Mike Clark

James' post reminded me how much I (heart) using TextMate for Ruby and Rails work. It has become such a permanent fixture on my desktop with the work we've been doing as of late that I've taken it for granted. And I guess that's exactly what I want in an editor---I just don't notice it any more. It fires up quickly, then lets me get work done with no fuss.

I tried several other editors first, but TextMate just seemed to be a natural fit for Ruby. Of course it has all the trappings I need in a code editor, including syntax highlighting, smart typing, and code completion. And with Rails projects having files sprinkled across multiple directories, the dynamic file outline is a must. But what's refreshing is that TextMate doesn't try to do too much---it's not overloaded with hot keys, sub-menus, wizards, configuration panes, etc. I felt like a power user after just a few minutes reading through the short, but comprehensive, documentation. Indeed, unlike other editors, after learning to drive TextMate you don't feel the need to put it on your resume.

I still use other editors depending on the task at hand, but when it comes to Ruby, I reach for TextMate.