http://code.google.com/p/golangide/
Portable and fast with build in debugger
GoWorks: http://tunnelvisionlabs.com/products/demo/goworks
Based on NetBeans 7.3, standalone application or NetBeans plugin
Googling you can find several IDE, for instance:
http://go-ide.com/ or
https://code.google.com/p/goclipse/
You may find this question gets closed as it's quite subjective, and a FAQ. However, the simple answer: from your description, it seems likely that you would be comfortable with goclipse.
More complete answer: there is no "one true environment" for Go development. The code examples you see here are coloured using Stack Overflow's syntax highlighter, and were submitted in plain text. You'll probably find highlighting and utilities available for most major editors. For example, I use Vim which has a plugin to run gofmt on the current buffer.
I believe some Windows users are fond of Sublime Text 2's GoSublime plugin. A more complete list of development tools can be found here.
You don't really need an IDE to develop using Go. I'd encourage you to spend more time working with a good editor and the command line. Getting to know the tools already distributed with the language is essential IMHO (go, godoc, gofmt). See also Debugging Go Code with GDB.
I've always used emacs for small projects (and Visual Studio for large ones). I was wondering what the alternatives are for handling a directory structure within emacs, something like the solution explorer in VS. Thank you.
You should also have a look at eproject for something that's more lightweight while also allowing you do to some pretty cool stuff (like project-specific config settings, etc.)
ECB, the Emacs Code Browser, which is built on CEDET, if I am not mistaken, is one you should look at.
Myself, I've always found that I get by well enough using etags and ido-mode. You might also want to look at Speedbar (part of CEDET) as a halfway house between more minimalist solutions and ECB.
I don't use it myself, but it sounds like CEDET is what you are looking for:
Emacs already is a great environment for writing software, but there are additional areas that need improvement. Many new ideas for integrated environments have been developed in newer products, such as Microsoft's Visual environment, JBuilder, or Eclipse. CEDET is a project which implements several advanced features developers have come to expect from an Editor.
The Emacs wiki also has this page with some tips for IDE users.
See also: http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/Icicles_-_Support_for_Projects.
I'm a bit in IDE trouble, and I'm not alone I have noticed, still I haven't found an answer on many of my questions.
I would very much stop using different editors and become very good at one (on windows), adhering the pragmatic adage : "Learn one editor (ide) well". I' m willing to put in a lot of effort, to gain on the long term.
I have programmed (java) with Intellij and Eclipse, and am progamming c# now. (VS08 was at first very disappoing for me, till so at SOF mentioned Resharper and now I'm very happy with it, especially since I started writing macros for further adjustments)
For all purpose editors, VIM and EMACS come to mind, but I'm afraid they just cannot compete against VS08/Resharper when it comes to C#, which I'm using a lot on this moment. Further, it isn't clear to me if they support refactoring (after installing packages for the language in question?)
But since VS08/Resharper is so powerfull for c#, I would like to give VS a serious chance. But for that it should have support for langauges that don't compile to CIL.
hence my question : Is Visual Studio a good tool for non .NET languages?
(and like asked on the side : how about refactoring in VIM/EMACS?)
VS is IMO, better then average editor but not something you can't live without.
If you like your editor to open as fast as Notepad with bunch of features, try EditPlus (on the down side it uses older RegExp implementation but on the plus side it can be made to be portable.
If you would like total extensibility, fast startup, inovative fatures, integrated reposity etc.. try E-Editor, windows port of Mac TextMate.
VIM is ofc superb, but ... long learning curve may be a problem and some people can't find themselves in 2 mode editors.
About Resharper... mhm... almost all of its non-code analytic features may be integrated in mentioned editors. For its suggestive features I doubt there is alternative. I disabled it for the moment because I tend to let Resharper fill in my holes so it can be a double bladed sword - sonner or latter I will totally stop thinking about some things like, can this variable be null or can I move its declaration. I run resharper once I finished some working procedure or at the very end to polish the code.
I personaly use EditPlus for all of the NON MS languages, but E-Editor got my attention recently.
I tend to avoid using IDEs outside of the languages they are designed. A dedicated IDE can include class libraries, function references, code completion utilities, etc. out of the box.
Once you step outside that, however, you have a clunky and resource hungry text-editor. You might as well use a text editor in that case just to keep your workstation nimble.
