syntax highlighting for TextWrangler

I converted Bale's syntax highlighting xml file for Notepad++ to a "codeless language module" property list for TextWrangler. Since this was a small pain, I thought I'd share it in case there's any other mac users out there who would find this useful. Just drop it into the "Language Modules" folder wherever you installed TextWrangler, or create that folder if it doesn't exist yet. Make sure that .plist is the file extension. Sadly the codeless language module only supports 3 colors: comments, keywords, and strings. It IS possible to write a language module in C with more color support, however I was too lazy to undertake that project and anyway I'm having more fun learning ASH. Enjoy, mac people.

Link to TextWrangler

How does that compare to notepad++?

Slightly more relevant link for comparison purposes.

(And one edited in with Notepad++ screenshots to provide a point of reference.)

I dunno, I personally prefer having line numbers on the side as well as in the status bar (the only place TW seems to have them, according to that picture). I'm not entirely sure how it feels, though (don't feel like busting out a mac at the moment), so I guess it seems like a reasonable alternative for those who are diehard mac users...

My favorite feature for notepad++ is that when I highlight a variable, it highlights every occurrence of that variable. Does TextWrangler have something similar?

How does that compare to notepad++?

Click to expand...

Probably not as feature rich, as its essentially a somewhat stripped down version of BBEdit. For instance, it lacks syntax folding. But it does have a nice search based on regex, and it has great ftp/sftp support built in so you can quickly open/edit/save files from a remote server. And it plays well with osx. If you're already using notepad++ its certainly not worth switching, but as a native application for osx, this isn't a bad choice.

I dunno, I personally prefer having line numbers on the side as well as in the status bar (the only place TW seems to have them, according to that picture).

Click to expand...

There's a view option to add line numbers on the side, that's a must for me too.

My favorite feature for notepad++ is that when I highlight a variable, it highlights every occurrence of that variable. Does TextWrangler have something similar?

Click to expand...

Not that I know of.

You can turn on line numbering on the side in TextWrangler. I haven't used it enough to know much about its features.

A quick check of the internets turned up another Mac text-editor, TextMate, which has some nifty-sounding features. How does this compare with TextWrangler?

I've never used TextMate, but TextWrangler does have one clear advantage: its free : )

Oh. Didn't notice that. Yes, that is definitely an advantage.

I'm a big fan of free, whether it be speech or beer.

Nice dude!
Btw the folder to place the plist-file is /User/<username>/Library/Application Support/TextWrangler/Language Modules/
Create the folder Language Modules if it doesn't exist!

Banana Lord said:

I don't suppose there's any chance of someone writing something like this for TextWrangler is there? I tried out an old one I found floating around the forums, but it was horribly outdated.

Click to expand...

Here you go.

I don't actually use it, so I don't know if it works. I just punched ashref into the CLI then formatted the results and merged them with what was in the XML file