In search of ... JavaScript & BBcode editor/ide software

[barney]

Folk,

I seek a couple of editor/ide elements, one (1) for JavaScript (JS) and one (1) for BBcode.  Not searched recommendations, but something that you've actually used and can recommend.

The BBcode thingy is for me - I'm about to need a familiarity with it whether I like it or no.

The JS thing is another matter.  There is a young lady here that has asked me for a recommendation for a JS IDE.  She's gotten help from me the last several years with hardware and software problems, and seems to think I'm a real whiz  .  Told her I don't use JS if it can be avoided, but she wants a recommendation anyway, so I told her I'd ask some real experts in the field.  She's young, but in a couple of years or three (3) I'll be asking for her help - she's that sharp.

Because of a comment by Renegade in another thread, I pulled down Aptana Studio ... and remembered why I'd discarded it years agone.  It'd take a month just to understand and modify the configuration  .  It has a learning curve that's just a bit steep for her at the moment.  So, is there some IDE, that you have used, that's a bit simpler for JS?  Preferably with some sort of debug capability?  If so, what advantages/disadvantages does it present?  How steep is the learning curve?  Is it currently in development, or is it a golden oldie?

[Renegade]

Funny you should mention debugging, but that's exactly why I recommended Aptana.

For BBCode, try EditPlus or Notepad++. You'll need to modify/create some highlighting syntax files or snippit files for BBcode or download them - I've done it before, but really don't make use of it all that much and end up just typing tags instead. Both are excellent editors and quite simply to use.

For EditPlus, you might want to skip the ZenCoding stuff and not install that. Just a preference thing.

[relipse]

Good ol notepad++ and Chrome ctrl-shift-j for debugging for me.

[barney]

Funny you should mention debugging, but that's exactly why I recommended Aptana.

Yeah, I know you did, and I recognize the functionality.  But Aptana is a coder's IDE, not a beginner's.  My young lady has no experience save for self-taught HTML and just a bit of PHP.  She needs something a bit easier to start with.  Ya don't start driving Grand Prix the day after you acquire your driver's license  .

I know summat o' Aptana's capabilities, although I abandoned it quite a while back for Komodo Edit, but I'd really like to find something a bit easier for her start.  The debug part was a wish, but even without it, someone here must be using or have used a JS editor that would be first time decent.  It's counter-productive to spend more time learning the IDE than the language for which you want to use it  .

Bear in mind that my lady is fifteen (15), maybe sixteen (16) years old.  She's bright, but I don't want to overload her.  She needs to learn to walk before she starts running marathons.

I've gone the [supposedly] fast-track route before and was sorely disappointed.  Since then, it's a step at a time - never overload the students to the extent that they quit.

<aside>
How are the wounds doing, Renegade?  Much better, I hope.
</aside>

[wraith808]

Actually a good option that I've found (though you have to pay for it) is JetBrains WebStorm.  I have PhpStorm (which encapsulates all of what you want + PHP), but it's great.

[Renegade]

Funny you should mention debugging, but that's exactly why I recommended Aptana.

Yeah, I know you did, and I recognize the functionality.  But Aptana is a coder's IDE, not a beginner's.

True enough. One of the things that I think is FANTASTIC about IDE's like Aptana is code completion (Intellisense in Visual Studio).

Maybe an older version of Visual Studio might be good? Before 2010 VS had dynamic help, which would display help for you as you type. It was a SPECTACULAR feature, and probably one of the easiest ways to learn. Not sure how it did for HTML/JS though as I've always used other editors for that.

I don't know any beginner level editors that have code completion. (I won't use an IDE without it - I'd rather just get doing stuff that worry about whether the exact method name is "setMouseHoverListener" or "SetMouseHoverListener" or "OnSetMouseHover" or whatever.)

If you can get her onto something with code completion, she'll improve by leaps and bounds on her own.

<aside>
How are the wounds doing, Renegade?  Much better, I hope.
</aside>

Thanks for asking. It's doing a lot better now. It's about over that "itchy" stage. The one knuckle is at about 80%. It's a bit weird as it's still numb and tight, but pretty much all my strength is back (lacking some flexibility). Skin's starting to peel away as well - the dead stuff on top - like a really bad sunburn - leaving the nice shiny new stuff! But near 100% now! You've been through it, so I'm sure you know how it is.