mi 2.1.6 b8

mi Editor's Review

mi is a free text editor that you can use to write various types of source code.

It can edit every text file but the syntax highlight is available only for these types: AppleScript, C, CSS, HTML, Java, Lingo, Perl and TEX. I do miss the absence for PHP support, but for a free tool it is decent.

The syntax highlight engine is quite inspired. One thing that won't help is the error highlight. For example making a mistake into a function declaration appears as valid code.

I like the fact that for C syntax it has a jump to function mode in order to jump quickly to every function call. For the CSS I like the tool that can edit every attribute in a very elegant manner. You can find the implemented classes pretty fast from the 'Tool' menu.

mi provides you a nice surprise for every type of supported source code. The producer implemented this functionality pretty well.

What I didn't like about this application is the fact that during the test phase it crashed for no reason. I couldn't make it crash twice by doing the same thing though.

It is recommended to save your work every time you have the opportunity. The combination Command+S is your powerful ally here.

In order to see the syntax highlight you need to save the file onto your hard drive. It isn't highlighting anything if the file extension is unknown.

Pluses: it is completely free, it has a pretty good text editing engine and the syntax support for several programming languages.

Drawbacks / flaws: it can be a little unstable. I didn't like the fact that when opening the application you won't get a blank text sheet in the way TextEdit does. In order to obtain one you need to choose from the 'File' menu the 'New' option or you can create a blank new text file by pressing the combination Command(Apple)+N.

In conclusion: if you are the kind of person who is using a text editor in order to write the source code for all kinds of applications, then this tool could be a good one for you but insufficient if you write PHP code. Anyway, there are better free alternatives like: Carbon Emacs, Smultron, jEdit, or a shareware application, TextMate.

version reviewed: 2.1.6 b8