Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!agate!eos!ames!killer!rpp386!spdyne!root
From: root@spdyne.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: vi-like editor for the IBM PC
Message-ID: <1000004@spdyne>
Date: 9 Mar 89 22:36:00 GMT
References: <688@nvuxl.UUCP>
Lines: 91
Nf-ID: #R:nvuxl.UUCP:688:spdyne:1000004:000:3675
Nf-From: spdyne.UUCP!root    Mar  9 16:36:00 1989


sparks@corpane.UUCP writes:
>In article <2386@iscuva.ISCS.COM>,carlp@iscuva.ISCS.COM (Carl Paukstis) writes:
> > 
> > EDITOR WARS!
> > As for "unfriendly", vi is hard to LEARN, not hard to USE.  I assure you, I
> > can be quite productive with vi - especially for quick jobs.
> 
> I agree with you there. It is hard to learn. But once you master the wierd
> commands, it's not so bad. As far as full screen editors go, it's my last 
> choice, but it's not real bad.

    Last choice?  I can think of many, many that are worse...EDT for one..

> 
> > 
> > Sure, vi has some drawbacks; mainly it's outweighed by special-purpose
> > solutions.  BRIEF is quite good on the PC, and I tend to use Micro-EMACS

Yes, I use BRIEF configured to work like VI.  I have re-written the default
macros completely.  My set makes the program run almost exactly like vi except
for the added ablility to do things like: Hex/Dec Calcalator, Column moves,
Substitues across files, split screen edits (multiple files), 300 level
un-do, Auto-save, etc, etc...

> > sequence 'dw' to delete a word "unfriendly"?
> 
> well, dw is not so bad, but let's look at some of the other commands:
> 
> dd = delete line (why? why not dl?)
    Fast I presume..

> ZZ = end edit and save file (!!!!)
    Added for speed, I presume.  You can use ':wq' if you prefer a non-cryptic
command.

> $ = end of file
    - Try End of Line...

> A = insert begining at end of line !?!?!
    Append - What's so cryptic?

>Personally I like EDT (yes I grew up on DEC). It's easy to use, the keypad
>is designed to do most of the editing commands, like del-word, del-line, go
>to end of line, go to beginning of line, cut, paste, etc. 
>
>I like the keypad approach rather than the single letter commands in some
>editors, because you don't have to leave insert mode in order to do editing.

    Yes, I just LOVE using EDT on a adm3a... Loads of fun...Ever try a NON-DEC
terminal? YEEACH!  Very hard to get anything useful done, and even with
a keypad, I didn't like it as it was hard to learn.. (Now was '4' Paste or
Cut?...) Just what do you do if you don't have that little plastic keypad
layout?  I loved it when I moved over to UNIX and got away from SOS (I didn't
use EDT much as most of the termials weren't VT* compatiable.)

    By the way, in vi you can move the cursor in insert mode...IF you have
your keypad.  The only problem is if you move to a line that is shorter
than your current position, then vi dumps you back out of insert mode.

One of the things I like about VI/Brief is the ability to type:
    1875G
To jump to line 1,875 in a large program.

Each module of my own code rarely gets this big, but I do have to maintain 
others' code too.  I hate editors that require you to page down till you 
hit the right line..

(Last week I was told to "Add these 2 lines before line 1,875."
 With NO context. Easy in Brief/VI, only editor we had that could do it.)

My only problems with Brief are:

    1) 512 Character line length limit

    2) 64K of lines max in buffer, siliently truncates file when written
       if > this number, but allows you to view the whole file (once).

    3) Special macros are slow, such as the '%' to find matching brace, if
       you are going over 500+ lines and arn't going to find the brace.

    4) Only method of handling mem errors is to write 'a file or two' to
       the disk, you can't save them under a diff name.  And it doesn't
       do this automaticlly to a tmp file.

> -- 
> John Sparks      // Amiga  |  {rutgers|uunet}!ukma!corpane!sparks 
>                \X/  UUCP   |  >> call D.I.S.K. @ 502/968-5401 thru 5406 << 

    -Chert Pellett
     root@spdyne