Fundamentals Course
A text editor is so much more than just a simple word processor. With the ability to create, edit, and view plain text files, you'll be able to unleash your creativity and take your productivity to the next level! Whether you're modifying configuration files, documentation files, or even source code for programming languages, a text editor is an essential tool for any software development journey.
In this lesson overview, you will find a comprehensive outline of the topics covered in each section.
Notepad is a basic text editor that comes with all versions of Microsoft Windows, allowing you to create, open, and view plain text files with a .txt file extension. It cannot read files with special formatting or non-plain text content, and will only display garbage if such files are opened.
Often referred to as NPP, Notepad++ is a no-cost text editor designed for Microsoft Windows, offering added functionalities beyond those
available in the standard Windows text editor, Notepad. Developed by Dan Ho, it was initially released on November 24, 2003, and continues to
undergo active development.
Notepad++ is primarily tailored for editing source code, with the "++" symbolizing the increment operator commonly used in programming languages like C, C++, Java, and JavaScript.
Sublime Text is a versatile text and source code editor that supports multiple programming languages and markup languages. It offers a range
of features such as syntax highlighting, code folding, and search-and-replace with regular expressions. Users can customize the editor with
themes and plugins, which are often community-built and maintained under free-software licenses.
Sublime Text has a minimalistic interface and is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. While it is proprietary software, a free evaluation version is available.
Visual Studio Code (famously known as VS Code) is a free open source text editor by Microsoft. VS Code is available for Windows, Linux, and
macOS. Although the editor is relatively lightweight, it includes some powerful features that have made VS Code one of the most popular
development environment tools in recent times.
If you're just starting out, be mindful about using Visual Studio Code (VS Code). It's packed with lots of extra features called extensions. These can be overwhelming for beginners, so it's best to start with a simpler text editor until you're more comfortable with coding basics.
Similarly, when considering Sublime Text, be cautious of its extensive range of features and customizable options. While it offers powerful capabilities, beginners may find themselves bogged down by the abundance of choices. Starting with a more straightforward text editor can help ease the learning curve before diving into Sublime Text's advanced functionalities.
Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
The excerpt explains the difference between an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and a text editor. An IDE is a comprehensive suite that includes a text editor, compiler, debugger, and other tools for code management. It streamlines the development process by providing all necessary functions in one place.
Text Editor
A text editor, on the other hand, is a simpler tool primarily used for creating and editing plain text files. Some text editors can be customized with advanced features like syntax highlighting and code folding, but they usually lack built-in compilers and debuggers. Text editors are versatile and can be used for coding in a lightweight setup.
The excerpt highlights the reasons why Microsoft Word, a feature-rich word processor, isn't suitable for coding. Unlike text editors or Integrated Development Environments (IDEs), Word lacks essential features like syntax highlighting, which makes it difficult to identify coding errors. Moreover, Word often introduces formatting codes, causing issues when using the file for coding purposes. Simply put, Word is not designed to understand programming languages, making it inappropriate for coding tasks.
