Choosing A Text Editor

Choosing a text editor really isn’t difficult. This one’s for those who have no idea where to start and just need a little push to get going.

So, what is a text editor? A text editor is what you write your code in! It’s the vehicle developers and programmers use to create their programs and websites and get them ready for the web. Because web development and programming changes so rapidly, it’s becoming more and more important to choose the right editor for your code. Fortunately, it’s a pretty simple process.

Should I Choose A Text Editor That’s Basic Or Complex?

If I were choosing for you, I’d really just need to ask you a couple of questions. I would ask questions such as: How long have you been coding? What’s your experience level? Are you at all technologically proficient? If you’ve never used a text editor before, I might recommend something simple, such as Notepad++. If you have, and you’re looking to upgrade, I would probably recommend something like Visual Studio Code.

Notepad++

Notepad++ is the first editor I ever used. Notepad++ is a text editor that works with Microsoft Windows. As far as text editors go, and as far as text editors built by Microsoft go, this one is simple. It does allow you to open and code multiple pages at a time which is a must, but it shouldn’t overwhelm a beginner with too many settings and options. The obvious downside is that you need to be using Windows in order to use it.

A couple good alternatives to Notepad++ are Sublime Text and Brackets. Sublime text is another that I’ve personally used, and it’s a great option for beginners and experts alike. Both editors offer a few more customization options than the minimal Notepad++, but they’re less likely to overwhelm a beginner than the next editor on our list. You can download Sublime Text here and Brackets here.

Visual Studio Code

Currently the king of all text editors, VS Code, as it’s known, is a powerful and extremely customizable text editor. It offers plugins, known as extensions, written by other programmers to help fellow programmers become more efficient and code things more quickly. Another thing that makes this editor the king is that the number of settings options will make your head spin. It’s not a very difficult editor to get started with, but someone new to development might get turned off by its vast array of options. This is the one you’ll inevitably want to use once you’ve gotten a little experience under your belt.

Summary

In summation, you may want to start with a less customizable editor when you first start, and I think it’s important to get familiar with a couple of options. You never know when one might disappear or begin charging for its services, so I would recommend starting with a Notepad++ or a Brackets before moving on to Visual Studio Code.

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