I've found syntax highlighters that highlight pre-existing code, but I'd like to do it as you type with a WYSIWYG-style editor. I don't need auto-completed functions, just the highlighting.
As a follow-up question, what is the WYSIWYG editor that stackoverflow uses?
Edit: Thanks to the answer below, I found two that look like they might suit my needs: EditArea and CodePress
EDIT: See this question also:
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/379185/free-syntax-highlighting-editor-control-in-javascript
Gotta go with Bespin by Mozilla. It's built using HTML5 features (so it's quick and fast, but doesn't support legacy browsers though), but definitely amazing to use and beats everything I've come across - probably beacause it's Mozilla backing it, and they develop Firefox so yeah... There's also a jQuery Plugin which contains a extension for it to make it a bit easier to use with jQuery.
I dont program a lot of javascript but JSEclipse has been pretty helpful for me in the past. It comes as an Eclipse plug-in.
I've been using it for years for free
http://www.interaktonline.com/products/eclipse/jseclipse/overview/
I also rely heavily on FireBug for Firefox whenever I deal with Javascript
The question might be better stated as "What syntax-highlighting editor do you recommended to replace an html textarea in my web app?" (Some of the other answers here deal with desktop apps or pure-syntax highlighters, not client-side editors)
I also recommend CodeMirror, it's written in Javascript and supports lots of browsers. It uses a real parser (rather than regexps) so it can deal with complex problems like correctly highlighting escaped strings. The developer is also very responsive on the discussion group.
You can also try http://softwaremaniacs.org/soft/highlight/en/ - it's fast, it supports not only javascript but many other languages. And if you need a live preview of how the highlighting will work, you can use setInterval to run the highlighting and show it in a separate box.
Sorry to drag this back up but the best i have found in CodeMirror http://codemirror.net/
Although it has a steep learning curve, Vim is the best editor out there, for any language. It has a GUI version, but really shines in terminal editing. Any time spent learning how to use this editor is not time wasted. It has syntax highlighting, as you're looking for, as well as thousands (literally) of other features and plugins.