Mac OS X Text Editor

[FG Lurker]

I have recently purchased a new MacBook Pro, and am in the process of moving from my XP machine to the new Mac.

This has lead to a bit of (expected) pain as I try to replace some critical bits of software that I need for daily tasks.

I use UltraEdit on the PC constantly. I use (or have used) it for everything from HTML to ABAP to C++ to hex viewing to fixing & reformatting TSV & flat files to (you get the idea). It is certainly one of the applications that I use most and I know it inside out.....And it is not available on the Mac.

So, the search begins for a replacement. BBEdit looks good. Is there anything better?

[Taro Toporific]

..BBEdit looks good. Is there anything better?

For text editors, BBEdit is always the best choice for the Mac, but it costs money. Most of the standard open-source text tools for UNIX have been ported to Mac OS X----If you have any memory from university of free tools like Emacs and LaTeX will serve you well from the terminal window.

List of Text Editors fromtucows.com
Not bad Jext 2.11

Of the free tools Tex-Edit Plus 4.9.2 worked ok for me but BBEdit is the real way to go for professional work.

[FG Lurker]

Thanks very much Taro. I'm going to get out the AMEX and spend the $125.

(Wish it was $40 like UltraEdit!!)

I'll be installing XP on the MacBook as well though, I still need it for things like Ghost and for testing bits of consulting-related software... So I can always use UltraEdit for some things I suppose.

So far I am very happy with the Mac. Tomorrow it gets it's first battery workout, hopefully that goes well.

[RyoHazuki]

I have recently purchased a new MacBook Pro, and am in the process of moving from my XP machine to the new Mac.

This has lead to a bit of (expected) pain as I try to replace some critical bits of software that I need for daily tasks.

I use UltraEdit on the PC constantly. I use (or have used) it for everything from HTML to ABAP to C++ to hex viewing to fixing & reformatting TSV & flat files to (you get the idea). It is certainly one of the applications that I use most and I know it inside out.....And it is not available on the Mac.

So, the search begins for a replacement. BBEdit looks good. Is there anything better?

TextWrangler

[FG Lurker]

TextWrangler

It's the scaled-down version of BBEdit though, right?

[Taro Toporific]

TextWrangler

You are right !
TextWrangler is now the lesser featured and cheaper component of BBEdit (which is the upgrade from the free BBEdit Lite). If that's good enough for FG Lurker's needs, he should start using that and upgrade to full BBEdit if he needs to (which I sure he does for profession coding use or HTML work).

Right now, I'm using an old free version of BBEdit Lite (6.1.2)because I lost my product key to my full version of BBEdit, meh.

Feature comparsions
BBEdit lite vs TextWrangler

BBEdit 8.5 (full) vs Text Wrangler

[FG Lurker]

I'm going to download and install the free 30-day trial of BBEdit and see how it goes. If I like it I'll buy it, if not then I'll look for something else... It should be okay though, I have talked to people who have used both UltraEdit and BBEdit and they have said that BBEdit is just as good and in some ways probably better.

(Heh, at 3x the price it certainly should be better!)

[Taro Toporific]

...I have talked to people who have used both UltraEdit and BBEdit and they have said that BBEdit is just as good and in some ways probably better.
(Heh, at 3x the price it certainly should be better!)

Yep, I used UltraEdit at work and BBEdit home and found both just fine and only slightly different. BBEdit has a huge selection of plug-ins and many folks roll-their-own since scripting is easy.

[makenai]

It's probably not for everyone, but have you looked at TextMate?

http://macromates.com/

You probably won't find a more extensible text editor on any system. Ok, Emacs.. but who would want to use that? There are bundles to configure the editor for all kinds of purposes from programming languages, to LaTeX to script writing (I mean screenplays) etc. Definitely try it out and see if you like it.

[FG Lurker]

TextMate was the other option I considered... It looks very promising but as yet very new. It also seems to suffer from some stability problems.

For now I think I'll go with BBEdit and watch how TextMate develops over time.

[GomiGirl]

BBEdit is what we use exclusively in our office for all coding work. It is very cool.

[mr. sparkle]

I have recently purchased a new MacBook Pro, and am in the process of moving from my XP machine to the new Mac.

You going the Boot Camp Route or Parallels? I am using Parallels and I must say, it's really stable and a pleasure to use. Much faster to use than having to reboot in Boot Camp.

Just a suggestion and have fun with your new Mac. Hope you got the newer Intel Core2 Duo model. I have one, only it's an iMac. Great little machine that smokes my G4.

[FG Lurker]

I must say, this Kool-Aid does taste very good indeed. Maybe I'll have another glass...

Thanks Mr. Sparkle. Yes, it is the Core2Duo model, 2.33GHz with 2GB memory and the 15.4" display. Very sweet machine.

I'm going to run Parallels (at first at least). Basically I need it for running things like Norton Ghost Server and a few other apps that I need for my consulting work. Parallels has a sale going on right now too, $20 off:
http://www.parallels.com/announcement/desktop/4/

I still haven't got my mail etc moved over to the Mac. Working on it though, hopefully I'll have most things moved over by the end of next week. Looking forward to being able to take my work with me anywhere.

[mr. sparkle]

Good stuff dude. And it's only getting better.