Choosing a Text Editor in Linux
There are dozens of text editors available to use with Linux. Here are a few contained in most Linux distributions you can try out:
- vi: Most Linux power users prefer to use the vi text editor to edit files, write code, etc. The vi editor may be a bit difficult to learn at first but it is very powerful and flexible.
- emacs: emacs is another powerful Linux/Unix text editor. Many extensions are available for emacs to handle editing of many different file types.
- gedit: The GNOME text editor that runs in the GUI
- joe: The joe editor is similar to many PC text editors. Use control and arrow keys to move around. Type Ctrl+C to exit with no Save or Ctrl-X to save and exit.
- kate: A nice looking editor that comes in the kdebase package. It has lots of bells and whistles, such as highlighting for different types of programming languages and controls for managing word wrap.
- kedit: A GUI based text editor that comes with the KDE desktop.
- mcedit: With mcedit, function keys help you get around, save, copy, move, and delete text. Like jed and joe, mcedit us screen oriented.
If you use ssh to log in to other Linux computers on your network, you can use any editor available to edit text files. A GUI based editor will pop up on your screen. When no GUI is available, you will need a text-based editor that runs in the shell such as vi, jed or joe.
