/jEdit/tags/jedit-4-2-pre4/doc/FAQ/faq-general.xml
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Possible License(s): BSD-3-Clause, AGPL-1.0, Apache-2.0, LGPL-2.0, LGPL-3.0, GPL-2.0, CC-BY-SA-3.0, LGPL-2.1, GPL-3.0, MPL-2.0-no-copyleft-exception, IPL-1.0
- <!-- jEdit buffer-local properties: -->
- <!-- :indentSize=4:noTabs=false:maxLineLen=72:tabSize=4: -->
- <!-- :xml.root=faq.xml: -->
- <!-- jEdit FAQ -->
- <!-- Copyright (C) 2003 John Gellene, Kris Kopicki -->
- <sect1 id="general"><title>General Questions</title>
- <para>
- This section deals with some background information, how to obtain the
- latest version of jEdit and how to obtain further information/help.
- </para>
- <qandaset defaultlabel="qanda">
- <qandadiv id="about">
- <title>About jEdit</title>
- <qandaentry>
- <question id="whatis"><para>
- What is jEdit?
- </para></question>
- <answer><para>
- jEdit is a programmer's text editor written in Java, being
- developed by Slava Pestov and others. It has an easy to use
- interface that resembles that of many other Windows and MacOS
- text editors. It is also highly customizable, and contains a
- <quote>plugin</quote> architecture that allows its features to
- be extended by additional programs.
- </para></answer>
- </qandaentry>
- <qandaentry>
- <question id="difftext"><para>
- What is the difference between a text editor and a word
- processor?
- </para></question>
- <answer><para>
- These categories are not absolute but refer to the primary
- purpose of an editing program and the focus of its features.
- </para>
- <para>
- A text editor is an application that edits files containing plain text
- without automatically formatting the text for printing or other publication.
- Typically the contents of such a file consists of data used by another
- application - for example, source code that a compiler will process or
- markup text that a web browser will display. A word processor deals with
- the preparation of documents for printing or similar publication.
- Besides editing text, a modern word processor allows the user to choose
- multiple fonts, margin sizes, line spacing, indentation, and a variety
- of other details that affect the appearance of the document being
- edited. In a text editor, these features are present, if at all, only in
- a basic form, and for the limited purpose of helping the user compose
- and organize the text. In place of word processing features, a text
- editor contains many features that allow the user to prepare and work with
- text quickly and efficiently.
- </para>
- <para>
- The jEdit application is a text editor, not a word processor. It
- contains a large assortment of features for manipulating source code,
- markup text, and other text files. As a programmer's text editor, it
- also has many features to help programmers manage their projects and
- work with other programming tools.
- </para></answer>
- </qandaentry>
- <qandaentry>
- <question id="features"><para>
- What features does jEdit have?
