Software attributes
Other attributes
Sublime Text is a proprietary text editor. It supports plugins in the Python programming language.
The developer allows you to get acquainted with the product for free and without restrictions, but the program notifies you that you need to purchase a license.
Some features:
Quick navigation (Goto Anything).
Command Palette
Python plugin API
Split Editing
Highly customizable (Customize Anything)
Language Support
Sublime Text supports a large number of programming languages and has syntax highlighting for C, C++, C#, CSS, D, Dylan, Erlang, HTML, Groovy, Haskell, Java, JavaScript, LaTeX, Lisp, Lua, Markdown, MATLAB, OCaml, Perl, PHP, Python, R, Ruby, Rust, SQL, TCL and XML.
In addition to those programming languages that are enabled by default, users can download plugins to support other languages.
Sublime Text can be equipped with a package manager that allows the user to find, install, update and remove packages without restarting the program. The manager keeps the installed packages up to date by downloading new versions from repositories. It also provides commands to activate and deactivate installed packages.
Some features of the program:
Interface
The editor contains various visual themes, with the option to download additional ones.
Users see all of their code on the right side of the screen as a mini-map, which can be navigated by clicking on it.
There are several screen modes. One of them includes from 1 to 4 panels with which you can show up to four files at a time. Full (free modes) mode shows only one file without any additional menus around it.
Column selection or positioning of multiple pointers allows instant editing. The pointers behave as if they were each one in the text. Commands like move to character, move to line, select text, move to word or its parts (CamelCase separated by hyphen or underscore), move to start/end of line, etc., affect all pointers independently and at once, allowing you to edit complex text quickly without using macros or regular expressions.
When the user types code, Sublime Text, depending on the language used, will offer different options for completing the entry. The editor also automatically completes user-created variables.
Sublime Text's dark background is designed to increase text contrast. The main syntax elements are highlighted in different colors that match the dark background better than the light background.
Sublime Text allows the user to build programs and run them without having to switch to the command line. The user can also customize their build system and enable the program to build automatically each time they save the code.
Presets (snippets).
Saving snippets of frequently used code, keywords to run them.
Navigating through files.
A navigation tool that allows users to navigate between files, as well as within them, using a fuzzy search.
Additionally, an auto-save feature is implemented to help users not lose work they've done.
Customizable keyboard shortcuts and navigation tool allow you to assign your own shortcuts to menus and toolbars (version 1 only, version 2 and 3 - Command Palette).
The search as you type feature is used to search a document.
The syntax checker works in a similar way, checking for correctness right as you type.
There is an option to automate with macros and a repeat of recent actions.
Editing commands, including editing indentation, reformatting paragraphs, and merging lines.
History
Sublime Text.
The project began in November 2007 with the goal of creating a "better text editor," the first version of the program was released on January 18, 2008 and was only available under Windows.
Of the program's features, it is worth noting:
Project system: the ability to combine files into a single project;
Distraction Free mode - full-screen mode with an emphasis on the content;
quick access panel for navigating through project files or files in the current directory;
ability to select multiple lines for editing;
Python plugin API;
keyboard shortcuts support;
file search.
The latest version of Sublime Text 1 was released on September 13, 2010.
Sublime Text 2
Since version 2, the editor has been available for OS X and Linux.
Public testing began with an alpha version.
The first beta version was released on July 1, 2011 and the final version was released on June 26, 2012.
Innovations:
Go syntax highlighting;
the "jump to something" function - a quick jump to different parts of the code;
command palette - providing quick access to commands;
quick project change;
Mac OS X Snow Leopard and OS X Lion support.
Sublime Text 3
The beta version of Sublime Text 3 was released on January 29, 2013 and was only available to registered users who had purchased Sublime Text 2. However, after the release of 3047, Sublime Text 3 became available to everyone.
The final version was released on September 13, 2017, 3.1 on May 7, 2018, and 3.2 on March 13, 2019.
However, the dev version is only available to registered members.
Deb packages for GNU/Linux distributions are also available for download. Previously, only tar-archives were available.
Changes in the new version:
increase in program startup speed;
improvements in the interface, searching, and editing HTML files;
use of Python 3 for plugins;
indexing files to find variable, function, or class declaration as in modern IDEs;
improving the performance of the "replace everything" function;
moving plugins to a separate process to prevent loading delays and Sublime Text crashes;
jumping back to previous cursor positions.
Sublime Text 4.
In April 2020, the developer announced in Discord chat that it was working on Sublime Text 4 and published an alpha version for testing.
Users who have accessed this version note the high speed of the program and the smoothness of scrolling.
27] This version will change the way the editor is sold: the license will allow you to update the program for three years, after which you will need to renew your subscription to use new versions.
The final version was released on May 21, 2021.