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TextWrangler to Be Retired as Bare Bones Software Focuses Development on BBEdit
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Emacs has a pretty steep learning curve, but those who use it love it and consider it worth the cost.
Here's a few tutorial pages to help you get started. They mostly assume you're using a GUI version of Emacs, but if you ignore the menu bar and focus on the keystrokes, you'll find that nearly all of them work in a Terminal-launched copy as well.
GNU: A Guided Tour Of Emacs
Absolute Beginner's Guide To Emacs
One other thing to keep in mind, which some tutorials gloss over. Many Emacs keystrokes are of the form "M-foo", where the "M-" prefix means "meta". This means press key foo while holding down the meta key. The actual key used for meta will vary from platform to platform - it may be Alt, the Windows key, Option, or some other similar modifier key on the keyboard. Additionally, because not all platforms have a "meta" key, you can always simulate the sequence by pressing and releasing the ESC key, then pressing foo. (So, for instance, the stroke M-x can be sent by typing ESC followed by x.)
I think its main draw really is its one of the few native editors for mac. Native as in mac os only built on apple frameworks. TBH...its one of the things I like about it. I just don't like java as a language....or apps built on it which is what many editors and/or ide's are it seems at a quick glance.
And other x-platform stuff out there does not thrill. I went to BBedit on my mac conversion back in 2011. My go to on pc was ultrastudio/edit. Its maker ported over later. Tried its port and things were just off about it. Off enough I just stayed BBEdit even though I had the same if not more road time with US/UE from the PC days. If better these days not known...never followed up years later.
Atom mentioned earlier in posts, have pulled that down and been tinkering with it. But only because I had this odd reason out of the blue to see how a language called Julia (its still in beta, language focused on technical/science areas) is progressing and a community made IDE for it is an atom add on.
I am not hating atom off the bat as a universal based editor (which oddly enough is a good sign for me), but its not love at first sight either. Its getting a fair shake though, no love at first sight could be simple attachment to long term use of bbedit.
Whatever that's supposed to mean. Tell us all, please, what you think you mean by "modernized"?
There's a gulf of difference between say, Sublime Text and BBEdit.
BBEdit is lacking a lot of functionality that can be taken forgranted in other products. E.g., multi cursors, lots of plugins available , Goto anything. BBEdit also lacks a few basic notable features such as Macros. Also I like the Preview area. Just to name a few, plenty of other nice features.
Sublime Text can also be a replacement for IDEs as well.
Saying that, BBEdit does have some good features, the text comparison tool was good, as was "Zap Gremlins…".
Sublime is multi-platform so thats also an added benefit.
