CompuServe Thread

#68010

15 messages in this thread
#133768From: Black Belt SystemsJul 8, 1988 10:03 PM
Perhaps you could get CIS to supply a screen editor? <grin> I just leave my misspellings, since it's sucn a *astonishing* pain in the butt to try and edit things with a line editor (sound of dinosaurs and pre-cambrian swamps (bubbles of marsh gas, actually) in the distance)… Man, line editors… Yech! You'd think CIS would put in a screen editor. <shaking head> –Ben–
#133776From: Don Curtis/SYSOPJul 8, 1988 10:18 PM
Ben, They do have a screen editor, it's the EDIT option rather than the SED option for your editor. It's old name was FILGE…File Generator. Don
#133782From: Black Belt SystemsJul 8, 1988 10:33 PM
They have a screen editor ??? You can cursor around???? Really??? you're kidding me! Tell me this is true…. please? –Ben–
#133808From: Don Curtis/SYSOPJul 9, 1988 2:32 AM
Ben, Well no, you can't cursor around, but it's much better than SED which is the line editor and gives you those silly line numbers. Don
#133810From: Black Belt SystemsJul 9, 1988 3:07 AM
Seems to me then that it's about as much of a screen editor as WP is a word processor. In name only. –Ben–
#133812From: John DraperJul 9, 1988 3:36 AM
Ahh… that's better… was thinking I'd missed something in the dics or something. Yes… it is a line editor. The line numbers make no difference to that part of it. -larry
#133827From: Steve AhlstromJul 9, 1988 11:45 AM
EDIT is not much more than SED without visible line numbers. EDIT is VERY powerful (if you know the command set), but, in no way could it be considered a 'screen editor'.
#133842From: Don Curtis/SYSOPJul 9, 1988 12:44 PM
Steve, Ok…I'll go along with that. Yes, it's certainly not a full featured screen editor, but it's much more powerful than SED and very close to a screen editor without the cursor controls. Don
#133798From: John DraperJul 9, 1988 12:38 AM
Gee Don, I use EDIT (FILGE, FLUDGE, whatever)… and as far as I can see, it's a line editor. -larry
#133835From: Don Curtis/SYSOPJul 9, 1988 12:21 PM
Larry, Yes, it's a line editor in the same sense that vi is a line editor, the only thing that's missing is direct cursor movement support, but with its capability to move around the file via commands…it's almost as useful. Example….I'm typing this line, and notice that the 2nd line of the file says 'lane editor' rather than 'line editor'. I go to the beginning of a line and type /pos2 and that places the cursor at the beginning of that particular line. I then type /c/lane/line and have corrected my mistake. Then I type /b and go back to the bottom of the file and keep on entering text. I believe there is even a way to chain commands together…but I've not tried that…so don't know for sure. It also has search capabilities and much more. When I get home tonight, I'll dig out the manual on it and see what else I can come up with. Don
#133836From: Steve AhlstromJul 9, 1988 12:23 PM
The delimiter to chain commands is the comma. However, without direct cursor control, it is NOT a screen editor.
#133831From: Richard Rae/SYSOPJul 9, 1988 11:53 AM
Okay, what's YOUR definition of a "screen editor"? Filge certainly doesn't meet MINE. Rick
#133843From: Don Curtis/SYSOPJul 9, 1988 12:46 PM
Rick, Ok, ok…I give….yes, FILGE (EDIT) is not a 'screen editor', but it's a heck of a lot better than SED *from my experience* and other than cursor control…it does have many features of a real screen editor. Is that better? Don
#133830From: Richard Rae/SYSOPJul 9, 1988 11:53 AM
There has been a conversation going on among folks in CIS about screen oriented editors for ages. Lots of people want them, some people think it would be too processor intensive (rubbish), others don't care. The debate resurfaces every quarter year or so. So far, no editor. Part of the problem is that even if they had one, only certain people/computers/programs would be able to use it. As far as typos, the sort of editing I'm talking about is simply backing up and fixing your mistakes before you hit return. You don't even NEED an editor on the system for that… just a terminal program with a local line buffer and a backspace key. That takes care of all the typos we catch before hitting return, which is probably better than 90% of them. (Guess) Rick
#133867From: Black Belt SystemsJul 9, 1988 6:20 PM
Yeah… funny thing…. this term just happens to have that very thing. <grin> –Ben–