What is a Text Editor?
A text editor is a simple computer program which allows users to create, change, or edit plain text files. Text editors can be used for creating computer programs, editing the source code of programming languages, editing hypertext markup language (HTML), and creating web pages or web design templates. They are most commonly used today for programming purposes, rather than creating documents, as they were in the past.
Only plain text may be entered into a text editor, as opposed to the formatted text of a rich text editor or word processor. These programs allow special functions such as bold, italic, and various text sizes and fonts. A text editor displays only the characters visible in the file, while word processors add special formatting characters which are not visible in the document. In a plain text editor, the ability to format text, and add pictures or tables is absent.
Most modern computers come with a text editor installed, usually of the most basic sort. There are also numerous types of text editors available for download or purchase. Some text editors have the ability to function as a word processor or plain text editor, depending on the user’s need or preference.
Text editors can generally be placed into one of two distinct categories, line editors and screen oriented editors. Line editors are not used as frequently as screen-oriented editors, and require that you specify a particular line of text before making any changes. Screen oriented text editors, sometimes called full screen editors, feature the ability to modify any visible text on the screen by moving the cursor to its location.
The most common features available in plain text editors include the ability to cut and paste text, copy text, create a bulleted list, wrap the text to the next line, and undo or redo the last command. Some text editors offer more advanced features such as the ability to set macros, or command keys, for source code editing. Advanced text editors are preferred by programmers, and usually include features unnecessary for basic text editing.
A text editor also features the ability to read and edit very large files, and open them quickly. This is necessary for many professional computer applications, as they contain files that might be too large for the computer’s main memory to handle. Log files and source code files are examples of large files that administrators or professional computer users may need to view or edit in a text editor.
Written by C. Ausbrooks
