Sublime Forum

Advanced features like in webstorm or Edge Code CC

#1

Hi!

I love sublime text, it is a great editor regarding several aspects, but I have discovered some really cool features in Webstorm6 and Edge Code CC a few days ago, and I was wondering if these features were to be implemented in future releases of Sublime Text (or if they already exist) ? That would be very, very cool !

main features seen include :

Opening and displaying a PSD File allowing code completion regarding psd content… really awesome !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAP8CSMEwZ8)

File watchers (external compile hook) allowing HighLevel languages Live Compilation/conversion (coffee, typescript, sass, scss,etc…) really awesome !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xymti2_7g5U#at=17)

I haven’t found these kind of features in sublime text, but I am quite new here, so I did not read all posts yet.
Any suggestions regarding this will be much appreciated :smile:

Fred

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#2

Sublime is best if you have the time to learn the api to create custom plugins

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#3

(IMHO) We should not expect those features to be implemented (directly by jps), but that the Sublime API gets richer and allows us (the community) to implement it :smile: Then Sublime can grow and flourish!

Cheers

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#4

Sublime text is a brilliant tool for basic text manipulation (even though it is a bit paradoxical to have a text editor that doesn’t support printing out of the box), it is fast, and has some text (and basic code) navigational tools that really makes it useful. But be careful not to expect it to be a replacement for a full blown IDE such as WebStorm (or any other tool from Jetbrains for that matter) because it is not, and is not intended to be, sublime text is more of a competitor to the free Notepad++.

I use Sublime Text my self for coding, mainly in Python an C++, and it does decently well with those languages, obviously after much configuration and customisation. But that is another place where Sublime Text shines, its customizability. It is not that you can customize more than any other program, but it is simply easier to customize than say, Visual Studio or IntelliJ IDEA. It cannot beat these IDE’s on features, neither can it with any number of add ons installed. So if you’re looking to replace these, you should look elsewhere.

Trust me I’ve tried my share of plug-ins from GDB and linter like ones to SCM like ones, none of which reached the quality of the same implementations in the aforementioned IDE’s, but then again, it is not correct to compare ST with an IDE, and once you recognise that, you can start focusing on its strengths.

For editing and maintaining code files where you do not have project set up, that is where the strength of sublime text begins to outweigh its shortages, it is fast to open a file, it fast to search and replace (though for larger refactoring tasks, a JetBrains IDE is light years ahead). It’s jump to (whatever) really boosts productivity.

The features you mention are great, but they are more likely to be found in more specialised software.

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#5

So, let’s get back to your actual features.

[quote=“soleshoe”]
Opening and displaying a PSD File allowing code completion regarding psd content… really awesome !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAP8CSMEwZ8)

This one is pretty hard. Not impossible at all but you have to read psd files. Maybe there already is a Python module for that so you can use it but if there isn’t you have to practically write all that stuff on your own. And I certainly would not want to do that.

However, assuming you have that module you would now face a problem regarding the interface: You can not modify ST’s interface. At all. You can not even create your own interface which is split from ST because the shipped Python distributtion does not have a GUI framework. So, you have to rely on the system’s Python or create your own binary file which you then execute and communicate with using the subprocess module.

Yeah, this is entirely possible (except for the image thumbnails in the completion) but pretty hard.

That one’s actually pretty easy. And I’d even bet that such a plugin already exists.[/quote]

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#6

If IntelliJ had multiple selections it would be fantastic. It feels fast enough to me.

I’ve not had the time to explore what’s possible with the api yet.

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#7

According to this: youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/IDEA-80056

It is scheduled for version 13, to be released later this year.

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#8

Though the line between “text editor” and IDE is growing increasingly blurred, it’s worth keeping the distinction in mind. Sublime’s plugin architecture supports basically anything that could be done externally in Python together with comms facilities to “talk” to Sublime.

So, for example, the PSD plugin would be possible though the UI would need to be handled by a standalone (python) app communicating client/server style with a Sublime listening plugin. As another poster points out, it would be a good deal of work because basically the entire UI part of that, including the PSD parser, would need to be written.

As Fichtefoll points out, due to Sublime’s support for listeners, “File watchers” would be relatively simple to implement - start with some searches on package control to see if anyone’s done it already.

Sublime is a text editor first and foremost. Its flexibility allows it to to most things that an IDE can do. Almost every IDE I’ve tried has the same drawbacks: rigid workflow, behemoth installation, sluggish responsiveness depending on underlying hardware and design for a particular language/environment/platform/development style. For instance, Visual Studio is a great IDE if you’re working in the Microsoft ecosystem but lousy for working outside it. Eclipse is designed to be all things to all men but is slow, huge and overwhelming. Both IDE’s mentioned by the OP seem to be great for “webby” development but will probably not be great for cross-platform development in a number of other languages.

Horses for courses. The question is, how much time is that PSD sugar gonna save you vs. the time to develop something similar in Sublime. Moreover, how much time will Sublime’s other sugar save you that’s lacking in Webstorm? Because the thing I love about Sublime, or indeed any good text-editor, is that whatever language, whatever platform, whatever “cool new thing” I want to program into the future, I’m always in a familiar place. I can largely make Sublime fit any development workflow whether on Linux, Windows or Mac. And it looks to be getting better with v3.

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