diff options
Diffstat (limited to '')
-rw-r--r-- | help/C/gedit-general-intro.page | 97 |
1 files changed, 97 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/help/C/gedit-general-intro.page b/help/C/gedit-general-intro.page new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1f7f2b2 --- /dev/null +++ b/help/C/gedit-general-intro.page @@ -0,0 +1,97 @@ +<page xmlns="http://projectmallard.org/1.0/" + type="topic" + id="gedit-general-intro"> + + <info> + <link type="guide" xref="index" group="intro-second" /> + </info> + + <title>Introduction to text editors in general</title> + + <section id="not-a-word-processor"> + <title>Not a word processor</title> + <p> + A <em>text editor</em> must be differentiated from + <em>word processors</em>. + </p> + <p> + An example of a word processor is + <link href="https://www.libreoffice.org/">LibreOffice Writer</link>, which + is released as Free and open-source software. + </p> + <p> + A word processor permits to create different kinds of documents (reports, + letters, books, etc), with the ability to insert images, tables and other + elements. + </p> + <p> + A text editor like <app>gedit</app> is used for creating and editing + <em>text files</em>. The files that are saved by <app>gedit</app> and + stored on disk contain only text. + </p> + </section> + + <section id="text-file-formats"> + <title>Text file formats</title> + <p> + With a text editor, you can write simple notes as free-form text. But the + text can also follow a certain <em>format</em>. + </p> + <p> + Other programs take text files as input, read the text in it, and produce + a result. For example, web browsers can read text files that follow the + HTML format and renders them as pages. + </p> + <p> + A text file format specifies how the content needs to be structured in + order to be understood by the other programs. + </p> + </section> + + <section id="examples"> + <title>Examples</title> + + <section id="example-documents"> + <title>Writing documents</title> + <p> + It is interesting to note that, with a simple text editor and text + files, it is possible to write documents such as produced by a word + processor. + </p> + <p> + To take our earlier example with HTML, to insert an image, it is done by + referring to an external image file (for example stored on disk in the + same directory). Although the image file is not part of the HTML file, a + web browser knows that it needs to embed it in the page. + </p> + </section> + + <section id="example-source-code"> + <title>Source code</title> + <p> + Text files are not restricted to write notes or documents, another area + is writing <em>source code</em>, to develop a piece of software with a + programming or scripting language. + </p> + </section> + </section> + + <section id="syntax-highlighting"> + <title>Syntax highlighting</title> + <p> + When writing text in a certain format (or “language”), it is very useful + to visually distinguish the different kinds of elements, when a portion of + text has a special meaning. The special meanings depend on the + <em>syntax</em> of the language, i.e., how things should be structured. + </p> + <p> + This is done by adding colors to the text (or other highlighting means: + bold, italic, underline, etc). + </p> + <p> + It is important to note that these colors are <em>not</em> saved into the + file; instead, it is the text editor application that presents the text to + the user that way. + </p> + </section> +</page> |