The Dink Network

I had using Notepad to work on code, but decided to try a DinkC-specific program to help my work progress a bit faster, and most assuredly more properly formatted. I first tried CEDIT and was happy with that for a bit, but there were too many nagging issues I had with it so I looked for another one. I found DinkC Editor and was quite impressed by it’s simplicity but functionality.

I read the other reviews here first, and then I tried the program. I discovered that the help file informs you how to deal with the undeclared variable issue quite easily. Either create a "pseudo-declare" at the top of each script, or more usefully, add those variables to the project file.

And yes, it DOES open more than one file at a time.

The good:
- Great error checking.
- Jump to line on errors function (click on error in error box).
- The creation of project files.
- Easy declaration of pseudo-declares.
- Very nice DINKC reference.
- Auto-indent function.
- Example functions prototypes (DinkC hints).
- Font and size selection for text editing window.
- Auto load of last project file to be used.
- Mouse wheel support.

The not so good, major and minor.

- It doesn't always save files when you tell it to.
Holding mouse click down for a second or two on the save button does save, but File>Save doesn't always save (apparently). Exiting the program prompts for save, and does save.
- Only one undo.
- Will allow opening the same file multiple times (no file locking).
- The "save as" menu item does not work.
- No exact term or limiting find, find/replace. Searching for the number 1 will also find the 1 in 100, or the cat in cattle, etc. (Potentially disastrous)
- No format/reformat function (Auto-indent in too limiting).
- No recently opened file list or reload menu.
- F1 does not bring up a help screen.
- No right click mouse function.

- It doesn’t keep separate path data for projects and scripts.
- It doesn’t color code functions, statements, etc..
- No drag and drop files into the editor window.
- Window tabs would be nice, but cascading windows is fine.
- Small misspelling: "Error: Unknow DinkC command".
- “Access violation” error if you type in a “(“ at the start of the line instead of a function start. It does not crash the program but it is annoying.

A pro or a con (depends on you):
If you open DinkC Editor by clicking on a .c file, then close that file, opening the Tool>Options, clicking OK, reopens the closed file into the editor.

I’ll rate DinkC Editor a 8.2 out of 10 because it is just so handy and so much better than CEDIT and Notepad for programming in DinkC. Kudos to the programmer for creating one useful utility. It would be great if the bugs were repaired and the program updated, but I can use it as is. Still... a new version would be most appreciated.

Edited (8/13/2010):
Added a newly discovered bug (Save As).

This was the first DinkC editor I downloaded, and I have stuck with it since. It is a rather basic editor, but has some pretty powerful and useful functions.

The buttons (a rather small amount of five) are all Dink-styled icons. The Open is a chest, and the Save icon is, yes you guessed it, a savebot. It takes a little while to get used to, but if you hover over them, it will tell you what each does.

Good points:
One the great things about this program is the error checking ability. When you click the wizard button (or ctrl+Q), it comes up with a list of errors down the bottom, including the line it occurs in. Double clicking the error will bring you to the line so you don't have to hunt around. This compensates reasonably well for not showing the number for each line down the side. It will look for unclosed brackets and lack of semi-colons and report in which line it occurs.

It also can pick up errors in functions, such as if you misspell a function, or leave out an element, such as an " mark.
eg. it will find an error in: say_stop("Hello, 1); for not having the closing " mark.

However, the checker will pick up some errors that aren't actually errors, such as global variables (it assumes all non-standard variables are internal). eg you'll get "Line#10 - Warning: The variable "&banana" wasn't declared in this script" even if you have declared "&banana" in main.c.

The DinkC Reference button is also very handy. One click on the magic scroll icon and it will open up the DinkC reference help file, (another extremely useful file that helped me alot).

When you open the brackets of a function, it will display up the top a function reference, telling you what that particular function should look like. So if you just can't remember exactly how a function should go, this is rather useful.

One of my favourite features of DinkC Editor is the auto-tabbing function, which will automatically tab to the position of the tab on the previous line, eliminating the need for endless spacing or tabbing.
eg:
<tab> say_stop("Hey, pressing enter after this line...", 1); <enter>
<auto-tab> say_stop("...will make the cursor go to the same spot!", 1); <yay>

Not-so-good points:
There are a few bad points though. There is only the ability to undo once, so watch out! I have been caught out in this on the odd occasion, and not having more than one undo is very frustrating. If there ever is an updated version, multiple undos is an essential addition.

Being able to open in tabs (like notepad plus) would also be a handy feature, as could be specific-text colours (for functions, text, numbers, comments etc.). But DinkC Editor is a basic one, just having the option to tile or cascade windows or change font and colour generically. I've also found it's possible to open multiple copies of the same file, which if you don't look under the window option to check may cause you some problems.

I have had the occasional bug with the Find&Replace function, but only when using non-alphabet characters, such as numbers or # or `. There is also no 'whole word' option with this, so if you choose Replace All, it will replace 'bar' with 'car' but will also turn 'barrel' into 'carrel'. It does the same with numbers (changing 2 into 4 will also change 250 into 450), so this is a thing to watch out for.

In summary:
Good:
- Error checking
- DinkC Reference button which opens the help file
- Function reference (when you open brackets of a function)
- Auto-tab function

Not-so-good:
- Only one undo function!
- Find&Replace can stuff up with non-alphabet characters, no 'whole word' option
- No tabbed windows, only tiling or cascading

I'll give this an 8.0. Even though it's basic, it still has enough features to be a good little DinkC editor.

FIRST IMPRESSION
First time I opened this app, I was blinded by the default blue background and purple (non-fixed width!) font this app has. Luckily the creator added an option to change the background colour, as well as the font and its colour.

The app seemed simple enough though. Just a few buttons, a few menu options, one bigass script editing place and a little debugger/whatever in the bottom.

USAGE
Okay, so I now went using the program. It takes a sec getting used to the alternative buttons, but they're pretty straightforward. The page makes a new file, the chest opens one and the save machine saves. Smart!

Less smart was that only one file at a time could be open. Sure, I could just start two instances of the editor, but I'd rather have had an MDI interface.

There's a direct button to the DinkC reference, which is useful. The menu options were simple but clear. The compile option is very useful. The syntax checker I praise, because it can even filter out non-existant DinkC functions, and it even checks if the function was declared otherwise!

UPS
Easy to use interface.
There's room to work in.
Very good syntax checker.
Registering the program as default .c app.
Quick compile option.

DOWNS
The undo feature just had one undo, which is annoying.
The find and Find&replace options are useful, but they hide behind the app as soon as you click the main window.
You can only open one file.
No syntax highlighting.
Projects are manages by a new dcp file, rather than a Dmod directory.
Bad default font and background.
No toolbar customization.

LOWDOWN
I'd give this a 6.5. It's pretty good, but could use for some more work and options (ESPECIALLY MDI interface and project management per Dmod directory).