platteteksteditors

Platteteksteditors (plaintext editors) are software tools that allow users to create and modify plain text files without any formatting or embedded objects. They store data as unformatted characters, typically in encodings such as ASCII or UTF-8, and they do not render rich text, images, or layout.

Core features include basic editing commands, search and replace, line-ending handling, encoding management, and optional syntax highlighting. They often provide a minimal interface focused on speed and predictable file content, with strong keyboard-based control and support for scripting or macros in many implementations.

History and scope: Early Unix editors such as ed and ex introduced the concept of plain text editing, followed by modal editors like vi and extensible editors like Emacs. Today plaintext editors range from terminal-based programs (vi, nano) to graphical applications (Notepad, Notepad++, Sublime Text, VS Code). They are widely used for programming, configuration files, logs, data files, and quick note-taking because of their simplicity and portability.

Relation to other tools: Plaintext editors differ from word processors and rich text editors by avoiding formatted output; they are preferred when data integrity, version control compatibility, and easy parsing by machines are priorities.

See also: comparison of text editors, list of text editors, code editor, Notepad, Vim, Emacs.