- </para></question>
- <answer><para>
- The short answer is, too many to list here. There is a detailed
- list available on the <ulink
- url="http://www.jedit.org/index.php?page=features">jEdit web
- site</ulink>, but here are some of the major features:
- </para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem><para>
- Comprehensive online help
- </para></listitem>
- <listitem><para>
- Multiple editor windows and split editing panes within a single
- editing window
- </para></listitem>
- <listitem><para>
- Unlimited undo/redo
- </para></listitem>
- <listitem><para>
- Copy and paste with an unlimited number of clipboards
- (known as <quote>registers</quote>)
- </para></listitem>
- <listitem><para>
- <quote>Markers</quote> for remembering positions
- in files to return to later
- </para></listitem>
- <listitem><para>
- Rectangular selection
- </para></listitem>
- <listitem><para>
- Multiple selection for manipulating several chunks of text at once
- </para></listitem>
- <listitem><para>
- Syntax highlighting for more than 80 file types
- </para></listitem>
- <listitem><para>
- Intelligent bracket matching that skips quoted literals
- and comments
- </para></listitem>
- <listitem><para>
- Auto indent and word wrap
- </para></listitem>
- <listitem><para>
- Abbreviations
- </para></listitem>
- <listitem><para>
- <quote>Folding</quote> display mode that hides levels of
- indented text specified by the user
- </para></listitem>
- <listitem><para>
- Search and replace using both literal text and regular expressions
- </para></listitem>
- <listitem><para>
- <quote>HyperSearch</quote> option to show all found
- matches in a list
- </para></listitem>
- <listitem><para>
- File management functions available from within jEdit, including
- deleting and renaming files and creating new directories
- </para></listitem>
- <listitem><para>
- Choice of character encoding for loading and saving files
- </para></listitem>
- <listitem><para>
- Automatic compression and decompression of GZipped (.gz) files
- </para></listitem>
- <listitem><para>
- Plugin support for loading files from ZIP and TAR archives
- </para></listitem>
- <listitem><para>
- Plugin support for loading and saving files on FTP servers
- </para></listitem>
- <listitem><para>
- Fully customizable keyboard shortcuts, tool bar and right-click
- context menu
- </para></listitem>
- <listitem><para>
- Macro system permitting recording and writing of macros in the
- BeanShell scripting language
- </para></listitem>
- <listitem><para>
- An internal <quote>plugin manager</quote> that downloads and installs
- new and updated plugins from within jEdit
- </para></listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
- <qandaentry>
- <question id="what-plugin"><para>
- What is a jEdit <quote>plugin</quote>?
- </para></question>
- <answer><para>
- A plugin is an application that is designed to work with jEdit
- by providing additional features that can be used from within
- the main program. Often the plugin will provide a visible user
- interface in a window that can be docked to jEdit's main view
- window.
- </para>
- <para>
- There are currently over 60 publicly available plugins that
- provide such services as a Java source code browser, a
- command-line shell, templated text insertion, and source code
- project management. They can be downloaded, installed, and kept
- current from within jEdit's <quote>Plugin Manager</quote>.
- There is also a section of the jEdit web site called <ulink
- url="http://plugins.jedit.org/">Plugin Central</ulink> that
- maintains a descriptive index and download links for all publicly
- available plugins.
- </para>
- <para>
- Additional questions and answers regarding plugins may be found
- in the section of this document entitled <quote>Working with
- Plugins</quote>.
- </para></answer>
- </qandaentry>
- <qandaentry>
- <question id="get-doc"><para>
- How do I get documentation on jEdit?
- </para></question>
- <answer><para>
- There is a comprehensive User's Guide available from within the program
- using the <guimenu>Help</guimenu> menu. The User's Guide can also
- be downloaded from the <ulink
- url="http://www.jedit.org/index.php?page=download&platform=source">
- jEdit web site</ulink> in Portable Document Format (PDF), suitable for
- online display or printing.
- </para></answer>
- </qandaentry>
- <qandaentry>
- <question id="is-newsgroup"><para>
- Is there a newsgroup or mailing list devoted to jEdit?
- </para></question>
- <answer><para>
- Currently there is no newsgroup devoted to jEdit. There are three
- active mailing lists that are freely available by subscription:
- </para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem><para>
- The <ulink url=
- "http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/jedit-users">
- jedit-users list</ulink>, for comments and questions about
- using jEdit and its features
- </para></listitem>
- <listitem><para>
- The <ulink url=
- "http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/jedit-devel">
- jedit-devel list</ulink>, for discussion of development issues by
- members of the developer team and other interested persons
- </para></listitem>
- <listitem><para>
- The <ulink url=
- "http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/jedit-announce">
- jedit-announce list</ulink>, a low-volume list used for announcing
- new releases of jEdit and plugins
- </para></listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- <para>
- Each of these lists can be obtained on a full-text message or a daily
- digest basis. The daily digest bundles groups of postings in a single
- email message.
