Screenshot: http://imgur.com/6mkPT.png

Something this pretty looks like it belongs on a Mac.

Oooh! I, for one, have been looking forward to when editors will begin to experiment with code representation other than text and text folding.

When working on large project files, I find that I have to spend a lot of time scrolling up and down trying to find a particular function, especially if a project file contains lots of similar-looking wrapper functions. OTOH, in my brain, I know exactly where, spatially, the function resides relative to the document. I just have to find it.

So for me, the mini-map is a huge win, on the level of, "oh wow, how have I been programming all this time without it?"

And I loathe pop-up and drop-down menus with all of my function names. They only resolve one tiny aspect of my hunting; I don't have to scroll, but I still have to find the function I'm looking for.

With mini-map, I should be able to zero in on any part of the code that I'm looking for with a single click. I really want that.

I see negatives (takes up screen space, is distraction) and the positives (quick nav?) I already have without mini-map.

http://bigasterisk.com/projects/skim

which may give someone a starting point.

Here's a blog post with details, links, and a screenshot:

http://michael-mccracken.net/2009/09/textshapeview/

The code is hosted at http://leverage.sourceforge.net/ , where there are a few other text system hacks that I did a few years ago - one of my favorites showed a hierarchical outline view next to any text view that would show the nesting of any kind of simple syntax, and let you move the selection around by selecting in the outline. It is unfinished but still pretty useful.