RSyntaxTextArea is a customizable, syntax highlighting text component for Java Swing applications. Out of the box, it supports syntax highlighting for 40+ programming languages, code folding, search and replace, and has add-on libraries for code completion and spell checking. Syntax highlighting for additional languages can be added via tools such as JFlex.
RSyntaxTextArea is available under a BSD 3-Clause license. For more information, visit http://bobbylight.github.io/RSyntaxTextArea/.
Available in the Maven Central repository (com.fifesoft:rsyntaxtextarea:XXX).
SNAPSHOT builds of the in-development, unreleased version are hosted on Sonatype.
RSyntaxTextArea uses Gradle to build. To compile, run all unit tests, and create the jar, run:
./gradlew build --warning-mode all
RSTA 3.0 and newer requires Java 8 to compile and run. If you need Java 6 compatibility, you'll need to use a 2.6.x version.
RSyntaxTextArea is simply a subclass of JTextComponent, so it can be dropped into any Swing application with ease.
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import org.fife.ui.rtextarea.*;
import org.fife.ui.rsyntaxtextarea.*;
public class TextEditorDemo extends JFrame {
public TextEditorDemo() {
JPanel cp = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
RSyntaxTextArea textArea = new RSyntaxTextArea(20, 60);
textArea.setSyntaxEditingStyle(SyntaxConstants.SYNTAX_STYLE_JAVA);
textArea.setCodeFoldingEnabled(true);
RTextScrollPane sp = new RTextScrollPane(textArea);
cp.add(sp);
setContentPane(cp);
setTitle("Text Editor Demo");
setDefaultCloseOperation(EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
pack();
setLocationRelativeTo(null);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
// Start all Swing applications on the EDT.
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() -> {
new TextEditorDemo().setVisible(true);
});
}
}RSyntaxTextArea provides syntax highlighting, code folding, and many other features out-of-the-box, but when building a code editor you often want to go further. Below is a list of small add-on libraries that add more complex functionality:
- AutoComplete - Adds code completion to RSyntaxTextArea (or any other JTextComponent).
- RSTALanguageSupport - Code completion for RSTA for the following languages: Java, JavaScript, HTML, PHP, JSP, Perl, C, Unix Shell. Built on both RSTA and AutoComplete.
- SpellChecker - Adds squiggle-underline spell checking to RSyntaxTextArea.
- RSTAUI - Common dialogs needed by text editing applications: Find, Replace, Go to Line, File Properties.