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Do you use a commercial code editor program that you have purchased somewhere (storeware, onlineware, etc.)? Why? There are some great open source (free) editing tools out there nowadays. Alright, I know everybody has their favorites that fit their code writing fingers like a pair of old gloves… but there just might be a reason (or two, or three) to take a look at some interesting Open Source options.Maybe I have a few readers that love WYSIWYG editors — Ok, I used to suffer from that syndrome, but at some point… you have to consider the source. And, I’m writing this column for those of you who just got a webmaster/web developer’s certificate from a Community College, Technical School, or online, and/or have been in the trenches working for a few years and want to take their skills to the “next level” (that means beyond WYSIWYG editors people). Now, having said ALL that… guess what? Amaya has some WYSISYG characteristics.

Here, we’ll compare Amaya, (click for download) the W3C.org’s official “web browsing and authoring environment,” to JEDIT, (click for download) “a mature programmer’s text editor with hundreds of plugins.” I like that bit about the “mature programmer” — I must be one, since i am a programmer, and I remember, owned, and used the black & white screened Macintosh computer model released PRIOR to the Mac Plus (brownie points for anyone that can name that model). And, since I am a Mac guy (down Windows advocates… I have also taught web programming at a couple of colleges that were Windows only environments), both of these programs we’ll take a look at run on Windows, and Macs, and Linux, with some important variations and additions (see table below).

I don’t have time to give an overview of a third, excellent open source editor — Aptana — here, but those of you interested in JavaScript development should take a good look at it… see my overview article on Aptana.

We’ll open up a template (open source, of course) in each program and examine the look and feel of the interface with some screenshots for your review. The template is courtesy of CSSTinderBox.com, a repository of open source CSS based template “layouts” which you’re free to download and use. We’ll be looking at the One Column Layout Template #2 here (click to download and follow along).

Comparison Table

Below, I pick out some interesting differences, and some notable similarities, but the comparison is by no means comprehensive. For example, JEDIT is programmed to work with (built in highlighting) over 130 different languages — beyond the scope of this blog post, but you may want to check out the feature lists at both sites.

	JEDIT 4.3pre11	AMAYA 9.9
Platforms:	Mac OS X, OS/2, Unix, VMS and Windows	Mac OS X, Windows, Ubuntu, Debian, RedHat, Mandrake, Suse
Built in Browser:	NO	YES
WYSYWIG Editing:	NO	YES (limited)
Programming Languages Supported:	HTML, CSS, XML, PHP, JavaScript, C++, Perl, Ruby, Cold Fusion, Actionscript, JAVA, PostScript, Python, Apache… 130 altogether	HTML, XML, XHTML, CSS, MathML, SVG, RDF, XPointer
Advanced, split-screen views:	YES	YES
Support for SVG Development:	NO	YES
Unique Features of Note:	Over	collaborative annotation application included

You might wonder why I chose to call out “Support for SVG Development”? SVG – Scaleable Vector Graphics. Well, you might as well add a “P” to that TLA (another Three Letter Acronym – TLA), since SVG’s are easily programmable (think FLASH, but easier)! More on that in coming blog posts — stay tuned.

Comparing features – JEDIT has lots of high-end power programmer features, like “any number of editor windows may be open, each window may be split into several areas, each area can view a different file. Alternatively, different locations in one file can be viewed in more than one area.” Whew. JEDIT will perform well for programming chores beyond web development — and its plugins beef it up into (get ready for another TLA) comprehensive IDE (Integrated Development Environment). AMAYA, is simpler (but not without sophistication — see advanced set-up screenshot below), but excellent for standards compliant programming focused on web development — using it is a great way to help yourself learn about producing clean XHTML.

Comparing the Interface…

Basic Set-up: Above, Amaya is open (left) next to JEDIT, and both are viewing the “index.html” file that comes with the template you may download at the link above. Click the image to see a larger view. Note that both programs offer viewing flexibillty — the ability to split panes in different ways, etc.

ADVANCED Set-up: Above are two more advance set-ups of the programs – click them to see larger views. The first is AMAYA with the side panel open for XHTML tools, CSS Classes, and Mathematical Mark tools; PLUS an excellent CSS structure window open at bottom. The second is JEDIT with Java editors open and a compiler window at bottom.

The Verdict…

My Verdict is simple. Both are excellent editors — for different purposes. If you are a high-end programmer working with languages like C++, COBOL, and Fortran (hey… I remember working with the last two in the ’70’s. Far out — or is that “Far back”?), you’ll probably greatly appreciate JEDIT. And, there are a number of HTML/XML plugins you should look at to use JEDIT for web development. For the rest of us “Open Source WebMasters”, I like AMAYA because of its web standards focus, affiliation with the W3C (dude, it’s THE W3C), dual function browser/editor with WYSIWYG editing (Ok… I admit it’s nice sometimes… and yes, hand-coders, it can even save some time), and I like their button icons better. Button icons? Sounds persnickety… but it does contribute to the usability factor. OK. Got that? Hardcore programmers have a hard look at JEDIT. OS WebMasters… get ready to rumble with AMAYA.