=head2 Is there an IDE or Windows Perl Editor?
-If you're on Unix, you already have an IDE--Unix itself. This powerful
-IDE derives from its interoperability, flexibility, and configurability.
-If you really want to get a feel for Unix-qua-IDE, the best thing to do
-is to find some high-powered programmer whose native language is Unix.
-Find someone who has been at this for many years, and just sit back
-and watch them at work. They have created their own IDE, one that
-suits their own tastes and aptitudes. Quietly observe them edit files,
-move them around, compile them, debug them, test them, etc. The entire
-development *is* integrated, like a top-of-the-line German sports car:
-functional, powerful, and elegant. You will be absolutely astonished
-at the speed and ease exhibited by the native speaker of Unix in his
-home territory. The art and skill of a virtuoso can only be seen to be
-believed. That is the path to mastery--all these cobbled little IDEs
-are expensive toys designed to sell a flashy demo using cheap tricks,
-and being optimized for immediate but shallow understanding rather than
-enduring use, are but a dim palimpsest of real tools.
-
-In short, you just have to learn the toolbox. However, if you're not
-on Unix, then your vendor probably didn't bother to provide you with
-a proper toolbox on the so-called complete system that you forked out
-your hard-earned cash for.
-
-PerlBuilder (http://www.solutionsoft.com/perl.htm) is an integrated
-development environment for Windows that supports Perl development.
-VisualPerl (http://www.activestate.com/IDE) is also an integrated
-development environment for Windows, Unix, and several Open Source OSes
-that supports Perl development. Perl code magic is another IDE
+Perl programs are just plain text, so any editor will do.
+
+If you're on Unix, you already have an IDE--Unix itself. The UNIX
+philosophy is the philosophy of several small tools that each do one
+thing and do it well. It's like a carpenter's toolbox.
+
+If you want a Windows IDE, check the following: PerlBuilder
+(http://www.solutionsoft.com/perl.htm) is an integrated development
+environment for Windows that supports Perl development. Komodo,
+ActiveState's cross-platform, multi-language IDE has Perl support,
+including a regular expression debugger and remote debugging
+(http://www.ActiveState.com/Products/Komodo/index.html).
+(Visual Perl, a Visual Studio.NET plug-in is currently (late 2000)
+in beta (http://www.ActiveState.com/Products/VisualPerl/index.html)).
+The visiPerl+ IDE is available from Help Consulting
+(http://helpconsulting.net/visiperl/). Perl code magic is another IDE
(http://www.petes-place.com/codemagic.html). CodeMagicCD
-(http://www.codemagiccd.com/) is a commercial IDE.
-
-Perl programs are just plain text, though, so you could download emacs
-for Windows (http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/windows/ntemacs.html)
-or a vi clone such as nvi (available from CPAN in src/misc/) or vim
-(http://www.vim.org/). Vim runs on win32
-(http://www.cs.vu.nl/%7Etmgil/vi.html). Vile is another widely ported
-vi clone that has a Perl language sensitivity module
-(http://www.clark.net/pub/dickey/vile/vile.html). SlickEdit
-(http://www.slickedit.com/) is a full featured commercial editor that
-has a modular architecture: it can emulate several other common
-editors and it can help with programming language sensitivity modules
-for a variety of programming languages including Perl. If you're
-transferring Windows text files to Unix be sure to transfer them in
-ASCII mode so the ends of lines are appropriately mangled. There is
-also a toyedit Text widget based editor written in Perl that is
-distributed with the Tk module on CPAN. The ptkdb
-(http://world.std.com/~aep/ptkdb/) is a Perl/tk based debugger that
-acts as a development environment of sorts. Perl Composer
+(http://www.codemagiccd.com/) is another IDE. The Object System
+(http://www.castlelink.co.uk/object_system/) is a Perl web
+applications development IDE.
+
+For editors: if you're on Unix you probably have vi or a vi clone already,
+and possibly an emacs too, so you may not need to download anything.
+In any emacs the cperl-mode (M-x cperl-mode) gives you perhaps the
+best available Perl editing mode in any editor.
+
+For Windows editors: you can download GNU Emacs
+(http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/windows/ntemacs.html) or XEmacs
+(http://www.xemacs.org/Download/index.html), or a vi clone such as
+Elvis (ftp://ftp.cs.pdx.edu/pub/elvis/, http://www.fh-wedel.de/elvis/),
+Vile (http://vile.cx), or Vim (http://www.vim.org/)
+(win32: http://www.cs.vu.nl/%7Etmgil/vi.html).
+For vi lovers in general, Windows or elsewhere:
+http://www.thomer.com/thomer/vi/vi.html.
+
+nvi (http://www.bostic.com/vi/, available from CPAN in src/misc/) is
+yet another vi clone, unfortunately not available for Windows, but in
+UNIX platforms you might be interested in trying it out, firstly because
+strictly speaking it is not a vi clone, it is the real vi, or the new
+incarnation of it, and secondly because you can embed Perl inside it
+to use Perl as the scripting language. nvi is not alone in this,
+though: at least also vim and vile offer an embedded Perl.
+
+The following are Win32 multilanguage editor/IDESs that support Perl:
+Codewright (http://www.starbase.com/), MultiEdit (http://www.MultiEdit.com/),
+SlickEdit (http://www.slickedit.com/).
+
+There is also a toyedit Text widget based editor written in Perl
+that is distributed with the Tk module on CPAN. The ptkdb
+(http://world.std.com/~aep/ptkdb/) is a Perl/tk based debugger that
+acts as a development environment of sorts. Perl Composer
(http://perlcomposer.sourceforge.net/vperl.html) is an IDE for Perl/Tk
GUI creation.
+In addition to an editor/IDE you might be interested in a more
+powerful shell environment for Win32. Your options include the Bash
+from the Cygwin package (http://sources.redhat.com/cygwin/), or the
+Ksh from the MKS Toolkit (http://www.mks.com/), or the Bourne shell of
+the U/WIN environment (http://www.research.att.com/sw/tools/uwin/), or
+the Tcsh (ftp://ftp.astron.com/pub/tcsh/, see also
+http://www.primate.wisc.edu/software/csh-tcsh-book/), or the Zsh
+(ftp://ftp.blarg.net/users/amol/zsh/, see also http://www.zsh.org/).
+MKS and U/WIN are commercial (U/WIN is free for educational and
+research purposes), Cygwin is covered by the GNU Public License (but
+that shouldn't matter for Perl use). The Cygwin, MKS, and U/WIN all
+contain (in addition to the shells) a comprehensive set of standard
+UNIX toolkit utilities.
+
+If you're transferring text files between Unix and Windows using FTP
+be sure to transfer them in ASCII mode so the ends of lines are
+appropriately converted.
+
On Mac OS the MacPerl Application comes with a simple 32k text editor
that behaves like a rudimentary IDE. In contrast to the MacPerl Application
the MPW Perl tool can make use of the MPW Shell itself as an editor (with