Jimco Software Reviews - UEStudio '05 (continued)
Much More than Text
If you've ever used UltraEdit, you know what a great text editor it is. In my real job, I look at a lot of source code and I use UltraEdit almost exclusively for that. In fact, most of the guys with whom I work do to. Why? Because there's simply no better lightweight solution for reviewing text-based files... well, at least until UEStudio released. I now use UEStudio and I'm well on my way to converting all of my teammates as well.
Why is UEStudio such a great choice? Because it can easily handle any file type you throw at it. Because it has fully customizable color-coding (see figure 1), you can easily add support for files that UEStudio doesn't support out of the box by downloading files from the IDM Computer Solutions, Inc. Web site.
Figure 1 - Color Coding is Robust
In figure 1 I have opened an .aspx file. By default, UEStudio does not color code .aspx files (which I found a bit surprising), but adding support for it can be accomplished by simply downloading a file from the UEStudio Web site. In fact, you can download files to support almost any file type you can imagine.
UEStudio supports over 30 compilers and assemblers and allows you to build entire projects without leaving the UEStudio interface.
Notice also that UEStudio allows for code collapse via the minus sign buttons in the left margin. This allows you to collapse or expand portions of your code so that it is easier to review and maintain. This is a feature normally only found in development tools, so why is it found here in UEStudio? Because UEStudio is a development tool! It supports over 30 compilers and assemblers and allows you to build entire projects without leaving the UEStudio interface.
Notice the numerous toolbar buttons available in figure 1. At the bottom of the screen is the HTML toolbar. This screenshot was sized down for this review. When the UEStudio window is maximized, you'll have other toolbars as well for just about every task imaginable.
UEStudio Projects
Unlike its little brother UltraEdit, UEStudio is a full integreated development environment supporting over 30 compilers and assemblers. Does that mean that you can build a complete application with UEStudio? As a matter of fact, yes. You won't likely want to chose it for developing complex applictions with user interfaces, but the capability is there. In fact, an included UEStudio tutorial walks you through creating a simple C++ Windows application complete with a user-interface and toolbars. The interface is not operational after completing the tutorial, but all that's left is adding the code and that's where UEStudio excels.
It's important to note that UEStudio does not include any compilers. If you want to build a project with UEStudio, the compiler you select must already be installed on your machine. Essentially UEStudio acts as a front-end to the compiler you select.