Linux desktop version of notepad-plus-plus native. (crossplatform)
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Would like to see a Linux native version of notepad-plus-plus. You application is great. I see that you have had multiple request over the years for a Linux port/native app.
Support for Linux! (Nov 13, 2021, 4:16 PM)
https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/71270Notepad++ on Linux (Dec 17, 2016, 12:44 PM)
https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/20085and the list of people on the forums who want a Linux port/native app of notepad-plus-plus goes on. It’s not longer as restrictive as it use to be, now there are many ways to allow for cross platform programming of your app. Just a few are to name are QT, Boost, and U++.
https://www.qt.io
https://www.boost.org
https://www.ultimatepp.orgDeveloping Cross-Platform Applications with C++
https://medium.com/@AlexanderObregon/developing-cross-platform-applications-with-c-eb96beeafc95This request is truly because I use your program on the windows desktop and it is a great app. It works great. Me and many others would love to to see and use it on the Linux desktop as well. With Linux gaining more popularity with in the recent years as a desktop maybe a great reason to rethink your position on bringing this app to Linux.
Thanks for your consideration. Hope you have a great day!
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Would like to see a Linux native version of notepad-plus-plus. You application is great. I see that you have had multiple request over the years for a Linux port/native app.
The Notepad++ developer has said multiple times that he will not create a native linux version, the definitive version being here
Support for Linux! (Nov 13, 2021, 4:16 PM) https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/71270
Notepad++ on Linux (Dec 17, 2016, 12:44 PM) https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/20085Did you not read those discussions? Each clearly explained that the technical requirements are such that it would require a complete (or at least, significant and fundamental) rewrite of the codebase.
It’s not longer as restrictive as it use to be, now there are many ways to allow for cross platform programming of your app. Just a few are to name are QT, Boost, and U++.
Those have existed for years. They would still require a complete, fundamental rewrite of the application, which is not going to happen under the Notepad++ name. Nothing you have said in this post changes this.
With Linux gaining more popularity with in the recent years as a desktop maybe a great reason to rethink your position on bringing this app to Linux.
You wanting it doesn’t change the technical difficulties in doing so.
Besides, with Wine on Linux, I have heard that, except for edge cases, some people can have a reasonably-good Notepad++ experience on Linux.
And in case you think I’m just a naysayer: I think it is a great idea… just not a practical idea, nor a good use of the developer’s time.
If 20 years ago, Notepad++ had been written as a cross-platform-compatible application, rather than a Win32-specific application, then it could have been a great natively-linux app as well as a great Win32 app. But that didn’t happen, and the cost in time and effort to change that now, after two decades of development, is more than the developer is willing to spend – he doesn’t want to rewrite Notepad++ from scratch; he wants to continue developing it from where it is. There’s at least one Notepad++ user (@dail) who has started a project called NotepadNext, which bills itself as “A cross-platform, reimplementation of Notepad++”, using QT (one of your suggestions). He’s been working on it for years now, and I don’t know how feature complete it is. You might consider trying that one out, as it might have enough of Notepad++'s features for you to consider using it; then again, maybe it doesn’t have enough for you.
So my recommendations to you for Notepad++ (or similar experience) on Linux would be to make use of Wine for a mostly-working interface to the native-win32-app, or try NotepadNext if you want truly native build for Linux. I don’t think either are 100% working (then again, neither is Notepad++ itself), but I thinkin one or both of those are a good bet to get you the experience you want.
Thanks for your consideration.
The Notepad++ developer does not look in this forum for feature requests, so this would be the wrong place to get his attention: we are just fellow users of Notepad++.
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Thank you for responding Peter.
@PeterJones said in Linux desktop version of notepad-plus-plus native. (crossplatform):
Besides, with Wine on Linux, I have heard that, except for edge cases, some people can have a reasonably-good Notepad++ experience on Linux.
Yes, So I have heard and seen in the different WineGUI’s.
@PeterJones said in Linux desktop version of notepad-plus-plus native. (crossplatform):
There’s at least one Notepad++ user (@dail) who has started a project called NotepadNext , which bills itself as “A cross-platform, reimplementation of Notepad++”, using QT (one of your suggestions). He’s been working on it for years now, and I don’t know how feature complete it is. You might consider trying that one out, as it might have enough of Notepad++'s features for you to consider using it; then again, maybe it doesn’t have enough for you.
Thanks for letting me know about Notepad Next. I will look in to it.
Thanks again.
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@PeterJones said in Linux desktop version of notepad-plus-plus native. (crossplatform):
Besides, with Wine on Linux, I have heard that, except for edge cases, some people can have a reasonably-good Notepad++ experience on Linux.
This is very true, as one of the users of dBASE who specifically requested and encouraged me to work on the UDL for dBASE in Notepad++ is because at the time, his eyes were really bad, and the native IDE editor was not very customizable. He has adapted the dBASE Plus UDL I made so it works with dBASE 5.0 DOS/Windows via a WINE emulator on his servers…where he runs virtual machines for all dBASE versions. Because I was able to make that UDL, he was able to be productive again while getting help with his eyes and is doing much better now, but the point is…Notepad++ works just fine on Linux and Wine. I believe he uses Ubuntu for it, and as @PeterJones has said, only edge cases cause a problem for him, so it shouldn’t be a problem for you running it that way.