- </para>
- <para>
- If you are only interested in version announcements and plugin updates,
- <ulink url="http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/jedit-announce">
- subscribe to the jedit-announce list</ulink>. If you would like to participate
- in discussion or ask questions regarding jEdit, <ulink url=
- "http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/jedit-users">subscribe to the
- jedit-users list</ulink>. If you are interested in jEdit's development or want
- to write plugins, <ulink
- url="http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/jedit-devel">
- subscribe to jedit-devel</ulink>.
- </para>
- <para>
- Do not cross-post to both lists. All jEdit developers are
- subscribed to both the jedit-users and jedit-devel lists, so a post to
- jedit-users will be seen by most members of both lists. Also, keep in
- mind that both jEdit-users and
- jEdit-devel are high-traffic lists, and can fill up your mailbox unless
- you check your email regularly.
- </para>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
- <qandaentry>
- <question id="is-website"><para>
- Is there a web site devoted to jEdit?
- </para></question>
- <answer><para>
- There are several. The official <ulink url="http://www.jedit.org">jEdit
- web site</ulink> contains extensive information on all things having to
- do with jEdit. There are also resources available for those interested
- in jEdit development on the <ulink url=
- "http://sourceforge.net/projects/jedit">jEdit project page</ulink> of
- the <ulink url="http://sourceforge.net">SourceForge web site</ulink>.
- </para>
- <para>
- The <ulink url="http://community.jedit.org">jEdit Community</ulink> web
- site has articles on jEdit and related topics, user-submitted macros and
- other download resources, and listings of web links of interest to jEdit
- users. It has a message board system to allow users to ask
- questions and provide feedback on the project without having to subscribe
- to jEdit's mailing lists. Because the message boards have relatively low
- volume, using the mailing lists will often be a more effective
- approach.
- </para>
- <para>
- The jEdit Community site also has an <quote>Interactive FAQ</quote>
- facility that allows you to post questions to be answered by
- other users, and a screenshot gallery containing images
- submitted by users.
- </para></answer>
- </qandaentry>
- <qandaentry>
- <question id="copyright"><para>
- Are there copyright restrictions on the use of jEdit?
- </para></question>
- <answer><para>
- The jEdit application is free, <quote>Open Source</quote> software released
- under the <ulink url="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/licenses.html#GPL">
- GNU General Public License</ulink>. This ensures that jEdit and its source
- code remains freely available for use and distribution by the public.
- For specific copyright questions, you should review the General Public
- License and seek appropriate advice. Broadly speaking, there are no
- restrictions on the use of the program as a text editor, and its source
- code can be copied or modified for use in another program that is
- governed by the General Public License.
- </para>
- <para>
- Plugin application that are available using jEdit's Plugin Manager
- facility, as well as plugins available through the <ulink
- url="http://plugins.jedit.org">Plugin Central</ulink> web site or
- <ulink url="http://community.jedit.org">jEdit Community</ulink>, are
- governed either by the General Public License or another commonly
- recognized <quote>Open Source</quote> software license. This means
- that use of the application, including use for commercial purposes,
- is unrestricted without any requirement of royalty or license fee payments.
- To incorporate source code or an application or plugin as a whole in another
- application, you must consult the specific license terms to determine
- whether and on what basis you are permitted to do so.
- </para>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
- <qandaentry>
- <question id="java-only"><para>
- Is jEdit only useful for programming in Java?
- </para></question>
- <answer><para>
- Absolutely not. Many of the jEdit's plugin applications, and a few of
- the macros distributed with the program, target the Java language or
- integrate tools used in Java development. However, the core application
- is designed to work with any programming or markup language. Included
- with jEdit are packages providing syntax highlighting,
- abbreviations and other programming support for over 60 programming
- languages and file types, including C, C++, C#,
- Cobol, HTML, Java, Javascript, Lisp, Pascal, Perl, PHP, Python,
- TCL, Visual Basic and XML. The full list can be found on the
- <ulink url="http://www.jedit.org/index.php?page=features">jEdit web
- site</ulink>.
