Jedit from www.jedit.org is my editor of choice for practically any project. I own BBEdit and have tried most editors on the market, but it seems like the non-mac users are finally getting an editor which is about the same as BBEdit. Since we get BBEdit as well it's a good idea to compare the two.
Features: I gave this a five because of the default feature set and the plug-in architecture. Jedit is missing the function popdown that is in BBEdit, instead it uses a system called Folding. Folding is turned off by default, but you can set it to fold (collapse the code) based on the document formatting. Furthermore it's reccommended that you download all the plugins (this doesn't take very long at all and is done from the program). You can then set custom folding that's as close to a function pull-down as you can get, but still maintains the advantages of code (visual structure). The docking system for commands is a MUST this is far superior to the BBEdit floating pallettes because you can do some serious interface customization. There are plugins that give you a console, telnet, ftp, cvs, project management, a web browser, an irc client, headline grabber, etc. It almost a never leave environment once you have it set-up right. For those who code I recommend adding the xinsert and xml plugins to the interface. Also, showing the search at anytime (grep enabled of course) is a big plus over a panel. The 4.1 release runs w/ java 1.3 (still on most people's machines) unless you edit it to use 1.4* I turned on hardware acceleration and had no problems. In fact, if I test a version I can just use the java installer and the only difference I'm getting is the app name. Some plugins require java 1.4, but jedit is smart enough to only download the required ones. This is a major effort at a quality application and the project seems to have a lot of momentum. I recommend downloading the mac version just for statistics. The more feedback we can get into this project the better our experiences will be. Do yourself a favor and try ignoring the 'not recommended' part of the mac os plug in visual setup. And remember...unless you launch it to the background it will quit when you close your last session. As far as features it is at least on par w/ BBEdit.
Ease of Use: I gave this a 4 and I would rate BBEdit there as well. The minus point in jedit is because it's java and it takes a little while to get into the swing of things. The plug-in manager (which is being re-written) makes it quite a slow load if you have tons of them. Folding takes a while to get accustomed to, but it's rewarding and the help system is quite good. Once set up, Jedit is easier to use than BBEdit (or any other editor with it's feature rich set). Writing syntax coloring modules (if the one/you want somehow isn't available is much easier than BBedit. The xinsert plugin is becoming common in more and more programs and it is one of the more useful features. Since the existing xinsert entities are enough to get one hooked, it's worth noting that it is similar to the BBedit glossary system, but kills it when it comes to writing a glossary. Modifying Jedit to do what you want is much easier thatn BBEdit and the XML/ XML-insert plugin is another bonus (arrow key completion based on dtd or other sources.) I would give Jedit a for ease, but it needs more mac users giving feedback to address issues in the pre-releases (like nightly builds) and issue's with java on Mac OS X. The pre's are easier once you know what you are doing. Like BBedit, if you don't need an editor then you aren't going to find one incredibly useful (you've got textedit or something like that). If you need one then this is a staple you need in your stock. Ease of use is tempered here because a lot of people will use BBEdit or similar apps 'just because they heard it was cool' w/o rtfm'ing and they'll have no benefit or clue about it. It's as complex as it needs to be to do what it should so ease is at 4.
Value. I can't believe this is free. I'm really shocked. This is probably the most incredible piece of freeware you will come across.
Stability. Jedit hasn't crashed on me yet (rock).