Text editors

Text editors
 A text editor is a tool that allows a user to
create and revise documents in a computer.
Though this task can be carried out in other
modes, the word text editor commonly refers
to the tool that does this interactively.
 A text editor is a type of computer
program that edits plain text. Such programs
are sometimes known as "notepad" software,
following the Microsoft Notepad. Text editors
are provided with operating systems and
software development packages, and can be
used to change configuration files,
documentation files and programming
language source code.
Line editors
 Line editors predate screen-based text
editors and originated in an era when a
computer operator typically interacted with
a teleprinter (essentially a printer with
a keyboard), with no video display, and no
ability to move a cursor interactively within a
document. 
 Line editors are limited to typewriter
keyboard text-oriented input and output
methods. Most edits are a line-at-a-time.
Typing, editing, and document display do not
occur simultaneously. 
 Eg : Edlin editor in early MS-DOS systems.
 Line editors keep a reference to the 'current
line' to which the entered commands usually
are applied.
 In contrast, modern screen based editors allow
the user to interactively and directly navigate,
select, and modify portions of the document.
Generally line numbers or a search based
context (especially when making changes
within lines) are used to specify which part of
the document is to be edited or displayed.
Stream editors
 The idea here is similar to line editor, but the
entire text is treated as a single stream of
characters. Hence the location for revision
cannot be specified using line numbers.
Locations for revision are either specified by
explicit positioning or by using pattern
context.
 eg. sed in Unix/Linux. Line editors and

stream editors are suitable for text-only

documents.
Screen editor
 Screen Editors are full screen editors that
enables to modify any text that appears on
the display screen by moving the cursor to
desired location. Screen Editor provides with
many formatting features.
 These allow the document to be viewed and
operated upon as a two dimensional plane, of
which a portion may be displayed at a time.
Any portion may be specified for display and
location for revision can be specified
anywhere within the displayed portion.
 eg. vi, emacs, etc.
structure editor

 A structure editor, also structured

editor or projectional editor, is any document
editor that is cognizant of the document’s
underlying structure.
 Structure editors can be used to edit
hierarchical or marked up text, computer
programs, diagrams, chemical formulas, and
any other type of content with clear and well-
defined structure. In contrast, a text editor is
any document editor used for editing plain text
files
Typically, the benefits of text and structure editing are
combined in the user interface of a single hybrid tool.
 For example, Emacs is fundamentally a text editor,

but supports the manipulation of words, sentences,

and paragraphs as structures that are inferred from
the text.
 Conversely, Dreamweaver is fundamentally a

structure editor for marked up web documents, but

supports the display and manipulation of
raw HTML text as well. Similarly, molecule
editors typically support both graphical and textual
input.
Word processor
Word processing adds to the text editor the
ability to control type style and size, to
manage lines (word wrap), to format
documents into pages, and to number pages.
 Functions now taken for granted were added

incrementally, sometimes by purchase of

independent providers of add-on programs.
Spell checking, grammar checking and mail
merge were some of the most popular add-
ons for early word processors.
 Word processors are also capable of
hyphenation, and the management and
correct positioning of footnotes and
endnotes.
Debug monitor
 A debug monitor is very powerful graphical or
console mode tool that monitors all the
activities that are handled by the WinDriver
Kernel.
 You can use the debug monitor to see how

each command that is sent to the kernel is

executed.
 A WinDriver Kernel is a driver development
toolkit inside ones computer that simplifies
the creation of drivers. A driver is used in a
computer so that the computer can read the
devices that are in the computer or that get
attached to the computer.
 If you were to connect a printer to your
computer, you would first need to install its
driver so that the computer could create
graphics or a console so that you could
control your printer through the computer.
The same thing goes for audio devices,
internet devices, video devices.
 A debug monitor, simply put, is a tool that
helps to find and reduce the number of bugs
and defects in a computer program or any
electrical device within or attached to the
computer in order to make it act the way it
should.
 if the debugging monitor locates a bug or
defect in any of the equipment, it will first try
to reproduce the problem which will allow a
programmer to view each string that was
within the bug or defect range and try to fix
it.
Transcription:
 A transcription of a conversation or speech is
a written text of it, based on a recording or
notes.
Programming environment
 Computer programmers require a set of
specific tools when writing a software
application. Your development environment is
used to create software.
 When we say Environment Setup, it simply

implies a base on top of which we can do our

programming.
 An integrated development environment (IDE)
is an application that facilitates application
development.
 They are generally editing environments with

tools to help programmers write code quickly

and efficient ,featuring all the tools a
developer needs, including the following:
 a) text editor
 b) compiler
 c) assembler
 d) debugger
 e) build automation tools
 Before IDEs, developers wrote their programs

in text editors. They would write and save an

application in a text editor; then run the
compiler, taking note of the error messages;
then go back to the text editor to revise the
code.
Benefits of IDEs:

 Less time and effort: The entire purpose of an

IDE is to make developing faster and
easier. Its tools and features are supposed to
help you organize resources, prevent
mistakes, and provide shortcuts.
 Compile, link binaries of required framework,

create deployment package

 Code debugging.

 
 code can be parsed and syntax checked while
being edited, providing instant feedback
when syntax errors are introduced.
Developers don’t need to switch between
applications to complete tasks. In addition,
the IDE’s tools and features helps developers
organize resources, prevent mistakes and
take shortcuts
 Continual learning: Staying up to date and
educated is another benefit. For instance, the
IDE’s help topics are constantly being
updated, as well as new samples, project
templates, etc. Programmers who are
continually learning and current with best
practices are more likely to contribute value
to the team and the enterprise, and to boost
productivity
Languages Supported by IDEs:

