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From: t68@nikhefh.hep.nl (Jos Vermaseren)
Newsgroups: comp.editors,comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: Folded release
Message-ID: <218@nikhefh.hep.nl>
Date: 6 Jul 89 14:04:33 GMT
References: <1989Jul5.150226.24149@stag.UUCP>
Reply-To: t68@nikhefh.hep.nl (Jos Vermaseren)
Organization: Nikhef-H, Amsterdam (the Netherlands).
Lines: 31

There seems to me something wrong with the idea of storing
fold information in a separate file. Files that are subject to
transport between various machines need to have their `fold file'
transported along. This is no problem if the editor resides on
all machines where the file comes by. Once I make changes on
computers that don't have this folding editor my folds are all
useless. It gets even worse if I have to squeeze my files through 
a stream editor. Again I loose my folds.
There is a much better scheme for folds available already in an
editor that is commercially available (for 2 years). It exists
currently on the ST and in the fall it will be released for PC's.
The fold information is stored in the file itself in such a way
that the user can make it into commentary for whatever language
that he happens to work in. The lines with the fold information
have their information from character 4 on till the first colon.
Anything outside is irrelevant for the folds, so in Fortran one
would start such a line with either a C or a * and in basic rem
would do the trick. In C there is more freedom as the /* and the */
don't have to be in the same line. There is even room to let the
editor know whether the fold is open or closed at the time of writing
the file. The folds can be nested. They can be opened and closed at
the press of a button or a key etc. This gives great flexibility
and carrying files around gives no problems. An occasional visit
of such files to vi or emacs looses nothing of the fold information.

So why would anyone store foldinformation in a separate file?

Jos Vermaseren.

Disclamor: These opinions are not entirely mine. I have met other
people with the same questions.