Supportsoft Glossary

Tools for Writing and Editing Code

An editor programme that developers use to create and change source code from more than one language. The idea behind a text editor may seem easy to understand, but an effective one allows a developer to increase his or her productivity during coding. Text editors provide syntax colour coding, format code, and search and replace, as well as all the additional functions integrated into an application for making the entire experience of coding easier.

Some examples of popular editors include Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text, and Atom. All provide many features, including smart suggestions on the fly as a developer is writing code, integration with the version control system (such as Git), terminal window access, and alternative libraries or packages that can be loaded right into the editor. All of these features are beneficial to developers so they can work faster and make fewer mistakes. Because text editors are small and simple, they take less time to load than a full-blown IDE and, as such, can be a great choice for everything from writing short scripts to updating config files.

Text editors have also recently gained support for many other workflows besides those associated with software development. The same for writers, researchers, system administrators, and all other types of users who do things other than writing code, documentation, and, at times, though infrequently, logs. Therefore, text editors are widely used for their versatility. As a result, they are used in many creative and technical settings and continue to be key tools of productivity for many.