
I like the dive in and begin aspects of Sublime Text.
#WHAT IS THE BEST TEXT EDITOR FOR CODING CODE#
What’s code folding, I wondered, can I make code origami? Imagine my disappointment when I found out it just hides lines of code when I’m not actively working on them.

The extra features with it are pretty bog standard things like code folding. You just open up a file as you would with any interface, and can begin coding. It passes what I think is the most essential test for any text editor, which is that it’s intuitive to start using. This is the first editor I wrote code in, and there’s a soft spot in my heart for it.
#WHAT IS THE BEST TEXT EDITOR FOR CODING FREE#
A couple of the text editors we look at will tread the boundary between these.) Sublime Text: $70 (or unlimited free trial) IDEs are more like Swiss Army Knives, whereas text editors are like screwdrivers. (A brief aside before we start: I am ethically obligated by the higher order or people who write about text editors to point out at this point that text editors aren’t the same as IDEs or Integrated Development Environments. This is because that’s where I am with coding (and that’s where we all need to start). I’m also going to try to focus on editors that will be good for beginners. When you’re starting out coding, it’s also best to give yourself a little flexibility in terms of the tools you use you don’t want to limit yourself to working on one platform because you never know where you’ll be working. I’ll mostly be looking at Mac-based editors (or cross-platform editors that work on Mac), because that’s the type of machine I’m working on. There are already plenty of blog posts on what kinds of text editors to use, but I happen to be retaking One Month’s Python course at the moment, and felt like this would be a good opportunity to test out a few different ones (despite the fact that Eric expressly tells us to work with Sublime Text we students are rebels). It’s essential to start figuring out which text editor works best for you. Or your frenemy, depending on how coding is going that day. They all have a place to interface text (because, of course), most feature syntax-based color coding, virtually all feature hot keys and intuitive text features to lighten the load of a long coding project.Īs you start out programming, you’ll quickly find your text editor is your best friend. Like most tools, the basics of every text editor are the same.

It’s essential to start figuring out which text editor works best for you. A text editor is just you and your ASCII, absent bells, whistles, or beauty.Īs you start out programming, you’ll quickly find your text editor is your best friend. No comic sans, no forced margins, no line breaks (I just tested this with a line of Python, and yep, I can make a line of code that will wrap around the planet if I want). Text editors are programs that type simple text without the sort of formatting a word processor will so rudely slip in.

What is a text editor, and why does it matter which one I use?

The Best Text Editors for BeginnersĦ min read What text editor should I use? I write about coding, the internet, and social impact. Faculty at Columbia University where I teach Digital Literacy. Chris Castiglione Follow Teacher at One Month.
