Text editors play an important role in the Linux environment. When editing a file or developing an application in the Linux system, you will need a text editor to complete certain tasks. This article will explore some best text editors for the Linux Mint 20 distribution.
Vim
If you do not wish to use the default ‘vi’ text editor in the Linux system and want to try some of the more advanced features of ‘vi’ with excellent performance, then Vim is the best text editor choice for you. Vim is an improved version of vi and is also known as vi improved. This text editor is designed especially for developer needs. Vim is also known as a programmer’s editor, with highly configurable features. Vim can also be used as a command-line utility, as well as a GUI application. Vim offers many useful features, including syntax highlighting, tab expansion, tag system, digraph input, session screen, split-screen, and automatic commands.
Gedit
When working in a GNOME desktop distribution, Gedit comes loaded into your system by default and is a core application of the GNOME desktop. Gedit is designed as a general-purpose text editor, providing clean and straightforward functionalities. According to GNOME objectives, Gedit, also emphasizes ease of use and simplicity with a clean and simple Graphical User Interface (GUI). The Gedit text editor was first introduced in 2000, alongside the GNOME desktop. Gedit was developed in the C programming language and supports internationalized text.
Some useful features of Gedit include syntax highlighting, support for different programming languages, and more.
Sublime
The Sublime text editor is another editor used with Linux distributions. Sublime contains a number of features designed to be used in a development environment, and also functions well as a text editor. This text editor supports several different programming markup languages. Sublime also provides support for various plugins, through which you can expand functionalities to the next level. Using the ‘Goto Anything’ option, you can jump to any section in the code, or you can navigate within a file. The important features of this editor include Python-based plugin API, command palette, code editing, project-based preferences, and many more. To install the Sublime text editor in Linux Mint 20, run the following commands:
$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt install sublime-text –y
Geany
Another popular text editor is Geany, used for Linux environments. Geany has a built-in, integrated GTK toolkit. This text editor also supports multiple programming languages. So, Geany provides a great environment for programmers and developers alike. Geany is best in terms of the development environment and also functions as a good text editor. Geany is a lightweight text editor and does not have dependencies from many other packages. This program offers some important features, including syntax highlighting, customizable options, line numbering, and pluggable interface. You can install Geany in Linux Mint 20 by issuing the following commands:
$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt install geany -y
Nano
The Nano text editor is used in UNIX-like operating systems. Nano was first released in 2000 and is like the Pico text editor. Nano offers some more advanced functionalities that make this program a powerful text editor. In fact, this text editor can only run in a command-line interface. Nano has some important features, including case sensitive searches, tab completion, auto-indentation, and Autoconf support.
Bracket
The Bracket text editor was launched in 2014 by Adobe for the Linux environment. Bracket is open-source and comes with a bundle of exciting features. The Bracket text editor is very simple and easy-to-use, with a clean user interface. This program was developed using CSS, HTML, and JavaScript. This text editor is specially designed for dual purposes, acting as both a text editor and a code editor, to help programmers and web designers in their work. Bracket is lightweight and comparatively better than other text editors due to some of the advanced features that it offers. The unique features of Bracket include live preview, inline editing, and support for pre-processor and visual tools. To get bracket in Linux Mint 20, execute the following commands in the terminal:
$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/brackets
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install brackets
Conclusion
This article explored some of the best text editors available for the Linux Mint 20 distribution. All the text editors listed above contain many useful features. Based on these features, you can choose whichever program best meets your needs. Otherwise, you can install and try the exciting features of all these text editors on your system to find the best fit.
About the author
Karim Buzdar
Karim Buzdar holds a degree in telecommunication engineering and holds several sysadmin certifications. As an IT engineer and technical author, he writes for various web sites. You can reach Karim on LinkedIn.
