Script Editors, IDEs & Validators There is nothing wrong with a simple editor like EDIT or Notepad. In fact many of the older pages on this site were created with OS/2's 'E' (OS/2's Notepad equivalent) and, later, 's built-in text editor. But sometimes an editor with built-in support for one or more scripting languages can help speed up our code writing. And some editors have evolved to full-blown multi-language IDEs.
What to look for in editors? That depends entirely on what you are going to use it for. Do you want to use it for a single scripting or programming language only? If so, try the editors and IDEs specializing in that language.
Aug 29, 2005 - Program rejected (invalid policy). For about a day now, every package & ad I send out comes back with this error when I use Reporting (IE). Jan 4, 2008 - I'm trying to push the 2007 compatibility pack to all my Office 2003 computers via SMS, but they all fail because of 'Program rejected (invalid. Program rejected invalid policy sccm. I think I must have something wrong in the program or package. Could not be run because the policy contains an invalid combination of requirements: CGH.
And look for built-in debuggers, compilers/packagers, and if your language of choice is object aware, object browsers. Some editors don't have their own debugger, but do support external debuggers. The same goes for compilers/packagers.
To me, an important feature in specialized editors is the capability to run the script within the editor itself and view the script's output in a window. Most editors with this option also support at least external debuggers.
These are, in fact, IDEs. In case you want a 'universal' editor, you may find some with syntax highlighting and word lists for all the languages you'll be using, but features like debugging and compilation will be a 'challenge' at least. The best you can hope for is support for external debuggers. You may also want to look at snippets/code libraries, and regular expressions based search and replace options. And customizable tools, which means you can add your own (external) tools to the editor's menu.
Download the trial versions, and test, test, test and test. A note on the features listed in the 'Features' column: Hover your mouse over, or click on, the 'codes' (like 'LT' or 'DILOT') in the 'Features' column to get a human readable list of selected features. Hover your mouse over, or click on, the 'Features' column header to see the list of selected features I have looked for. I'll list them here as well: D Integrated Debugger I IntelliSense ™ like code completion L Snippets Library O COM Object browser P Integrated script Packager T Configurable external Tools and macros V Code Validator This list is by no means 'complete'. I did not buy and/or try all editors listed here.
For comparison, I tried to find lists of all features on the manufacturers' web sites, in help files or (for the programs I 'own') in the menus. However, I cannot guarantee the list is 100% accurate.
Features may have been overlooked by me, or may have been added or discontinued afterwards by the authors. In some cases, like debuggers, it wasn't always clear if the editor/IDE comes with an integrated debugger or supports only external debuggers. Besides, 'not all debuggers are created equal', some seem to do a syntax check only, others support break points and variable view windows. Note that some features are available only after purchasing a license (e.g.
The integrated packager in ). And there are more, other features than the ones I listed here.
Feel free to send me corrections for this list. Again, to get (close to) 100% certainty, download the program's trial version, and try for yourself. Script Editors, IDEs & Validators Product Name Programmer / Manufacturer Supported Scripting Languages Features Download Purchase Amaya HTML, CSS, XML, XHTML, MathML, SVG Free Arachnophilia HTML.