Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!mcvax!ukc!stl!stc!idec!alice!fox
From: fox@alice.marlow.reuters.co.uk (Paul Fox)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.xenix
Subject: Re: In quest of a decent editor
Message-ID: <330@alice.marlow.reuters.co.uk>
Date: 22 Apr 88 08:14:29 GMT
References: <2815@crash.cts.com>
Reply-To: fox@alice.UUCP (Paul Fox)
Organization: Reuters Ltd PLC, Marlow, Bucks, England
Lines: 56

In article <2815@crash.cts.com> cline@pnet01.cts.com (Ben Humphreys) writes:
>In quest of a decent editor...
> 
>It seems every time I turn around, I am operating under a different editor.
>It's WordStar for DOS programming, WordStar 2000 for manuals under DOS,
>Lyrix for manuals under UNIX, vi for quick and dirty changes.  It gets real
>hard to remember all the commands.  So, in hopes of standardizing all my
>word processors, I began looking for something that would run under both
>DOS and XENIX.
> 

Well I had the same problem. Ive used Unix for years, and when I was given
my own PC, I thoughjtt 'hey, what the heck -- lets make it 
look like Unix, even if it isnt.' This is easy - just write a c-shell
interpreter. 99% done.

Next problem is editor. 'vi' is pretty quirky and not as good
as current technology demands. Well I had been using vi for some time
under MS-DUSH. Then I heard about an editor called 'BRIEF'. This is marvellous
- multiple buffers and windows; customisable macro language; color support;
actually shows you what you've marked for deletion/copying, etc, etc et al.

Supports compilations from within the editor, automatic loads of things.

Great. I became dependant on it.

Then I get me own 386 box running Xenix (Ugh :-) ). Back to vi. This wont do
back to using vi again. Well, a thought occurs to me -- since I have to run
MS-DUSH and Xenux at the same time, having two different editors will just
confuse me. (Having one editor confuses me!!). The answer: EMACS.

PROBLEM: I have uEMACS source - absolutely no documentation and no idea
what EMACS is capable of.

RESULT: BRIEF now runs on Unix: Sys V.2/3, Xenix, SunOS, AIX.

HOW: Well, after spending 1 year tinkering with uEMACS, the code now 
emulates BRIEF 100%. People at work now dependant on it.

Now that I've finished BRIEF under Unix (actually called GRIEF), what should I
do to it ?

Suggestions on a postcard in not less than 15 words ... :-))

Anyhow, GRIEF does all that full EMACS does plus and minus a bit.

Shall I distribute it over the net ??


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