It might be better not to learn one IDE well, but rather a text editor. I've used jEdit for years for several reasons: It's multiplatform, includes syntax highlighting for lots of languages, and can be feature-extended with plugins. It's become one of my standard tools, but it's only one in the box.
How about VI mode for VS? I think Eclipse has one too.
You'll just have to learn vi-related commands, but will be able to work in, C# (with VS), Java (with Eclipse), C++ (with VS or Eclipse), scripting languages (with vi), ...
"I would very much stop using different editors and become very good at one (on windows),"
Why?
"adhering the pragmatic adage : "Learn one editor (ide) well". " Really? How is this pragmatic?
After 30 years in this business, my lesson learned is "tools come and go."
Once upon a time we had big fights over vi vs emacs. Not vim with syntax coloring, but plain-text-vi on black-and-white monitors.
Why narrow your world to one tool? How will you cope with innovation if your tool is not the new state-of-the-art?
As far as C/C++ goes, Visual Studio is considered the gold standard (well, Visual Studio + VAX if you really want to get specific). It's not perfect, and it's certainly not as good as the C# tools it has, but it's still a damn sight better than anything else out there, on any platform. (Assuming you didn't want C99 support.)
Of course it doesn't really do non-.NET other than those two.
I think that there is good specialization at the moment. VS is the clear candidate for .Net, with Resharper and DevExpress as great augmentation for increased productivity.
Currently we use Aptana for the "Web 2.0" stuff - CSS/jQuery/MooTools, and that has been a great environment as well. I have avoided the Intellisense in VS 08 for jQuery and do prototyping in HTML/CSS/JS in Apatana, then do all the Domain design in VS. Works for us pretty well.
It is good for C/C++ but it is not comparable with what you get for C# or VB.Net ( i don't think it support other languages )
for javascript intelisense is still limited
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Other than Notepad++, what text editor do you use to program in Windows?
Another vote for gvim (about, download). I think once you learn the keystrokes to control it, you won't want to use anything else.
Plus, there is the added benefit of being able to use it on just about any platform, including the nice Windows port.
Sublime Text is amazing.
GNU Emacs is my preferred text editor and it works well on Windows (copy/paste actually works as expected) It's also available on all major platforms so you can reuse your knowledge if you jump around OSes like I tend to do.
I really like JEdit as well. It's a good text editor for code and random text. It's a nice middle ground between Notepad and Eclipse.
If you want something just a step above Notepad for quick, efficient editing I would recommend Notepad2. It's really useful when you replace the standard Notepad with this version. You continue to have a fast startup but the syntax highlighting is a real boon. I replace Notepad with Notepad2 on every one of my Windows machines.
I use SciTE
I'm a massive fan of Notepad2 - it is so quick!
For quick simple editing of text for me it's close to perfect. It has syntax colouring for Xml and code and can be extended easily.
We use Dreamweaver and Visual Studio for larger coding efforts.
UltraEdit is my second home. It is a great general purpose text editor.
Textpad is what I would use for random text editing (checking out HTML source, quick hackery, scripts and the like).
For actual Java development it's Eclipse all the way, although people tell me the IDEA is the cat's pyjamas.
E-TextEditor
Is a bit buggy, but beats the pants off any other editors I've used due to it's using the Textmate bundle format (and the bundles) - also gets updated very regularly. I use it every day and would gladly purchase it again.
Note that I primarily work in C/C++. For C/C++ code, I use Visual C++ Express Edition or Visual Studio Professional. For the little bit of Python I'm learning, I use the editor in the PythonWin IDE. (Mostly because it does a bit of code completion.) For everything else, I use GViM.
Tip:
After you install ViM on Windows, if you right-click on any file in Explorer, you see the Edit with Vim option in the right-click menu. This is very useful for peeking into and editing every kind of text file without having to bother about specific editors. GViM can understand most formats and thus displays them with syntax coloring. Get used to doing this and soon GViM becomes your defacto generic text editor on Windows. (Even replacing Notepad.)
Thej already recommended it, but to elaborate:
SciTE - Free, has preset colouring for many languages, and it's multi-platform (Windows & Linux), and lightweight.
alt text http://scitedebug.luaforge.net/scite-debug.png
gvim. I also use Dreamweaver for web stuff.
