Bespin Web-based code editor effort launched

Launched as a project within Mozilla's Developer Tools Lab, Bespin features an extensible framework for "Open Web" development, a concept in which applications are compatible with browsers based on open standards and do not require single-vendor plug-ins, according to Mozilla Labs developers Ben Galbraith and Dion Almaer.

[ Read an ]

Goals of Bespin include ease of use; real-time collaboration, including sharing live coding sessions; an integrated command line; extensibility in the interface; speed; and accessibility.

Based on JavaScript, Bespin is a code editing client based in a browser. It is intended to "to create an experience on the Web that is as rich as a desktop editor," said Galbraith, co-director of developer tools at Mozilla Labs, on Friday.

"The idea for Bespin is to sort of use later, newer Web technologies to try create a much better experience for code editing on the Web than we've seen before," Galbraith said. A lot of efforts to create Web-based code editors have resulted in editors with poor performance or poor user experiences, he said.