This document discusses features that a programmer's text editor should have, including syntax highlighting, indentation support, and programmability. It provides tips for setting up an editor, such as configuring shortcuts for common tasks, automatically formatting code on save, and enabling real-time syntax checking. Advanced features like auto-completion and browsing documentation from within the editor are also mentioned but noted as difficult to implement perfectly. The document encourages sharing one's editor configuration online and taking questions from the audience.

1. Tweakers Anonymous
John SJ Anderson
dc.pm
@genehack
genehack@genehack.org

2. An elegant weapon for
a more civilized age

3. An elegant weapon for
a more civilized age

4. But instead...

5. But instead...

6. But instead...

7. But instead...
• Not editor specific

8. But instead...
• Not editor specific
• Less about how

9. But instead...
• Not editor specific
• Less about how
• More about what

10. But instead...
• Not editor specific
• Less about how
• More about what
• Should be able to apply ideas to any
programmer’s editor

11. Programmer’s editor

12. Programmer’s editor
• Syntax highlighting

13. Programmer’s editor
• Syntax highlighting
• Indentation support

14. Programmer’s editor
• Syntax highlighting
• Indentation support
• Programable

15. Syntax highlighting

16. Syntax highlighting
• If nothing else, this helps catch stupid typos
faster

17. Syntax highlighting
• If nothing else, this helps catch stupid typos
faster
• Can also sometimes obscure the code -- you
may want to be able to easily toggle it on
and off

18. Syntax highlighting
• If nothing else, this helps catch stupid typos
faster
• Can also sometimes obscure the code -- you
may want to be able to easily toggle it on
and off
• Not to the angry fruit salad level

19. Syntax highlighting
• If nothing else, this helps catch stupid typos
faster
• Can also sometimes obscure the code -- you
may want to be able to easily toggle it on
and off
• Not to the angry fruit salad level
• Just something that distinguishes keywords
from variables from function names

20. Indentation support

21. Indentation support
Well, then get one that does do auto-indent.
You can't do good work with bad tools.
-- Mark Jason Dominus's Good Advice
#11918

22. Programable

23. Programable
• Doesn’t need to be Turing complete or
anything crazy

24. Programable
• Doesn’t need to be Turing complete or
anything crazy
• (Although you may be missing out if it isn’t.)

25. Programable
• Doesn’t need to be Turing complete or
anything crazy
• (Although you may be missing out if it isn’t.)
• If you can send a selection to an external
program and replace the selection with the
output, you’re probably set

26. The generic advice

27. The generic advice
• Pay some attention to what you’re doing

28. The generic advice
• Pay some attention to what you’re doing
• Set things up so stuff you do most often can be
done most easily

29. The generic advice
• Pay some attention to what you’re doing
• Set things up so stuff you do most often can be
done most easily
• E.g., saving a file, closing a file, defining and running
macros, etc. etc.

30. The generic advice
• Pay some attention to what you’re doing
• Set things up so stuff you do most often can be
done most easily
• E.g., saving a file, closing a file, defining and running
macros, etc. etc.
• The F keys are not there just so you can skip tracks
in your MP3 player

31. The generic advice
• Pay some attention to what you’re doing
• Set things up so stuff you do most often can be
done most easily
• E.g., saving a file, closing a file, defining and running
macros, etc. etc.
• The F keys are not there just so you can skip tracks
in your MP3 player
• Keep your config in git so you can revert it when
you screw it up

32. Ever done this?

33. Ever done this?
$ vim my_awesome_script.pl

34. Ever done this?
$ vim my_awesome_script.pl
# hack hack hack; !wq

35. Ever done this?
$ vim my_awesome_script.pl
# hack hack hack; !wq
$ ./my_awesome_script.pl

36. Ever done this?
$ vim my_awesome_script.pl
# hack hack hack; !wq
$ ./my_awesome_script.pl
bash: ./awesome_script.pl: permission denied

37. This is fixable:
auto chmod +x
autocmd BufWritePost *.pl !chmod +x %
(add-hook 'after-save-hook
'executable-make-buffer-file-executable-if-script-p)

38. Commit messages

39. Commit messages
• Set up $GIT_EDITOR so you can write
commit messages in your editor of choice

40. Commit messages
• Set up $GIT_EDITOR so you can write
commit messages in your editor of choice
• emacsclient is particularly nice here:

41. Commit messages
• Set up $GIT_EDITOR so you can write
commit messages in your editor of choice
• emacsclient is particularly nice here:
export GIT_EDITOR=‘emacsclient -t’

42. Code Tidying

43. Code Tidying
• Same idea as “make executable on save”

44. Code Tidying
• Same idea as “make executable on save”
• When you save a file, before the write, run
perltidy, and save the output of that instead

45. Code Tidying
• Same idea as “make executable on save”
• When you save a file, before the write, run
perltidy, and save the output of that instead
• If you don’t want to do that, do the world a
favor and set up your editor to delete trailing
whitespace when you save a file.

46. Code Tidying
• Same idea as “make executable on save”
• When you save a file, before the write, run
perltidy, and save the output of that instead
• If you don’t want to do that, do the world a
favor and set up your editor to delete trailing
whitespace when you save a file.
• Please.

47. Syntax Checking

48. Syntax Checking
• Beating the same one-trick pony

49. Syntax Checking
• Beating the same one-trick pony
• Run ‘perl -c’ after you save

50. Syntax Checking
• Beating the same one-trick pony
• Run ‘perl -c’ after you save
• Gripe if there are errors

51. Even Better:
Syntax Checking

52. Even Better:
Syntax Checking
On The Fly!

53. Ill-advised live demo!

54. Even Betterest:
Syntax Checking
On The Fly

55. Even Betterest:
Syntax Checking
& Static Analysis
On The Fly

56. Even more
ill-advised
live demoing!

57. Code Browsing

58. Code Browsing
• Emacs calls this find-file-at-point

59. Code Browsing
• Emacs calls this find-file-at-point
• ffap!

60. Code Browsing
• Emacs calls this find-file-at-point
• ffap!
• With add-ons (such as PerlySense) one can
get quite fancy

61. Documentation
Browsing
• Same idea here, really

62. Auto-Completion

63. Auto-Completion
While it isn’t possible to do this perfectly,
you can get closer than you might think...

64. Auto-Completion
While it isn’t possible to do this perfectly,
you can get closer than you might think...
...but it might not be worth the effort

65. Share & Enjoy
• My editor config:
https://github.com/genehack/emacs

66. Thanks!
Questions?

67. First Ever
DC-Baltimore Perl Workshop
14 April 2012
dcbpw.org