Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!rochester!pt.cs.cmu.edu!cadre!pitt!cisunx!ejkst From: ejkst@cisunx.UUCP (Eric J. Kennedy) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.tech Subject: Re: Half-baked Ideas, New Projects Message-ID: <16458@cisunx.UUCP> Date: 6 Mar 89 01:00:23 GMT References: <10642@well.UUCP> <15381@cup.portal.com> Reply-To: ejkst@unix.cis.pittsburgh.edu (Eric J. Kennedy) Organization: Univ. of Pittsburgh, Comp & Info Sys Lines: 117 In article <15381@cup.portal.com> Classic_-_Concepts@cup.portal.com writes: > I tend to type fast (83+ on a broken-down Selectric, 90++ on a word- >processor), but even that isn't fast enough to keep up with thought processes >(I get frustrated trying to write stories, journals, etc. because I lose the >thought by the time my fingers catch up). It occurred to me that probably >everyone would like to be able to type/write faster, especially hunt-and- >peckers and that the computer offers an unprecedented opportunity to provide >a way to do this within an editor or wordprocessor. Here is the idea: > > Remember speed-writing? The alternative to cryptic shorthand languages? > > Well, why not implement a form of speed-writing within a word-processor? >you could have a dictionary of short forms of words similar to speed-writing >abbreviations which would be then parsed out, either: Some interesting ideas, here. UN*X vi does some of this, with its abbreviation capability. I've added this capability to Uedit as part of my vi emulator. It's done with Uedit's "preKey" command. The "preKey" command is executed every time you press a key (or a mouse button or select a menu item), *before* the command bound to the key is executed. It's not difficult to test for the end of a word, copy the word into a buffer, look for the word in a list of abbreviations, and make the substitution if its found. I also use Uedit's spelling checker on the word for real time spell checking, while I'm at it. I think Uedit would be an excellent test bed for ideas like yours, if not for a final system. You can remap the keyboard at will; use the ideas below to make templates, abbreviations, whatever; you can even use an internal timer to execute commands after certain periods of delay. The preKey command below is straight from my custom configuration. It looks for a list of abbreviations and expansions in buffer 32 of the form abv abbreviation csa comp.sys.amiga cats Commorodore Amiga Technical Support etc. It obviously doesn't do all of what you're asking for, but it's a step in the right direction. To experiment with this, you either need to be using the spell-checking version of Uedit, or modify the command to skip the spell-checking stuff. ---------------- -- Eric Kennedy ejkst@cisunx.UUCP