- </para></answer>
- </qandaentry>
- <qandaentry>
- <question id="knowing-java"><para>
- Do I need to know Java to use jEdit?
- </para></question>
- <answer><para>
- No. In fact, you do not need to know any specific programming language
- other than the ones with which you work.
- </para>
- <para>
- At some point in your use of jEdit, you will no doubt want to write your
- own macros to execute long or complex routines with a single command or
- keyboard shortcut. Macros in jEdit are written in a simplified dialect
- of Java called <ulink url="http://www.beanshell.org"> BeanShell</ulink>.
- Its syntax will be familiar to users of Java, C++ and other
- object-oriented languages, and it is not hard to learn even if you have
- no experience with those languages. The User's Guide provided
- with jEdit contains an extensive tutorial on writing macros.
- </para></answer>
- </qandaentry>
- <qandaentry>
- <question id="needed-software"><para>
- What software do I need to install and run jEdit?
- </para></question>
- <answer><para>
- Since jEdit runs on a Java platform, at a minimum you will need a Java
- Runtime Environment (JRE) package. If you are planning to use jEdit to
- program in Java, you will need a full Java Development Kit (JDK) package.
- We recommend obtaining a JDK package.
- </para>
- <para>
- The current version of jEdit, version 4.1, requires a Java runtime
- environment having a release version of 1.3 or greater. It will
- not run on versions 1.1 or 1.2. The <ulink
- url="http://www.jedit.org/index.php?page=compatibility">jEdit web
- site</ulink> contains a detailed discussion on the compatibility of
- various publicly available JDK's for the major operating systems.
- </para></answer>
- </qandaentry>
- <qandaentry>
- <question id="just-learning"><para>
- I've just started to learn programming. Is jEdit a good choice for my
- first text editor?
- </para></question>
- <answer><para>
- It is an excellent choice. Its basic features are extremely easy to use,
- and you will find things like abbreviations, keyboard shortcuts and
- macros to be great time-savers. It has built-in packages called
- <quote>edit modes</quote> that automatically display keywords, tags, and
- other program elements in different colors, making it easier to view and
- organize your code. It works well with many Open Source and proprietary
- programming tools. Because of its extensive customization features, it
- can adapt to your preferences and work patterns as you become more
- experienced. Finally, it's free, so you can buy a lot of programming texts
- with the money you will save.
- </para></answer>
- </qandaentry>
- </qandadiv>
- <!--******************************************************** Answers -->
- <qandadiv id="get-answers-div">
- <title>Getting answers</title>
- <qandaentry>
- <question id="get-answers"><para>
- How do I get answers to my questions about jEdit?
- </para></question>
- <answer>
- <para>
- You should look for answers in the following places:
- </para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem><para>
- The User's Guide available from the application's
- <guimenu>Help</guimenu> menu.
- </para></listitem>
- <listitem><para>
- This FAQ document.
- </para></listitem>
- <listitem><para>
- The archives of jEdit's mailing lists. Archives for both the
- <ulink url="http://www.geocrawler.com/redir-sf.php3?list=jedit-users">
- jedit-users list</ulink> and the
- <ulink url="http://www.geocrawler.com/redir-sf.php3?list=jedit-devel">
- jedit-devel list</ulink> are available.
- </para></listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- <para>
- If you cannot find help using those resources, post your question to the
- <ulink url="mailto:jedit-users@lists.sourceforge.net"> jedit-users
- list</ulink>. You will have to <ulink
- url="http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/jedit-users">
- subscribe to the mailing list</ulink> in order to
- post, but it is well worth it, and you can elect to have daily bundles
- of messages sent to you to keep email traffic down. Many questions
- are answered on the mailing list within 24 hours. The developers who
- respond to user questions generally do not send direct replies, so you
- will need to monitor messages from the mailing list is order to
- obtain an answer.
