Linux Editors & editor commands

Linux text editors can be used for editing text files, writing codes, updating user instruction files, and more. A Linux system supports multiple text editors. There are two types of text editors in Linux, which are given below:

• Command-line text editors such as Vi, nano, pico, and more.

• GUI text editors such as gedit (for Gnome), Kwrite, and more.

  
  

A text editor plays an important role while coding. So, it is important to select the best text editor. A text editor should not only be simple but also functional and should be good to work with.

A text editor with IDE features is considered as a good text editor.

An integrated development environment (IDE) is a software application that helps programmers develop software code efficiently.

1.Vi/VIM editor

Vim editor is one of the most used and powerful command-line based editor of the Linux system. By default, it is supported by most Linux distros. It has enhanced functionalities of the old Unix Vi editor. It is a user-friendly editor and provides the same environment for all the Linux distros. It is also termed as programmer's editor because most programmers prefer Vi editor.

Vi editor has some special features such as Vi modes and syntax highlighting that makes it powerful than other text editors. Generally, it has two modes:

Command Mode: The command mode allows us to perform actions on files. By default, it starts in command mode. In this mode, all types of words are considered as commands. We can execute commands in this mode.

Insert Mode: The insert mode allows to insert text on files. To switch from command mode to insert mode, press the Esc key to exit from active mode and 'i' key.

Command on vi/vim text editor

2. Nano editor

Nano is a straight forward editor. It is designed for both beginners and advanced users. It has many customization features.

• It has highly customizable key bindings

• It supports syntax highlighting

• It has undo and redo options

• It provides full line display on the standard output

• It has pager support to read from standard input

To open file with nano editor, execute the command as follows:

nano <file name>  

The nano editor looks like:

Nano Editor

Command for nano Editor

3. Gedit editor

Gedit editor is the default editor for the GNOME desktop environment. When we open a file, it will open with the Gedit editor. It provides straightforward functionalities like any basic text editor. It is a lightweight editor with a straight forward user interface. It was publicly released in the year 2000 with a GNOME desktop environment. It is developed using the C programming language and supports all font family.

Some key features of the gedit text editor are as following:

• It provides syntax highlighting.

• It supports internationalized text.

• It supports several programming languages.

  
  

To invoke the gedit editor from the terminal, execute the below command:

gedit <file name>  

It looks like:

Gedit text Editor

4. Kate/Kwrite

kate is an advanced and multi-document editor. It is part of KDE, since release version 2.2. The Ubuntu desktop environment ships it as a default editor. If you are familiar with the ubuntu environment, then you must have known about kate editor. It provides working with multiple files simultaneously. It is considered as an IDE as it carries powerful features like an IDE. It is good for editing configuration files, viewing HTML sources from Conqueror, creating new applications, and many more tasks.

Some of the unique features of Kate includes:

• It is a powerful IDE.

• It provides support for many languages.

• It has an auto language detect feature.

• It sets indentation for documents automatically.

To install the kate editor, execute the below command:

sudo apt-get install kate  

To open a file with kate editor, execute the below command:

kate <file name>  

KDE stands for K Desktop Environment. It is a desktop environment for Linux based operation system. You can think KDE as a GUI for Linux OS. KDE has proved Linux users to make it use as easy as they use windows. KDE provides Linux users a graphical interface to choose their own customized desktop environment.

Kate text Editor

5. Notepad++

Notepad++ is a basic text editor having many customization options. It primarily focuses on speed and minimal program size. It is mostly used by Windows users. It supports several plugins to increase its functionality.

Some key features of Notepad++ are as following:

• It supports tabbed editing.

• It provides code folding.

• It has bookmark support.

• It has a document map.

• It provides support for Perl Compatible Regular Expression.

To install notepad ++, execute the following commands:

§sudo apt-get install snapd snapd-xdg-open  

§sudo snap install notepad-plus-plus  

To open a file with notepad++, execute the below command:

notepad-plus-plus <file name>  

It will look like the below image:

Notepad++ text Editor

Linux Commands