 Some IDEs are dedicated to a specific

programming language or set of languages,
creating a feature set that aligns with the
particulars of that language. For instance,
Xcode for the Objective-C 
 However, there are many multiple-language

IDEs, such as Eclipse (C, C++, Python, Perl, PHP,

Java, Ruby and more), Komodo (Perl, Python, Tcl,
PHP, Ruby, Javascript and more) and NetBeans
(Java, JavaScript, PHP, Python, Ruby, C, C++ and
more).
Different Types of IDEs:

 There are IDEs that are designed to work with

one specific language, cloud-based IDEs,
IDEs customized for the development of
mobile applications or for HTML, and IDEs
meant specifically for Apple development or
Microsoft development.
Multi-Language IDEs:

 Multi-language IDEs, such as Eclipse,

NetBeans, Komodo, Aptana and Geany,
support multiple programming languages.
 Eclipse: Supports C, C++, Python, Perl, PHP,

Java, Ruby and more. This free and open

source editor is the model for many
development frameworks. Eclipse began as a
Java development environment and has
expanded through plugins.
 NetBeans: Supports Java, JavaScript, PHP,
Python, Ruby, C, C++ and more. This option
is also free and open source

Aptana: Supports HTML, CSS, JavaScript, AJAX

and others via plugins. This is a popular choice
for web app development.
IDEs for Mobile Development:

 There are IDEs specifically for mobile

development, including PhoneGap and
Appcelerator's Titanium Mobile.
 Many IDEs, especially those that are multi-

language, have mobile-development plugins.

For instance, Eclipse has this functionality.
HTML IDEs:

 Some of the most popular IDEs are those for

developing HTML applications. For example,
IDEs such as Home Site, DreamWeaver or
FrontPage automate many tasks involved in
web site development.
IDEs Specific to Microsoft or Apple:

 These IDEs cater to those working in

Microsoft or Apple environments:
a) Visual Studio: Supports Visual C++, VB.NET,
C#, F# and others. Visual Studio is
Microsoft's IDE and is designed to create
applications for the Microsoft platform.
b) Espresso: Supports HTML, CSS, XML,
JavaScript and PHP. This is a tool for Mac
web developers.
IDEs for Specific Languages:

 Some IDEs cater to developers working in a

single language.
 These include
 CodeLite and C-Free for C/C++,
 Jikes and Jcreator for Java,
 Idle for Python, and
 RubyMine for Ruby/Rails.
Keyboard management:
Ctrl + X Cut the selected item

Ctrl + C (or Ctrl + Insert) Copy the selected item

Close the active item, or exit

Alt + F4
the active app

Windows logo key  + L Lock your PC

F2 Rename the selected item

Search for a file or folder in

F3
File Explorer
Window management :
a) To minimize a window: Win+Up arrow
b) Maximize the active window.
c) Shift+Win+Up arrow: Maximize the
active window vertically.
d) Win+Down
arrow: Minimize the window/Restore the
window if it's maximized.
e) Win+Left/Right arrows: Dock the window to
each side of the monitor.
Components of system software:

 It manages and supports operations of

computer systems and networks
 It also provides platform for running

application software and basic functions for

the computer usage.
 The purpose of system software is to protect
the applications programmer from the
complexity and specific details of a particular
computer being used, especially memory and
other hardware features. It consists of the
following components:
 Device Driver:
 First, you know that your computer is made up with various
visible components (ie. cpu, memory stick, hard disk,
peripherals). But they cannot work without the invisible
operating system, which acts like a general commander and
tells them what actions to take in order to accomplish tasks
for you. However, devices and operating system cannot
communicate with each other directly. Drivers are therefore
created to help them understand each other. Drivers work
like translators and liaisons to convey operating system’s
meaning into different languages that different devices can
comprehend, without which, devices cannot receive
instructions from operating system and accordingly cannot
function properly at all.
  
 However, some devices, such as CPU, memory stick,
monitor, keyboard and mouse, seem to be able to work
directly without asking us to install drivers for them. This
is because these devices are must-have components for
a computer to work in basic function. So codes were
built in BIOS (software that is loaded immediately when a
PC is powered on) at early stage so that they could be
supported directly by operating system. Other than that,
most devices (like graphic card, audio card, network
card) require a specific driver being installed to work
properly. You may notice that when you connect a
scanner, camera, printer to your computer, you’re always
asked to install a certain driver first.
 b) OS :
 c) Utility software:
 Utility software is system software that

performs a very specific task, usually related

to managing system resources.
 Although a basic set of utility programs is

usually distributed with an operating

system (OS), utility software is not considered
part of the operating system, and users often
install replacements or additional utilities.
 Types of utilities:
a) System utilities:
Anti-virus utilities scan for computer viruses
and remove them.
System monitors monitor resources and
performance in a computer system.
System profilers provide detailed information
about the software installed and hardware
attached to the computer.
 Device management utilities:
a) Disk checkers scan an operating hard drive and
check for logical (filesystem) or physical errors.
b) Disk compression utilities
transparently compress/uncompress the contents
of a disk, increasing the capacity of the disk.
c) Disk defragmenters detect computer files whose
contents are scattered across several locations on
the hard disk, and move the fragments to one
location to increase efficiency.
 File management utilities:
a) Backup software makes copies of all
information stored on a disk and restores
either the entire disk (e.g. in an event
of disk failure) or selected files (e.g. in an
event of accidental deletion).
b) Cryptographic utilities encrypt and decrypt
streams and files.