skEdit Roadmap
Published February 24, 2006
With v3.6 released, I'd like to discuss the skEdit roadmap. My initial plan was to do a v3.6.1 to add Universal Binary support and fix bugs, then follow that with a v4.0 - another massive update with many new features. However, after reflecting on the super-long development cycle of v3.6, I've decided that a number of smaller releases focused on one major feature would be a better way to go. Before I get to the plan, a few caveats:
- This is tentative and subject to change. Features may slip versions or not be added at all.
- Plans get more speculative as we get farther along in time.
v3.6.1
This one will stay as planned. It will add Universal Binary support and fix commonly reported bugs in v3.6. Work on this has already begun, with the major effort being converting the Subversion plugin and its 16 component libraries to be Universal.
v3.7
The major feature for this release will be a reworked syntax highlighting engine. It should be more flexible and extensible. More languages will be supported out of the box (e.g. Ruby) and it will be possible to add new languages. There will of course be bug fixes and other minor new features. Experiments and design work have already begun for the syntax highlighting engine.
v3.8
The major feature for this release will be code-folding (aka code-collapsing). This is a very frequently-requested feature. I also have planned a number of other significant but smaller features.
v3.9
The major feature for this release will be code indexing. This will enable all sorts of cool features, like extensible code-completion, class browsers, hyperlinking of functions/methods/etc. to their definitions, and others.
v4.0
Pretty speculative at this point. At the moment, it's basically a catch-all for features that slip from the other releases.
Nothing too surprising there I don't think - these are all features I've mentioned in relation to v4.0, they've just been reorganized. Don't worry if you don't see your favorite feature listed, it's probably on the schedule. I just don't want to spoil all of the surprises :)
The roadmap sounds really exciting. Looking forward to future releases.
Arpan on March 10, 2006 #Please syntax highlighting support for Markdown in Version 3.7. Thanks
Detlef Hoge on March 11, 2006 #Highlighting of html entities. Please.
Jay on April 17, 2006 #I'd really like to see a live updating WebKit-based preview, a lá SubEthaEdit.
Colin Barrett on May 2, 2006 #skEdit does have live updating - it was added in v3.6. To open the integrated preview, do HTML > Preview in Browser > skEdit. Then, set the "Refresh Mode" to "On Keystroke" to get live preview.
Sean Kelly on May 2, 2006 #Can't wait for v3.8 and code folding. Makes such a big difference in avoiding nesting/syntax errors in html markup. In fact, so much so I am still using Notepad++ on the PC a lot, even though almost everything else is better in skedit.
Ian Cheung on May 11, 2006 #Hi Sean,
Just read your announcement about switching proposed features for versions 3.7 and 3.8. I'm excited. Yes, I would love to have more customizable syntax coloring but the code folding is the feature I've been waiting for.
I'm sorry to say that I'm sorta glad the way things are working out. Not that the project has turned out to be more work than you expected. That's a pain we can all sympathize with. But, I've lived with the syntax the way it is for over a year now. A few more months are no big deal.
michael on June 26, 2006 #Hi,
I'd like to see the option to select an alternative editor for some file types. For instance, I use MacRabbit's excellent CSSEdit. I would like to be able to click on a CSS file in skEdit (not right-click & choose 'Open with Finder') and have the file open in CSSEdit.
Also, I wish skEdit wouldn't bounce up and down trying to get my attention when an open file is edited externally - as easily happens when editing a CSS file in CSSEdit.
Then ... ;) , I'd like to see an option to have the WebKit preview inside one of the tabs, as screen space is often limited.
Finally, it would be great to be able to define an SFTP location for a local site, as I often test locally, then upload to my live site.
My current process is to create an Auto-upload site in Interarchy, and then drag the document icon from the window title to the Interarchy icon in the doc. It works okay, but a quick command+u to upload would be awesome.
Sorry if these ideas are not in the roadmap, but I just thought i'd have my 2 cents.
Joris de Beer on June 26, 2006 #