Aptana Web IDE
Recently, a co-worker of mine introduced me to the new Eclipse-based “Web IDE” Aptana. While it’s definitely still in beta (I’ve noticed many interface quirks), this open source project is quite possibly the best JavaScript IDE that I have used yet. Take a look at these cool features:
Code completion for JavaScript (Uses/parses phpDocumentor-style comments), HTML and CSS. It even includes DOM compatibility notes and cross-browser quirkiness checking.
Outliner that gives a snapshot view of your JavaScript, HTML, and CSS code structure
Error and warning notification for your code
Built-in simple HTTP server enables easy on-the-fly code checking
Built-in support for popular AJAX libraries, such as Prototype and Scriptaculous, speeds up environment set up
In all, the feature set is very impressive. The fact that it’s Eclipse based, and is available as a plugin as well as a stand-alone app, makes it even more attractive (I say this as I’m looking at my windows start menu — filled with 7 different editors for various technologies). As I said, it does have some random strange behavior like unexpected keyboard executions and some weirdness with autocompletion, but it is still in beta. I look forward to seeing a major release of this.
2 comments August 28th, 2006