Which editor to use? for coding c/c++.

Question

Hi!,

From past 9 years i have been using vi as my editor and have found few things which i haven't seen simple and non-stupid solutions, could any of you have better solutions.

1. when-ever i open a fresh file to code.. getting by default the header description.. with date,time and author name etc...basic things in place.
2. When-ever i open a file for edit (update mode) i want to see that a new line in introduced by default which will help me to enter the description for change.
3. When-ever i introduce a func/method i get basic description of function in place, were in i have to just introduce the description and not specify what are the params and return types..etc.

If i can get some solution to the above for vi only, it would be great. Otherwise also please do comment of how can i get it done using emacs or similar editors.

-thanks harish

Answer 1

Cream:: a modern configuration of the Vim text editor

Cream shapes Vim into an interface you probably already know (sometimes called Common User Access [ext.link] ). Whether you are writing emails or developing large software applications, Cream saves you time and gets you up and running quickly.

From the list of basic features:

• Insert current date/time (F11 opens a menu of possible formats, F11 x2 inserts the last format used).

Programmer Features

• Context sensitive completion (Vim's Omni completion feature) (Ctrl+Enterh, Ctrl+Shift+Enter).
  • Block comment and un-comment selections (F6 and Shift+F6).
  • Ctags navigation. (Requires installation of the free Exuberant ctags [ext.link] or other similar tag navigation program.) Through Alt+arrow keys, move back and forth between previously visited tags (Alt+Left/Right), move to function or variable's definition (Alt+Down), or close referenced file and return (Alt+Up).
  • Function and variable list available for the current file (Ctrl+Alt+Down). (Requires Ctags)
  • Template completion based on file type (Esc+Space). (See Tools menu for list of available templates.)
  • Line folding intuitively hides entire sections with a keystroke (F9 and combinations).
  • Pop up prototype and information menu ( Alt+( ). View the function's prototype under the cursor without having to open the file with the definition.
  • Insert line numbers for current selection, begin with any value.
  • Soft Tabstop setting allows existing text to be displayed by Tabstop Width while new editing uses this alternate setting, inserting tabs and spaces to accomplish the new indention.
  • Diff mode to see differences between two files.
  • Terminal mode menus (console menus) (F12, console only).
  • Cream, Cream Lite, Vim or Vi editing behavior setting.
  • Expert mode, an option to use the Esc key to toggle back and forth between Vim's normal and insert modes.
  • Multiple user configuration from a single installation. (FAQ)

Answer 2

Use csupport plugin ... very useful for c++. it works on Vim, Might not work in original Vi

http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=213

Answer 3

I constantly tune my .vimrc file and add new functionality for such kind of things.

Right now I can think of these:

1) Templates

2) Use abbreviations, so when you introduce a function it expands it into text with the description.

Answer 4

See the many previous StackOverflow questions on this topic:

1. http://stackoverflow.com/questions/672770/c-development-on-linux-codeblocks-emacs-or-gvim
2. http://stackoverflow.com/questions/24109/c-ide-for-linux
3. http://stackoverflow.com/questions/89275/best-c-ide-or-editor-for-windows
4. http://stackoverflow.com/questions/89924/c-editor-compiler-debugger-on-windows-lighter-than-visual-studio
5. http://stackoverflow.com/questions/93326/which-ide-is-best-for-c

Answer 5

0- May be you should first consider a migration from vi to vim.

1- There are many template expander plugins. I'm maintaining muTemplate. C++ template-files for muTemplate are available in lh-cpp.

2- You will have to play with autocommands. Listen for a BufRead, then if the buffer is modifiable search where the changelog-line need to be inserted. However I don't think this is the best way to proceed. SVN/GIT/... are a better solution.

3- I don't understand what you are looking for. How can the editor know what the function is doing? BTW, lh-cpp provides a :DOX command where the parameters-list, the @return tag (if applicable), the @throw tag, etc are inserted and ready to be filled. If you don't want all these doxygen tags, but just a caption header (is it English ?) any template expander plugin will do (see 1-).

Answer 6

I've used CDT for Eclipse lately, not bad.

http://www.eclipse.org/cdt/