There is nothing wrong with a simple editor like EDIT or Notepad.
In fact many of the older pages on this site were created with OS/2's "E"
(OS/2's Notepad equivalent) and, later,
File Commander's built-in
text editor.
But sometimes an editor with built-in support for one or more scripting
languages can help speed up our code writing.
And some editors have evolved to full-blown multi-language IDEs.
What to look for in editors?
That depends entirely on what you are going to use it for.
Do you want to use it for a single scripting or programming
language only?
If so, try the editors and IDEs specializing in that language.
And look for built-in debuggers, compilers/packagers, and if
your language of choice is object aware, object browsers.
Some editors don't have their own debugger, but do support
external debuggers.
The same goes for compilers/packagers.
To me, an important feature in specialized editors is the
capability to run the script within the editor itself and view
the script's output in a window.
Most editors with this option also support at least external
debuggers. These are, in fact, IDEs.
In case you want a "universal" editor, you may find some with syntax highlighting and word lists for all the languages you'll be using, but features like debugging and compilation will be a "challenge" at least. The best you can hope for is support for external debuggers.
You may also want to look at snippets/code libraries,
and regular expressions based search and replace options.
And customizable tools, which means you can add your own
(external) tools to the editor's menu.
Download the trial versions, and test, test, test and test.
Click on the "codes" (like "LT" or "DILOT") in the "Extras"
column to get a readable list of selected features.
Click on the "Extras" column header to see the list of selected
features I have looked for. I'll list them here as well:
| D | Built-in debugger |
| I | IntelliSense ™ like "intelligence" |
| L | Snippets library |
| O | COM object browser |
| P | built-in script packager |
| T | configurable external tools and macros |
This list is by no means "complete".
I did not buy and/or try all editors listed here.
For comparison, I tried to find lists of all features on the
manufacturers' web sites, in help files or (for the programs
I "own") in the menus.
However, I cannot guarantee the list is 100% accurate.
Features may have been overlooked by me, or may have been
added or dropped afterwards by the authors.
In some cases, like debuggers, it wasn't always clear if the
editor/IDE comes with a built-in debugger or supports only
external debuggers.
Besides, "not all debuggers are created equal", some seem
to do a syntax check only, others support break points and
variable view windows.
And there are more, other features than the ones I listed
here.
Feel free to send me corrections for this list.
Again, to get (close to) 100% certainty, download the program's
trial version, and try for yourself.
| Script Editors & IDEs | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product | Programmer / Manufacturer | Supported Scripting Languages | Extras | Download | Purchase |
| Admin Script Editor | iTripoli | AutoIt, DOS Batch, KiXtart, PowerShell, VBScript, WMI & ADSI, & more | ILOPT |  |
 |
| Amaya | W3C | HTML, CSS, XML, XHTML, MathML, SVG | N/A | |
Free |
| Arachnophilia | P. Lutus | HTML | (T) | |
CareWare |
| Astyle | Abstract thought Lab | CSS, HTML, XML | N/A | |
Free (donations welcome) |
| Authentic (Browser Edition) | Altova | XML | T | |
Free |
| Authentic (Desktop Edition) | Altova | XML | T | |
Free |
| AxScripter | IEInspector Software LLC | JavaScript, JScript, VBScript, HTML | D | |
|
| Boxer Text Editor | Boxer Software | AutoIt, C#, CSS, HTML, JavaScript, JScript, KiXtart, PHP, Python, VBScript & more | ILT | |
|
| BrineSoft Script Editor | BrineSoft | JScript, VBScript, WSF | ILOT | |
|
| CodeLobster | CodeLobster Software | HTML, PHP, JavaScript, CSS, Perl, Python, Action Script, SQL, ASP, VBScript, Ruby | N/A | |
