[REBOL] Re: simple editor for rebol
From: joel:neely:fedex at: 7-May-2001 7:36
Hi, Tim,
Tim Johnson wrote:
> Hello All:
> I have designed and am teaching a class in rebol
> for high school as a first semester.
>
> I would welcome recommendations for a MS-Windows
> compatible editor that would enable syntax
> highlighting and be available at no fee.
>
> Myself, I use vim on both Linux and Windows,
> but I think either vim or emacs would be a
> little too difficult for some of the students.
>
At the risk of sounding elitist, I have to disagree with
the conclusion of your last sentence and recommend vim,
for the following reasons:
1) vim-related:
* Works on *many* platforms the students are
likely to have access to (both at school
and at home.
* Founded on vi, the most ubiquitous editor in
the Unix/Linux world. (Note: I didn't say
"best" -- I'm not trying to start a flame war
-- I simply meant that you can find vi on
essentially any *n*x box, regardless of age
or size.) Therefore the result of learning
vim is a highly portable/reusable skill.
* Syntax coloring works.
* The basic text-manipulation commands in vi(m)
have a direct analog to the basic series
manipulation operations in REBOL: changing
part of a series, removing part of a series,
inserting somewhere in a series, moving the
"current position" within a series, etc.
Therefore you're able to introduce the concepts
once and re-use them for both programming and
editing.
2) student-related: (the part most likely to provoke
some flames, I fear)
* Using any text editor (emphasis on "any")
requires that you understand files, inserting
and deleting text, versions of files, backup
habits, etc. Any student who can't understand
these concepts has no business programming.
In any language.
* It's fairly easy to define "core vi(m)" commands
(:e :r :w :q i a I A o O c d and, of course,
h j k l 0 $) that are enough to do some 75% of
all simple editing tasks. This is one class
period's worth of work, plus some practice to
push the knowledge "out to the fingertips".
Any student who can't understand these concepts
has no business programming. In any language.
I should add that my perspective is based (in part) on my
own experiences in teaching (12 years' of Math and Computing
Science in higher education) and my sadness (and even
frustration, at times) over the disservice done to entering
students by high-school teachers who short-changed the kids
by assuming that they couldn't learn -- and therefore didn't
teach the kids things they should have known.
Have faith. Trust the kids. Be enthusiastic. Don't be
afraid to give them a challenge. Respect their minds and
get ready for a surprise. (And, sadly, deal with the fact
that everyone deserves an equal opportunity, but not all
will make the most of it.)
-jn-