- </para>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
- <qandaentry>
- <question id="interactive-help"><para>
- Where can I get interactive help for jEdit?
- </para></question>
- <answer><para>
- There is an IRC channel, <filename>#jedit</filename>, available
- on the irc.freenode.net server that is dedicated to jEdit support
- and discussion among developers. You can reach it using
- any IRC client (including Chatzilla), as well as the IRC plugin
- for jEdit.
- </para>
- <para>
- There is almost always someone from the developer team
- signed on the channel. Just say hello and describe your problem.
- </para></answer>
- </qandaentry>
- </qandadiv>
- <qandadiv id="bugs">
- <title>Reporting bugs</title>
- <qandaentry>
- <question id="report-bugs"><para>
- How do I report a bug I have found in jEdit?
- </para></question>
- <answer><para>
- To be as helpful as possible to the jEdit developer team and other
- users, you should use the <ulink
- url="http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?group_id=588&atid=100588">
- bug tracker database</ulink> that the jEdit project maintains on the
- <ulink url="http://sourceforge.net/">SourceForge web site</ulink>. You
- do not need to be a SourceForge member to post a bug report.
- </para>
- <para>
- Before posting a bug report, spend a few moments searching the bug
- database to see if a similar report has already been made. The bug
- tracker has a search facility that will let search for bug reports using
- a variety of criteria. If you find a similar bug report, and you
- have additional information to contribute, post a comment
- to the report. If you do not find a similar bug report, submit a new
- report.
- </para></answer>
- </qandaentry>
- <qandaentry>
- <question id="bug-report"><para>
- What information should I include in a bug report?
- </para></question>
- <answer><para>
- The form in the bug tracker report provides several fields for
- submitting information. If you are unsure about a particular
- item, leave it at the default setting provided in the form.
- </para>
- <para>
- The more important fields are <quote>Category</quote>,
- <quote>Summary</quote> and the <quote>Initial comment</quote>.
- When you write your initial comment describing the bug, you
- should specify the versions of jEdit, the Java platform and
- operating system you are using, because bugs often arise that
- are specific to particular versions. Sometimes the bug
- arises from the Java runtime environment or even the
- operating system, and knowing these details helps the
- developer team design testing and other debugging strategies.
- </para>
- <para>
- One of the macros installed with jEdit is called <guimenuitem>Make Bug
- Report</guimenuitem>. You will it find under the
- <guimenuitem>Misc</guimenuitem> category of the <guimenu>Macros
- </guimenu> menu. This macro extracts information regarding your jEdit
- installation and a stack trace from the last error recorded by jEdit's
- Activity Log and places it in a new text buffer. In many cases, the
- information furnished by the macro is all that is necessary to provide a
- helpful description of a bug. You can simply cut and paste the
- output of the macro into the <quote>Initial comment</quote> field of the
- bug report form.
- </para></answer>
- </qandaentry>
- <qandaentry>
- <question id="bug-track">
- <para>
- How do I track the status of a jEdit bug report?
- </para>
- </question>
- <answer>
- <para>
- If you know the bug report number, go to this web address:
- <userinput>http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=######&group_id=588&atid=100588</userinput>,
- where <userinput>######</userinput> is the bug report number. If you don't know the bug report number,
- you can browse and search the <ulink
- url="http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?group_id=588&atid=100588">
- bug database</ulink> to find the problem in which you are interested.
- </para>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
- </qandadiv>
- <qandadiv id="contact">
- <title>Contacting jEdit developers</title>
- <qandaentry>
- <question id="contact-team"><para>
- How do I contact members of the jEdit developer team?