|
| Editeur | Studioware | Cobol, HTML, Java, Perl, PHP, Python, Rexx & XML; other file types can be configured manually |
T | |
|
| EditPad Lite | JGSoft | Text (DOS & Unix, ASCII & Unicode) & HTML; other file types can be configured manually |
N/A | |
Free for non-commercial use |
| EditPad Pro | JGSoft | batch, CSS, HTML, JavaScript, Perl, PHP, Python, XML & many more | LT | |
|
| EditRocket | Richardson Software | batch, CSS, HTML, JavaScript, Perl, PHP, Python, XML and more | LO | |
|
| EmEditor Free Edition | Emurasoft | 50+ | LT | |
Free |
| EmEditor Standard Edition | Emurasoft | 50+ | LT | N/A | |
| EmEditor Professional Edition | Emurasoft | 50+ | LT | N/A | |
| HtaEdit | Adersoft | HTA | DILOT | |
|
| JsEdit | Adersoft | JScript | DILOT | |
|
| JustStyle CSS Editor | UCWare | CSS | N/A | |
(shareware, free for non-commercial use) |
| Komodo Edit | ActiveState | CSS, HTML, JavaScript, Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby, Tcl, XML | N/A | |
Free |
| Komodo IDE | ActiveState | CSS, HTML, JavaScript, Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby, Tcl, XML | DIL | |
|
| MemPad | Horst Schaeffer | plain text | N/A | |
Free (donations welcome) |
| Notepad++ | Notepad++ team | batch, KiXtart, Perl, VBScript & many more | T | |
Free (donations welcome) |
| nPad2 Source Viewer/Editor | Nikola Dachev | HTML, PHP, ASP, C++, Object Pascal, Java, Basic, CSS, JavaScript, SQL | N/A | |
Free |
| OnScript | XLnow | VBScript, JScript, WSF, WSC, batch files, HTA, INI files, PerlScript and Python | DILO | |
|
| Open Perl IDE | Jürgen Güntherodt | Perl | D | |
Free (donations welcome) |
| Perl Express | Perl Express Group | Perl | DL | |
|
| PerlEdit | IndigoStar | Perl | D | |
|
| PFE (Programmer's File Editor) | Alan Phillips | Configurable | N/A | |
Free |
| phpDesigner | MPSOFTWARE | PHP, CSS, HTML, JavaScript | DT | |
|
| PowerPad | PowerLocker | PowerShell | N/A | |
Free (if you deselect the CD in the order form) |
| PowerShell Analyzer | ShellTools | PowerShell | DL | |
Free |
| PowerShell IDE | Dr. Tobias Weltner | PowerShell | DIL | |
Free |
| PowerShell Plus | ShellTools | PowerShell (editor: C#, HTML, PowerShell, VB.NET, XML) | DIL | |
(Free for non-commercial use) |
| PrimalScript Scripting IDE (Standard, Professional & Enterprise Editions) | Sapien | 39+ | (D)ILOT | |
|
| Professional Notepad | ATech Group | HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, PERL, SQL, Delphi, C++ | N/A | |
|
| Programmer's Notepad | Simon Steele | Configurable | LT | |
Free (donations welcome) |
| PSPad | Jan Fiala | DOS batch, CSS, HTML, JavaScript, KiXtart, Perl, PHP, Python, Unix ShellScript, VBScript and 120+ other languages | N/A | |
Free (donations welcome) |
| REXX Programmer Center | Jeff Glatt | Rexx (this Rexx IDE requires the Reginald REXX interpreter and RexxGUI from the same download page) |
D | |
Free |
| SannySoft Perl Editor Lite | SannySoft | Perl | D | |
|
| SannySoft Perl Editor Professional | SannySoft | Perl | D | |
|
| Script Debugger IDE | Stas Semenov | ActiveX (ASP, VBScript & more), CSS, HTML | DILO | |
|
| Simple CSS | hostm.com | CSS | N/A | |
Free |
| SystemScripter | ScriptInternals.com | VBScript | DILOT | |
|
| TextPad | Helios Software Solutions | HTML, Java, Pascal, VBScript & more | N/A | |
|
| UltraEdit | IDM Computer Solutions | almost all | T | |
|
| UEStudio '06 | IDM Computer Solutions | almost all | DIOT | |
|
| VbsEdit | Adersoft | VBScript | DILOT | |
|
| VIM | vim.org | "highly configurable" | N/A | |
CharityWare |
| WEB-ED | JSWare | (D)HTML, CSS, ASP, VBScript, JavaScript | DIO | |
|
| XML Notepad 2007 | Microsoft | XML, HTML | N/A | |
Free |
| XMLPad | Nikola Dachev | XML | N/A | |
Free |
| XMLSpy | Altova | CSS, DTD, OOXML, WSDL, XML, XSLT & more | DIL | |
|
| ZionEdit | Zionmaster | C/C++ (Java), Perl, Ruby, Python, LISP, HTML (+JavaScript, PHP etc), Fortran77-9X, Makefile & Batch file | N/A | |
Free (donations welcome) |
