TextPad Linux Port

[stateofmind]

Our office is moving most if not all of the developers to Linux. Which I have mixed emotions about.

But anways, have you thought about writing a Linux port of TextPad? That would be great. You could still charge for it, and people would pay. I know I would.

As long as you write it in Qt for KDE.

Josh

[Drantin]

While I love TextPad and have used it for several years unregistered, recently registered under windows, it doesn't make sense to port it to Linux...

As you advocate using Qt may I assume you've tried Kate (KDE Advanced Text Editor - only big things TP has that Kate doesn't are the clip libraries and macros). How do you think TextPad will be able to compete with that at anywhere near the price it costs for the win32 version? And for writing in HTML or PHP (or web-based language of your choice), you can't get much better than Quanta Plus under KDE (although I haven't tried bluefish or NVu...)

Disclaimer: I dual boot gentoo and win2k... On win2k I use TextPad, on gentoo I use Kate, Quanta Plus, or vim...whichever suits my current task best...

[luegner]

What else is there to do other than write a linux port for Textpad? The editors on KDE suck. I'd rather pay the "high price" of Textpad to get it on linux than to use one of those crappy editors on Linux.

[bdw]

Even a cheaper, cut-down version of TextPad for Linux would be better than any of the current Linux editors. It would also beat running TextPad in Wine, which just mocks your longing for the real thing.

A search through the forum on linux and helios only comes up with this.

So, after more than a year of considerations, helios, do you have any further thoughts? What do you feel are now the most serious objections to taking a foray into the world of Linux?

[drgb]

I run kubuntu at home and I have not found any linux editors that are as full featured or easy to use as TextPad. The Kate editor requires much more difficult shell programming commands to enable external tools such as python, and gedit just does not do much. I am guessing that TP is written in C++, but does it use a cross-platform GUI set such as wxWidgets, or would the GUI have to be completely rewritten? if so, I can see why the effort would probably not be worth it.
But count me strongly in for a Linux port of TextPad![\b]

[mattrix]

I would buy Textpad for Linux.

That aside, my recommendation under Linux/Unix is NEdit.

NEdit is a great editor under Linux/Unix. I am not sure how their feature sets compare.

I know NEdit has a very good general purpose macro language.

And, it deals well with very large files.

The UI in Textpad is a little better.

And the notion of bookmarked lines doesn't exist in NEdit.

[CharlesHarrison]

I wanted to vote for this suggestion but the Radio Buttons didn't appear.

Linux editors are crap. Different shades of brown, I grant, some are browner than others, but all brown nonetheless.

[tbiggs]

I'm considering using Linux at home.

To me it is not an issue of which editor is better than which. I'm very familiar with Textpad and it does everything I need to do very simply and efficiently. Even if some other editor is equally capable in Linux, it would require me to relearn yet another text editor and all its idiosyncracies, and so would reduce my productivity.

Rather than switching back and forth between two different text editors, I'd be more likely to switch to a new one that supports Windows and Linux (anyone used JEdit?).

My preference would be to have a Linux Textpad.

[CaptainWho]

vi (vim) and emacs are cross platform ... personally, i use emacs ... but I don't even attempt el (emacs lisp) programming ... but I don't have to ... everything I could want, someone else has already done ... since the debacle with TP5, vi and emacs are my editing mainstays

[zainka]

Currently I am evaluating Eclipse, an high feature free texteditor and more, written in Java, available both for windows and linux, and in a dual boot I beleive it even should be possible to share config space on a shared disk area when using dual boot (not verified).

www.eclipse.org

However. Even though Eclipse has some nice features, like code outline, better search options, source control, options for plugins, and manymore, I still cant get text pad out of my mind. Simply because I do not need all the many fancy features in eclipse (except of code outline and better search) and because of text pads smooth GUI, macro feature, and also block select feature, which I miss in eclipse.

Therefore, I would actually vote YES for a linux port of textpad. But most important to me is to see that text pad was equipped with a code outline feature which would make textpad a state of art text editor, fulfilling all of my needs... Ahh, yes, one more thing, Textpad explorer does feel a bit slow in use but one can live with that...

breg
vidar (Z)

[trids]

I'd like to add my vote FOR a linux port too (but the voting seems to have been disabled).

Thanks for the tips on linux editors .. As a developer migrating to linux (Ubuntu), I'm looking for something that can fill the huge void left by losing TP.

But of course my first prize would be to have a linux version of TP. Even ahead of the code-folding and macros that I've been anticipating anxiously for years.

[mikehsr]

I too would like to voice my opinion for a Linux Port (YES) (But voting seems to be closed).

Mike

[zainka]

Hi

Count me in for a vote for Linux version.

I have tried and used all the already mentioned editors for Linux, except Nedit which I will give a try, but there realy is no better alternative than Textpad which has succeded in balancing features vs user friendlines in such a great way as Helios team has.

Old linux users are realy keen on having me liking the vi/vim editors but really, even though i know most of the shortcuts now, I CANT GET TEXTPAD OUT OF MY MIND.... really! The best option I have found so far is SciTe but it laks a few configurations options and posebilities which I only find in Textpad.

I do not expect any comment from Helios on this, but do understand that you guys have hit the nail for Textpad better than you may know your self. It is a great piece of software, tobad I have to let you down because Microsoft sucks, if you see what I mean

Also read my comment at:
id34325

[zainka]

well, I beleive Heliose has lost the grip now and is no longer maintaining Textpad in the same way as before. But, who am I to know.

Fact is that in despite my above hail for Textpad I must let her go and let her live her own life. I feel sorry that she would not follow me into the free world but thats life. And I have to live with the lack of a good editor under linux. Actually there are several things in linux world which is painful, but the freedom we have is far better than the yoke we lived under before.

Well, I have found good replacements in scite and code::blocks, but still, they are not as easy and painless in use as Textpad once was...

Maybe in the future

[chuckbutler]

It would be very nice to have a Linux version of TextPad.
Thanks.