Two advanced text editors for REBOL

    Author: Alphé SALAS-SCHUMANN
    Date: 03/09/2004

French Version

Contents

1. Introduction

In this article you will learn how to transform in rapid developpement interface for REBOL two of the most popular text editors available for free on the web. This article wants to appear as a first simple approach for enhance, make more fun and eficient the application developpement in REBOL. While there is no existing IDE in rebol world that is trully adapted to the REBOL coding specificity. This approach must be introduce in a more global conext of programming. In other words this article won't turn you into a REBOL code guru, but I hope it will contribute to give you the taste for the programming REBOL.

2. Crimson Editor

Crimson Editor official web site

2.1 Installation

• Download the installation program for the Crimson Editor software

Download Crimson Editor v3.70

• Download the syntaxe coloration file

REBOL COLOR SYNTAX for Crimson Editor

• Install Crimson Editor on your hard drisk.
• Unzip the archive crimsonedit_rebolspec.zip in a temporary directory. Open the temporary directory and from the file browser of Windows doubble click on REBOL script "install_CE_Rebol_Color.r" in order to install the needed files for the syntax colorization of REBOL code in Crimson Editor.

2.2 Configure the syntax colorization

• Run Crimson Editor.
• In the menu bar, click on "Tools", then "Preferences".
• In the tree at left of the "Preferences" window, go in the section "FILE/Syntax type".
• Scroll down the list until you get an "empty" marked line. Click on this line and fill the down form like this:

    Description: REBOL
    Lang Spec: REBOL.spc
    Keywords: REBOL.key

• Click on the "Apply" button, then "Ok" if needed.

2.3 Configuration des outils de l'utilisateur

Crimson Editor allows you to create your own "tools". This functionnality permits to add some very usefull funcionalities for rebol programming. To illustrate this functionnality we will create a tool permitting to execute the REBOL script that is opened and active in Crimson Editor.

• In the menu click on "tools" then on "Conf. User Tool..."
• In the new window click on a empty line in the list on the right area of the "Preferences" window.
• Fill the form fields like that:

    Descript: REBOL/View derniere
    Command: C:\rebol\view\rebol-last.exe
    Argument: "$(FileName)" -s
    Initial Dir: $(FileDir)
    Hot Key: ctrl + r

• Check box "Close on Exit" and "Save before execute"
• Click on buttons "apply", then "Ok" if needed.

Personnally I use those user tools:

    ctrl + D  Run anamonitor
    ctrl + R  Run active script in lastest rebol/view
    ctrl + 3  Run rUnit text
    ctrl + M  Run active script in  rebol/view 1.2.0.3.1 

2.4 Good marks / Black mark

Good mark and black mark analysis is based on the idea of a perfect RAD for REBOL programming. I recall that in the time those lines are wrote there is no IDE dedicated only to REBOL coding. A perfect RAD will get has good mark the fusion of the good mark and the bad mark of those two editors.

• Good marks
  • text color
  • Template file for REBOL
  • User tools
  • drag & drop of a lines chunk
  • visual text buffer splitting
  • Light
  • Easy of use
  • Spell check
  • Word Wrap
  • Free
  • Stable
  • Auto indent
  • Line number
  • Save the editor state on exit
• Black marks
  • No vid designer
  • No de database designer
  • No text completion
  • No abbreviations for prototyped code
  • Project manager with a lot of missing functionality

2.5 Screen Shot

The following screen shot shows you how a well configured Crimson Editor looks like

3. jEdit

Site officiel de jEdit

3.1 Installation

• Doawnload the install software for jEdit

4.2 (JAR)

4.2 (EXE)

I have tested the windows installation software "jedit42install.exe" but it doesn't seem to work on my operating system. An error message window indicate me that it is needed at least JDK or JRE 1.3 to be installed on my OS. My OS was using JRE 1.4.2 so normally there was no reason to get this error message window to be show. If you experience the same kind of probleme I recommand you to download and run the JAVA version of the installation sofware for jEdit 4.2. It's recommanded to dispose of the version of the 1.4.2 of the JDK or th JRE.

• Install on your hard drive

In case you plan to use the JAVA version of the install software for jEdit, you will need from the MS-DOS command line to go to the temporary directory where you save the file "jedit42install.jar", then type the folowing command:

MS-DOS command:

    c:\tmp>java -jar jedit42install.jar

3.2 Configuration

The syntaxe colorization is delivred by default in jEdit so you don't need to install specific things like for Crimson Editor. So all we need to do now is to configure the ability for jEdit to run the active REBOL script

• In the menu bar click on "plugins", then "Plugin Manager..."
• In "Plugin Manager" window, click on the tab button named "Install". Download and install those plugins:

    Console 
    Projet Viewer

• Download with your favorite internet browser the file rebol.xml.txt
• Copy this file into the directory $USER PROFILE\.jedit\Console\Commando
• Rename the file rebol.xml.txt in rebol.xml
• In the menu bar click on "Plugins", then "plugin Option..."
• In the window "Plugin Options", click on the section "Console/Compile & Run" then in the right list select REBOL in the interpreter colone select in the dropdown list the text "REBOL".
• In the tree in the left part of the window "Plugin Options", click on the section "Console/General" and check the "Commando Tool Bar" box.
• Click on buttons "Apply", puis "OK"

By clicking on the button titled "REBOL" on the top of the main window of jedit, you can start the execution of the currently open script in jEdit.

3.3 Good mark/ black mark

• Good mark
  • Syntax coloration
  • template REBOL
  • Save the editor state on exit
  • User tools
  • drag & drop chunk of text
  • division of the text buffer
  • Light
  • Easy of use
  • free
  • abbreviation
  • Stable
  • Line number display
  • Complétion de texte
  • Portable on other OS that supports JRE 1.4
  • Project Management
• Black mark
  • No vid designer
  • No database designer
  • JAVA is slow so I found jEdit display is slower than Crimson Editor.
  • No keyboards short cut for tools.

3.4 Screen Shot

The following screen shot shows you how jEdit look like when you configured the REBOL programmation.

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