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And the winner is...ConTEXT!
I do a lot of Oracle database development. For many years, my tools of choice have
been Programmer's File Editor (PFE) and SQL*Plus. (For more on that, refer
to a previous tip, Programmer's File Editor...An Essential Part of My
Consulting Toolkit in our ebook,
Oracle Tips from the Real
World…52 Weeks with Alydan Consulting.) PFE was and is a clear cut winner over
Notepad / WordPad for many reasons, as discussed in the tip. Recently a
consultant working next to me at a client site, on hearing I was using PFE,
agreed it was much better than Notepad / WordPad, but suggested I take a
look at ConTEXT, a freeware editor available at
http://www.context.cx.
After a quick look, download, and install, I
am going to make the switch from PFE to ConTEXT, at least until I find a
reason not to.
Some of the reasons why, based on some limited use,
are:
- Tabbed interface, making switching between
editing files
in full screen mode much easier
- Ability to compare files and highlight
differences
- Syntax highlighting for many languages and
files, including
- SQL
- PL/SQL
- Oracle configuration files, such as
tnsnames.ora, sqlnet.ora, and init.ora
- DOS batch files
- Bash and Korn shell scripts
- Columnar text selection
- Text sorting
There are many features that look like they
came from PFE, and many others that are new that I have not had the chance
to explore. The syntax highlighting is interesting. Of the list I mention
above, the SQL syntax is included with the initial install. The remaining
ones require a small text file to be downloaded for each syntax type. The
file defines the syntax, and how ConTEXT should handle it.
The only disadvantage I have found so far in
comparison to PFE is that with PFE no install is required, meaning no
updates to the Windows Registry and no changes to any system directories.
You just run the executable, pfe32.exe. For a consultant who might have to
use a client supplied PC with security restrictions on installing software,
that can be a huge benefit.
Note: This tip was tested on Windows XP Professional.
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