I find myself suddenly learning javascript, but I don’t have a good text editor appropriate for scripting/programming. I’d like something better than Notepad; I need (for instance) to be able to see line numbers; it’d be nice to have something that makes indenting easier. Ideally, something with syntax-highlighting for javascript and maybe something to help me avoid forgetting braces and parentheses. Plus, it oughta be fast and free. Is there anything out there that does at least most of these things? Any recommendations?
So you want somebody to work on creating a really great text editting tool for you and then give it to you for free? Interesting opinion.
I had a great recommendation for you, but if you want free I think Notepad is the tool for you.
Jammer
vi. Well, vim, with the appropriate plugins.
Uhhh… plenty of people have done just that.
If you’re still paying for a text editor, you’re probably an idiot.
GNU emacs is available for free. From right here.
I don’t remember seeing a vi vs. emacs religious war on the Dope - let’s not start one now.
There are hundreds such available. I don’t understand your disdain for the question.
I’ve recently tried a heap of these because I can’t install my favourite on my work PC. TextEdit was a good one. However, the one I’m using at the moment is PSPad which is infinitely customizable (if only I could work out how to use it).
However, if you want to try the best there is, download the 30-day trial of HomeSite from Macromedia. I almost guarantee you that you’ll buy it at the end of the trial.
I do some development. EditPad Lite is awesome and it is free. It is easy to use too unlike some text editors (vi I am looking at you).
What [insert correct pronoun here] said.
Seconded.
When I was using Windows, I found TextEdit (as mentioned by jjimm) and WinEdit to be worthy. I know WinEdit has moved to charging a fee; as this occurred after I broke the Windows habit, I have no idea what functionality was added that justified payment. But version 3.1 (I think…so many years ago…) was free and my editor of choice.
make fun of my Mac all you like, but BBEdit is the shizzle!
I personally use ConTEXT - it satisfies your requirements (line numbers, syntax highlighting, auto-indent, brace matching, freeware). It doesn’t have a hex editor and it can get slow if you have dozens of files open, but I’ve never had any problems with it.
Spoilsport. 
I like vim, too, but if you’re a hardcore Windows GUI type, you might check out TextPad. It’s shareware, so you’re supposed to pay, but I’ve heard that all that happens is that you get this annoying little box when you launch it that lasts for a few seconds. Multiple document edit and search&replace, diff-like compare, et cetera. It’s a nice, lightweight little tool that’s a heck of a lot more functional than Notepad.
There are some multi-platform open source IDEs around, too; most are built for Linux/BSD, so you might have to use cygwin if you want to run to run them in Windows, but that’s no big deal.
Stranger
My favorite text editor lives in Rancho Cordova, California. She has an hourglass figure, chestnut-colored hair, and she’s hot.
Thank you guys so much for your suggestions! Right now, context seems to be my favorite of the ones I’ve tried, but I was pretty much right in figuring there had to be something better out there for free.
UltraEdit is mostly free…and its the best. Ive used it for coding for years. Mainly because you can toggle HEX/Ascii views, a great column mode that lets you select vertically, it maintains backup versions really well…excellent search and replace tool.
Also, FlashFXP is a great compliment for it, you can literally create ftp queue scripts and edit them with UltraEdit quite nicely!
BTW Macs are toys for children.
I’ve heard good things about TextPad but never used it myself.
A lot of my programmer colleagues swear by UltraEdit.
For most programming, I end up using Notepad2 - fast, lean, and does what you need: http://www.flos-freeware.ch/notepad2.html
I second TextPad. It’s good.
If you’re on Windows or Linux, I highly recommend SciTE ( http://www.scintilla.org/SciTE.html ). It’s extremely fast, completely native for Windows or GTK, and highly configurable. The downside is that most of the configuration is done through the use of config files. They’re pretty readable config files, though.
Another to try - if you’re not completely against Java - is jEdit ( http://www.jedit.org ). It’s … very decent, but very nice for Java programming (and easily extensible through the use of Java).
I don’t particularly care for any of the other editors mentioned in this thread, FWIW. Emacs shortcuts are fun when you get used to them, but the editor itself is highly arcane.
When I’m working in Javascript I’m usually doing so through a Javascript-aware Eclipse plugin.
It’s TOTAL overkill for simple javascript work, but you’ll never outgrow it!
I’ve been pretty happy with Notepad++. It supports syntax highlighting for over 30 languages (including javascript), and has plugin functionality for more. It also has a bunch of those little features that make programming easier, like brace matching and block folding.
TextPad is great! I’ve been using it for years. I’ve bought it twice. Once for myself and I made the office buy a copy.
It can also be made to run from a jump drive,. which is a big plus.