CodeSlayer is a source code editor that boasts a clean interface but powerful features. It is written in C using the GTK+ toolkit.

02/08/2012 : Another update! My Java plugin is coming along great! I think I have proven that the plugin environment is both simple and powerful. Right now I have a working compiler, debugger and a good start on an indexer. I did hit a slight snag in that what I want for code completion is different than what is supplied by GtkSourceView. So, for the past month I have been creating my own code completion widget. It will be a part of the CodeSlayerEditor and you will be able to plug in your own completion providers. Once I get the completion widget working perfectly I plan on doing another release!

11/14/2011 : Just a quick update on the status of the project.

9/27/2011 : Have CodeSlayer ported to GTK+3 now! I am not planning on doing another release until I get more testing done. Feel free to try it out (Git master branch), or drop me a line at jeff.johnston.mn@gmail.com and I can do a build for you.

9/25/2011 : Using Git instead of Subversion.

9/16/2011 : CodeSlayer 1.5.0 is out! We now have tear off tabs in the side and bottom pane, an improved global search, and a new scratch pad plugin. Note: if you are using the autotools plugin you will need to upgrade to the latest plugin as there is one breaking change to the plugin API. As always you can you can read the full details in the change log.

9/1/2011 : CodeSlayer 1.4.0 is a very exciting release for me because CodeSlayer now has most of the features that I think a base source editor should contain. In addition the plugins environment makes it really easy to add in your own functionality. In addition be sure to read the how to upgrade page as there are some breaking changes.

As of CodeSlayer 1.4 your plugins are associated to groups. That means for each new group created you will need to select the plugins that you want for that group. This is very powerful because a lot of times groups are set up for different languages. The problem before was you had to carry the same plugins regardless of what language you were working on. Now you can tailor each group to only contain the plugins that you need. I also think it is interesting that it is encouraged to build plugins that work across languages, such as how the comments plugin works. But you are not forced to do that. Some plugins, such as the autotools plugin makes no sense when working with an interpreted language such as Python. This all means that you can set things to work how you want and not be forced into one paradigm.

You can find out more information about what CodeSlayer is all about here. Be sure to email me at jeff.johnston.mn@gmail.com if you have any comments, questions, or suggestions.

Installation

To install CodeSlayer first make sure that you have the proper libraries installed.

sudo apt-get install libglib2.0-dev libgtk2.0-dev libgtksourceview2.0-dev intltool

Then unpack the distribution into a directory, open up a terminal, change to the directory you just created, and enter in the following commands:

./configure
make
sudo make install
sudo ldconfig

Alternate Installation

CodeSlayer is also available on GetDeb.

http://www.getdeb.net/software/codeslayer

Troubleshooting

• On Ubuntu 11.04 I noticed that CodeSlayer does not show up in the menu until how reboot the computer. You can still run the program though by opening up a terminal and typing 'codeslayer'.

Notes

• If the global search is not finding anything be sure to check the preferences search tab and verify that the file extension that you need is there
• You can also update the preferences search tab to exclude any directory you do not want in the global search
• Be sure to check out copy lines feature. What you do is go to the left edge of the screen, copy a bunch of lines, and do the key strokes (Shift + Ctrl + Down Arrow). What happens is you get a copy of the lines (and) without modifying your copy buffer. I use this feature all the time, and feel lost in editors that do not have it!
• Be sure to play with the search implementation. What makes it different is that all the features of find (both normal and incremental) and replace is placed inline instead of being a separate dialog.
• Check out the key strokes page to find the power-user commands specific to CodeSlayer.

Video (1.0)

The picture quality of this recording is just ok, but it does demonstrate the features of CodeSlayer pretty good. You will have better luck if you run this on YouTube directly in a bigger window.

Make sure the video quality is on 720p if possible.

Screenshot (1.4)