Text Editors and IDEs

Unlike word processors, text editors are designed for manipulating raw text, without fonts, bullets, tables, and so on. You can program with any basic text editor, but some editors will than others depending on your needs and preferences.

IDEs typically contain at least a debugger and build automation tools in addition to an editor. IDEs also tend to have much better language-specific goodies than editors.

Linux Editors

There are several terminal editors installed on the CSE computers:

Vim (or the original "vi")
Emacs
Nano

You will learn how to use Vim in Project 1, but after that you are free to use any editor or IDE (integrated development environment) you choose.

Many people love Vim and hate Emacs, or vis versa, so if you don't like Vim, give Emacs a try (see the CSE 232 tutorials). Note that the version of Vim installed on the CSE computers is somewhat crippled in its functionality until you enable those features by creating a .vimrc file. Nano is easy to use, but not nearly as powerful as the other two editors (in particular, its auto-indentation is very basic).

Graphical Editors

Both Vim and Emacs also have graphical versions that allow you to use the mouse for cut/copy/paste, etc., but only the graphical version of Emacs is currently available on the CSE machines.

There are also several purely graphical editors available:

Gedit (Gnome)
Kwrite (KDE)

Because both Gnome and KDE are installed on the CSE computers, you can use programs from both desktop environments. Like Nano, Gedit has only very basic auto-indentation (and very few built-in features in general), but the editor has many plugins that you can download for additional functionality. Kwrite is a bit more powerful.

Linux IDEs

There are two IDEs available on the CSE computers:

Kate (simple)
Eclipse (powerful)

Eclipse is what I used in CSE 335, and I recommend it for CSE 232 as well, if you're interested in learning how to use it. There is no shortcut in the menu on the CSE computers for some reason, so open a terminal and enter "eclipse &" (the ampersand runs the program in a new process so you can close the terminal or use it for something else).

I have not used Kate much, but it's probably a good choice if you find Gedit/Kwrite too simple and Eclipse too complex.

Editor/IDE Configuration

Whichever editor or IDE you choose, there are a couple features you will definitely want to enable: syntax highlighting and auto-indentation.

Syntax highlighting colors each "word" in your program according to its function, making your code easier to read.
Simple auto-indentation just keeps the current level of indentation, so you don't have to press tab so many times. Advanced auto-indentation automatically indents and de-indents the current line based on the language you are using. In C++, this means whenever you enter an opening or closing brace.

You should also set your tab width to 2 or 4 spaces (8 is typically unnecessary). You can use either real tabs or "soft tabs" (replaced by spaces); just don't use both in the same file -- this causes the formatting to get messed up when someone opens your code under a different tab width than what you used.

I also find it much easier on the eyes to use color scheme with a dark background, if possible. Depending on your choice of editor, you may also be able to set up auto-completion and templates for function headers, etc.

I've written up a little bit about configuring Vim.

Working Remotely

If you log in to the CSE system remotely via SSH, you will be able to run any terminal editor with no further complications. In this case, you'll want to open an additional remote terminal to run your programs in. It's also possible to use graphical editors and IDEs remotely, though the connection will probably be too slow unless you're on campus or very close.

See Working Remotely for details.

Last updated 12/17/12