- </para></question>
- <answer><para>
- If you want to ask a question, make a feature request or offer other
- general comments, the easiest way is to join and post a message to the
- <ulink url="mailto:jedit-users@lists.sourceforge.net">
- jedit-users mailing list</ulink>. All developers are members. If you are
- interested in working on jEdit or writing a plugin for it, use the
- <ulink url="mailto:jedit-users@lists.sourceforge.net">
- jedit-devel list</ulink>. Email addresses for individual developers
- can be found on the <ulink
- url="http://sourceforge.net/project/memberlist.php?group_id=588">
- SourceForge web site</ulink>.
- </para></answer>
- </qandaentry>
- </qandadiv>
- <qandadiv id="latest-version">
- <title>Getting the latest version</title>
- <qandaentry>
- <question id="get-latest-version"><para>
- How do I obtain the latest version of jEdit?
- </para></question>
- <answer><para>
- The program is in a continuing state of evolution. It is usually
- available in two versions, a <quote>stable</quote> version and a
- <quote>development</quote> version. A stable version represents a
- release of jEdit that is considered to be free of serious bugs or
- performance problems and suitable for general use. A
- <quote>development</quote> version includes new features or new elements
- of program design that require testing and possible further refinement.
- A development version contains the token <quote>pre</quote> in its
- version number, as in <literal>4.1pre5</literal>.
- </para>
- <para>
- The latest stable and development versions of jEdit are always
- available from the <ulink url="http://www.jedit.org">jEdit
- web site</ulink> and from the <ulink url="http://sourceforge.net/
- projects/jedit">jEdit project page</ulink> of the
- <ulink url="http://sourceforge.net">SourceForge web site</ulink>,
- which hosts jEdit's development resources.
- </para>
- <para>
- In addition, a plugin named <application>Check jEdit
- Version</application> can be run from within jEdit by selecting
- <guimenuitem>Check jEdit Version</guimenuitem> from the application's
- <guimenu>Plugins</guimenu> menu. It queries the jEdit web site, compares
- version information with the version of the currently running
- instance of jEdit, and reports the result to the user in a message box.
- It will tell you if you do not have the latest version of jEdit, regardless
- of whether that version is in <quote>stable</quote> or
- <quote>development</quote> form.
- </para>
- <para>
- Finally, if you subscribe to the <ulink
- url="http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/jedit-announce">
- jedit-announce</ulink> or <ulink
- url="http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/jedit-users">
- jedit-users</ulink> mailing lists, you will receive a email whenever
- a new release of jEdit becomes available.
- </para></answer>
- </qandaentry>
- <qandaentry>
- <question id="get-source"><para>
- How do I obtain a copy of the jEdit source code?
- </para></question>
- <answer><para>
- The latest version of jEdit's source code is available from the
- <ulink url="http://www.jedit.org/index.php?page=download&platform=source">
- jEdit web site</ulink> or the <ulink url=
- "http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=588">
- SourceForge web site</ulink>. The web site provides the source code for the
- latest stable and development version, while the SourceForge site has
- a more extensive archive covering earlier versions.
- </para>
- <para>
- If you are interested in testing the absolutely latest changes to jEdit,
- and you are familiar with compiling your own Java programs and working
- with CVS, you can download the current code maintained in the <ulink
- url="http://sourceforge.net/cvs/?group_id=588">SourceForge
- CVS repository</ulink>.
- </para></answer>
- </qandaentry>
- <qandaentry>
- <question id="get-latest-faq"><para>
- Where can I get the latest version of this document?</para>
- </question><answer>
- <para>
- The latest release of this document is available at the
- <ulink
- url="http://jedit-community.sourceforge.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=Include_Pages&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=5">
- jEdit Community web site</ulink>.
- </para>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
- <qandaentry>
- <question id="jedit-compile">
- <para>
- How do you set the classpath and compile the Java files in jEdit?
- </para>
- </question>
- <answer>
- <para>
- Consult an article on the <ulink url="http://community.jedit.org">jEdit
- Community</ulink> web site entitled <quote>Build jEdit yourself: the 'Open'
- in Open Source</quote>.
- </para>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
- </qandadiv>
- </qandaset>
- </sect1>