Class Reading 2
Text Editors, and the Terminal
Text Editors
Text editors do exactly as the name implies. They edit your text. But not all text editors are the same. Some are very simple editors. They come with any computer and do little more than record, edit, and organize your text. You can do all your coding with these editors but there are many other options that might make the entire task easier. Some third party editors have special features that make coding easier and faster.
Special Features
Some of the most common special features of third party text editors include;
- Code Completion - This feature fills in the expected text after you begin typing. It also closes tags when you open them allowing you to focus more on the code and less on syntax
- Syntax highlighting - This feature changes the color of different elements on your screen so you are able to quickly differentiate between attributes and element and text.
- Different themes - hours in front of computer coding can be straining on your eyes. Some text editors allow you to change how the screen looks so that you can choose a theme that is easier to look at for hours on end.
A lot of choosing a text editor is personal preference. In the end, the best text editor for you is the one that you feel most comfortable with.
The Terminal
A terminal is a text based interface to your computer. Rather than a graphical user interface, you type out your commands to navigate your computer. You can do all of the same basic commands that you can do with a mouse whether it be navigating through folders, copying files, opening programs, creating or removing files.
Terminal Cheat Sheet
The following is a list of basic commands in the terminal.
- pwd - present working directory. Lets you know where you are.
- ls - Lists all objects in your present directory.
- cd - Changes directory.
- mkdir - Makes a new directory.
- rm - Used to remove something from the directory.
- touch - Creates a file.
- cp - Used to copy a file or directory.
- cd .. - Moves you back out one directory level.
- mv - Used to move a file, a folder, an application, ETC