An editor probably not know this but an IDE would. The IDE actually partially understands your code. If your function definition was (in python):
def nocars
but you called the function with:
n0cars()
The ide would highlight n0cars because it could not find the definition. The IDE literally destroys the possibility of making trivial mistakes like this in a non-compiled language.
Of course this depends on the ide. I use pycharm which not only checks for mistakes like these, but it highlights and automatically formats code to fit within PEP guidelines. The whole IDE actually attempts to fit your programming universe within the app, including debugging, and even connecting to a database.
It does come at a cost, however. Pycharm is heavy app and can be slow at times. It's also a complex tool to learn, but I wouldn't say it's more complex than learning vim or sublime.
I was referring to a variable not a function and as you say IDE's can have heavy over head not every one can afford a full copy of visual studio or a system powerful enough to run eclipse
