Choosing ACE or CodeMirror for Editing Templates in Evolution CMS

This donor asked two linked questions: which code editor to use for Evolution CMS templates, and whether templates could be edited as a visual TinyMCE-style constructor.

Short Answer

For real template work, choose a code editor such as ACE or CodeMirror. Use a visual editor only for content areas where non-technical editors truly need it.

Why TinyMCE Is Not a Template Editor

• Templates mix HTML, placeholders, snippet calls, and layout structure.
• Visual editing tends to hide the actual parser logic.
• Round-tripping template markup through a WYSIWYG editor often creates broken or noisy code.

How to Decide Between ACE and CodeMirror

• Pick the editor with the better integration and stability for your stack.
• Prefer syntax clarity and predictable save behavior over novelty.
• Treat file-based editing in an IDE as the next step once templates grow beyond light manager edits.

The deeper lesson is architectural: template editing is developer work. Content editing is editor work. Mixing the two usually hurts both.