Notepad2
Syntax highlighting for html,c#,javascript,css,xml,sql,python,bat
Rectangular selection, regular expressions
Indentation, back/foreground customization
Downside: No tabbed windows.
I'll echo the others who have endorsed Emacs. I program every day on, at a bare minimum, OS X, Windows, and Linux. Having the same IDE on all three systems gives me an enormous productivity boost. That said, the vanilla version of GNU Emacs...well, it sucks. I'd strongly encourage you to try EmacsW32 instead. In much the way that Aquamacs makes an OS X-friendly version of Emacs, the EmacsW32 project makes Emacs out-of-the-box work just like a Windows text editor. Mind you, all of Emacs' power (and complexity) is there, but if you don't already have muscle memory built up, there's no reason not to use Ctrl-C/X/V as copy/cut/paste instead of M-w/C-k/C-y just to be cool. EmacsW32 also brings Windows-compliant open/save dialogs, sane CRLF file handling, and quite a bit more. If you've ever had an itch to try Emacs, give it a shot. You won't regret it.
Not everybody uses Notepad++, it's not that good.
Crimson Editor
http://www.crimsoneditor.com/images/overview.gif
EditPlus is my editor of choice. All the features you'd need, and no more.
I know this is my own question but I came across this text editor Sublime Text and thought it was pretty sweet. There are a few features in it that i have never seen before. It has multiple line select ( lines that are not continuous ) and a birds eye view navigation. It's a little pricey but I am having fun playing with the free version.
I use EDIT.COM for a lot of things, believe it or not. Old habits die hard.
Commercial product (Windows): UltraEdit.
Freeware (Windows): Notepad++, PSPad.
Cross-Platform: JEdit. It's written in Java and runs on almost anything.
If you don't mind taking a performance hit under Windows, JEdit has some amazing capabilities. For native performance on that platform, I would go with one of the others. I tend to switch back and forth between Notepad++ and PSPad. Notepad++ probably edges it out for most tasks. It has section folding, which is very handy. However, you did ask about products other than that one.
I have used UltraEdit for years... If I'm working on a project I prefer to use a real IDE, but nothing beats it for quickly making changes to source files, or especially for those small PHP projects where you're just hacking away anyway. The killer feature for me is the compare functionality.
I personally like ConTEXT.
A lot of people gave their suggestions for favourite text editor here:
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/10238/text-editor-or-ide#10391
I strictly use jEdit.
My personal favorite is EditPad Pro. Not because it is superior in any way, but because it was the one I started to use.
UltraEdit it my favorite text editor. Too bad I have to pay for it. You can't beat the ability to highlight vertically vs. horizontally.
Textpad replaces notepad for me. I couldn't live without it. Some key features that I use with Textpad are:
Find in files (along with open all, replace all, save all, close all).
Block Select (along with copy/paste of a column).
Clip Library
Syntax highlighting
Ability to attach externals tools (compilers, etc.) and capture the output to a window.
I use Eclipse for Java, Visual Studio for C++, C#, and VB.NET, JellyFish Pro for PowerBasic, I still use Visual Studio 6 for Classic VB, and I use TextPad for perl, python, Powershell, vbscript, SQL, HTML, and batch files.
I hate to sound like a broken record, but Vim is my choice. It works the same way everywhere and you'd be hard pressed to find a more powerful editor.
I don't code much on Windows, but e text editor is my choice. As far as free editors go nothing beats Emacs.
Notepad2, apart from Notepad++
Visual Studio, notepad2, notepad++.
Visual Studio for .Net development. Currently working with VS2008, but seems to be not quite finished yet. 2005 is probably the most stable and complete. Anything else for that would seem quite futile for .Net development
I use e-TextEditor for most other things. It covers most of the topics above including syntax highlighting, multi-select/edit, column select, TextMate bundles for auto-complete.
As you can see, asking about a preferred editor will get you a lot of responses. For me: UltraEdit - robust:
Notepad++ - lightweight
Also tend to use the IDE that comes with various tools (e.g. VB, C#, etc.)
But, the best advice is to pick a decent editor and learn it thoroughly. You will be spending a whole lot of time using it. So, the better you know it, the more time it will save you in the long run.