So, while this isn't anything new to a large portion of you, last night I was helping a fellow board member out and introduced him to this gem of a program, notepad++ (free, btw). http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/.Now if you have this program or have tried it the following will be pointless to read, but if you haven't you might find this very useful.

Many of us, when coding anything from html or php to c++ or java, will eventually shy away from the bulky processor heavy IDE's in favor of more light weight solutions. I know when I'm not working on huge scale projects I prefer vi or notepad to eclipse or visual studio any day of the week. If you are like me then this program is for you.

Basically notepad++ (as well as some other notepad replacements like notepad2) basically take the light weight, clean interface and basic capabilities of notepad or another very simple text editor and add in some of the shinier features of higher end text editing software such as tabs for multiple files, syntax highlighting, line numbers, some formatting options, etc. The syntax highlighting is one of my favorites as out of the box it can detect most common file types and highlight accordingly (all customizable) and there are plug-ins you can download to add more languages to it (or set up your own highlighting scheme if you feel so inclined). This allows a relatively powerful editing experience without bloated features, long program load times, resource hogging, etc.

Notepad++ will NOT offer all the bells and whistles of a fully integrated IDE. It won't take on eclipse for managing and building java projects but for small file sets or web editing it's an amazing program. Basically it hit me that just because it's been around awhile and been mentioned in various topics here, with the new members daily and sheer number of people swimming in some code or another it might be useful to throw out a mention of this program once again. Notepad++ is always on my usb key and I use it all the time, hopefully this will let some of you stumble onto this little app too.

Notepad++ is a god send. I have been using it.

ITs synatx highlighting, line numbering and tree viewing its AWESOME.

I recommend it to anyone, anything, any day.

I'm having to code on a PC without it and is like misery.

I must agree with both you, notepad++ is just simply amazing
The amount of languages it can understand is staggering.
Another great bit of open source coding from the masses to the masses.
Mark420;)

I agree with all those above me--Notepad++ is truly great. The lightness of it really appeals to me--sometimes I really don't need a million buttons cluttering my interface. Notepad++ adds onto Notepad numerous features that are quite useful while coding, but aren't necessarily needed for a not-so-huge project.

Treeviewing is especially useful as well. Though sometimes I wish they could put the tree tab (you know, those little + and - signs) next to the text of the level that it's collapsing so that it's easier to see exactly what it is collapsing. Otherwise, it kind of acts as if you have no tabs in your code, which can become confusing.

I also like how you can specify the colors for syntax highlighting for different languages. Very useful when you need to work with a specific type of file. Jedit also does this nicely, but after downloading it, I've discovered Jedit to be far slower in loading and just overall more annoying. Tabs are a plus for Notepad++--it really operates the same way Firefox does, something I'm used to and prefer. Jedit's frames are harder to work with--too much resizing and Jedit won't let me close any individual frames.

Line numbering is pretty basic, but at least Notepad++ keeps it on automatically, unlike Jedit, which requires you to turn it on for every file you open. Eclipse or Visual Studio is really only when you've got something extraordinarily grand that you're working on with other people. Otherwise, simple is usually better. :-D

I really like Notepad2. I wish Notepad2 had tabs though. Notepad++ has always looked a little bloated to me. The last one I have tried is pspad, but it's hard to leave Notepad2. I just wished it had tabs! If you want to check out Notepad2, see http://www.flos-freeware.ch/notepad2.html. Also, wikipedia has some more information about the liteweight, nice for programming or typical text file program: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notepad2.

I do remember notepad2 being even lighter then notepad++ but the reason you mentioned was my reason for switching, the tabs. I actually started out using notepad2 first when I wanted to see what was out there beside notepad for lighter code editing solutions. Unfortunately if I was going to get something with a bit more kick to it I wanted/NEEDED (ok need might be a bit strong) tabs... plus notepad++ seems to handle syntax highlighting for more languages more easily and I never work on one language for very long at a time so thats also a big perk for me.

But yes I agree, notepad2 is a very strong choice as well if notepad++ just doesn't cut it for you.

Yeah, I agree with the more support for more languages in syntax highlighting and it being easier in that way. I just use a hand full of languages, so I want the interface I work in to be as liteweight looking as possible. Another one I have tried out is TextPad. It has tabs too, but I'm not sure if it is a keeper, hehe See more here: http://www.textpad.com/

I've used that one as well I think I actually used it quite awhile but then eventually switched over to notepad++. There are really a lot of variants out there each with their own strengths and weaknesses so for anyone who does a large amount of code editing its worth looking around. Sure if your text editing is solely for big written documents word or open office is the key, but for coding? I love these little lightweight buggers

I'm interested in this program, it seems to be a great, yet simple and easy to use program. As i am still a beginner in coding ( i don't consider html, css a coding language ), i dont see any obvious ways to compile c++ programs, or any other, or any other language that requires compiling. Anyone think they could help me out ?

This post has been edited by Soto: May 31 2007, 02:58 AM

haha well thats an issue that you should look over in the programming forums for help with But to make a VERY big generalization/simplification of it, an easy way is to download and install a compiler and then use the command prompt to compile the files But yes, notepad++ would be great for a beginner as it would force you to learn how to compile and run software without just using a big "compile" button built into an IDE haha