for me it's a bit of a predictable response...

vim with ctags over ssh (use putty for the ssh with x11 forwarding enabled), all you'll need then is a xwindow manager on windows - colleagues of mine have found xming to be fine (I only say "colleagues find xming fine" because I don't use windows unless I have to).

Of course, that presupposes that you are adroit with the one true editor ;-)

Emacs with tramp.el loaded, running SSH to the unix host over putty. I have not yet made use of the debugger under this setup, but I believe that it is possible. I have also not yet taken the time to use the VCS integration. However, it appears from the documentation that this is supported.

Just wanted to add link for TrampMode in emacs.

different ways to use putty are explicitly mentioned (with cygwin, with vbs,...)

Cheers Rolf

You may be able to get what you want using EPIC on Eclipse. See http://www.epic-ide.org/

There are many such editors or IDEs, among them eclipse and padre (through plugins)

There is also Komodo or Komodo Edit (which is free) by Activestate

1. Make sure ssh daemon is running on unix server
2. Use putty or some other terminal emulator.
3. Tell it where the machine is (ip or hostname), and log in to a shell.
4. Edit files.Use vi, emacs, etc.

This is what I used to do before I stopped using windows completely. I had the option to dual boot- but instead.. I bit the bullet. I switched over completely. It took me a year to be really 100% comfortable- but only 3 months to officially never work on a windows box- ever again.

This is like going to rehab. It hurts- but your life will never be the same again.

Thanks for all your help everyone.

Unfortunately it will be a long time before I will switch over completely to Linux. It's not the acclimatisation thing, Linux is easy to use and I'm pretty familiar with Unix too, but it's just not practically feasible to use a different environment from the world around me. Essential pieces of software don't work or take more time than I have to configure. Shame.

What I currently do is use putty to SSH in and then edit files with nano (I'll never understand how people can bare vi/vim/emacs - so unintuitive!). Or I use Filezilla to SFTP in and then edit files in place using a native editor.

I was hoping there would be a more intuitive solution. I see that both Eclipse+EPIC and Komodo support remote debugging, although I haven't got either to work yet and I don't really understand the concept.

I think what I want ideally is to have a proper fully fledged IDE running on my windows desktop that nonetheless can browse files and run and debug everything as if it was running on my Unix server, but maybe this is just impossible?

Robin.

I think what I want ideally is to have a proper fully fledged IDE running on my windows desktop that nonetheless can browse files and run and debug everything as if it was running on my Unix server, but maybe this is just impossible?

I think that is called a remote-desktop, X over ssh, NX

> I think what I want ideally is to have a proper fully fledged IDE running on my windows desktop that nonetheless can browse files and run and debug everything as if it was running on my Unix server,but maybe this is just impossible?

It is possible, but as long as you think nano is more intuitive than e.g. emacs and you "haven't got either" (Komodo and Eclipse) "to work yet", I have no idea how to help you.

There is a saying in German: "Please wash me but don't make me wet!"

Anyway thanks I didn't know there's a nano port for Ms-Windows, and as soon as Emacs plug-ins are ported to nano I'll let you know. ;-)

Cheers Rolf