perlron has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

Is there any perl editor which has an auto suggest or color coding feature for
a) core modules/methods
b) modules which we import
c) classes we import.

In my first CGI::Application im writing i just spent a whole lot of time trying to figure out why cgi_app_init was not being called until i realized the actual method is cgiapp_init. The color coding for both methods is the same in the vi perl syntax which im not sure can be modified to solve my problem.
I personally think its a neat feature especially when writing a full fledged app with multiple modules/classes and one does'nt need always keep checking on meta cpan for the api. Ive tried using many editors vim,padre,epic but i dont really see auto suggest anywhere. what is the experience / advice of the perl monks in this regard ?

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: Perl Editor - Auto Suggest
by Perlbotics (Archbishop) on Oct 15, 2014 at 18:25 UTC

    If you like Emacs, have a look at Auto Complete (search for Perl).

    Somewhat crude since Perl is not easy to parse, though.

[reply]
      thank you. will try out emacs.
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Re: Perl Editor - Auto Suggest
by Ravenhall (Beadle) on Oct 15, 2014 at 19:38 UTC
    Komodo Edit. It's free from ActiveState.
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Re: Perl Editor - Auto Suggest
by CountZero (Bishop) on Oct 15, 2014 at 19:49 UTC
    Have a look at the Komodo-IDE from ActiveState.

    It auto-suggests the methods from imported modules and even "knows" (within limits) which objects/variables are bound to which module and suggests the applicable methods. It is far from perfect but is quite useful nevertheless.

    CountZero

    A program should be light and agile, its subroutines connected like a string of pearls. The spirit and intent of the program should be retained throughout. There should be neither too little or too much, neither needless loops nor useless variables, neither lack of structure nor overwhelming rigidity." - The Tao of Programming, 4.1 - Geoffrey James

    My blog: Imperial Deltronics
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Re: Perl Editor - Auto Suggest
by RonW (Parson) on Oct 15, 2014 at 21:11 UTC

    In the past, I've used Slick Edit. It's Perl support is decent. Unfortunately, someone in IT decided that, when the company decided to not renew the support contract, we could no longer use Slick Edit and took down the license server. (The license is actually perpetual, so, legally, we could have kept using Slick Edit.) Now, most of the team is using the vendor-specific IDE for whichever microcontroller she/he is developing for.

    I am using Geany. Syntax highlighting is good, but auto-suggest and auto-completion support for Perl is marginal.

    I have tried to use PADRE (which is written in Perl), but it had some anoying (to me) issues. I intend to try it again.

    I've also tried Eclipse, but the Perl plug-ins I found were marginal. Also, Eclipse doesn't auto-switch language "perspectives" when switching between files.

[reply]
      ill vouch for eclipse (Aptana IDE with EPIC) . the way i look at it anything that helps me make money is really worth it. and i have been able to use the IDE for editing TT templates, writing client side code, markup and of course Perl. update
      - Padre im facing some bugs on my osx so ive not followed up on that.
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      this is useful stuff. thanks!
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Re: Perl Editor - Auto Suggest
by james28909 (Deacon) on Oct 16, 2014 at 01:30 UTC
    notepad++ :D
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      it will take me a month to try all this .. im sticking with trying out emacs for now.. thanks all.
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        I am (hopefully) giving a quick overview on how I make use (and some things I'd like to explore) in emacs tonight at the BrewCity Perl Mongers meetup. It is being streamed as well - in fact, my presentation is going to be attempted from an undisclosed remote location.

        First presentation in a long while, so be gentle :-)

        http://www.meetup.com/Milwaukee-Perl-Mongers/events/158349002/

        --MidLifeXis

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      I quickly tried notepad++ on a coworker's PC. It has basic auto-completion and seems to only supports language defined keyword suggestion. User defined functions and variables were never suggested.

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Re: Perl Editor - Auto Suggest
by Anonymous Monk on Oct 16, 2014 at 21:36 UTC

    In my first CGI::Application im writing i just spent a whole lot of time trying to figure out why cgi_app_init was not being called until i realized the actual method is cgiapp_init.

    This is common pitfall -- don't type required interface names, copy/paste them from the documentation

[reply]
      thanks. but im still at P/R/G :D
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