Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!rutgers!cmcl2!lanl!mikeg%watson.c3
From: mikeg%watson.c3@lanl.gov (M.P.Gerlek)
Newsgroups: comp.editors
Subject: Re: VMS _has_ a real text editor utility - TPU!
Message-ID: <11563@lanl.gov>
Date: 6 Apr 89 03:29:06 GMT
References: <Apr.5.03.19.20.1989.16544@athos.rutgers.edu>
Sender: news@lanl.gov
Lines: 39

From article <Apr.5.03.19.20.1989.16544@athos.rutgers.edu>, by 
    gaynor@athos.rutgers.edu (Silver):
> From what I've read in this newsgroup, can we safely call TPU an Emacs?

Minor clarification:  TPU (Text Processing Utility), is not an editor but
rather a _language_ (environment? world? something-or-other...) designed
to facilitate the _writing_ of editors.  I've been told TPU has many similar
text processing features similar to SNOBOL.

The "traditional" TPU Editor is EVE, by DEC.  The v5.0 version has many of 
the power features a hard-core editor needs, though I don't believe it goes
quite as far as EMACS.  There are many other TPU editors around, via DECUS,
that go beyond EVE -- but still not quite as far as EMACS I think (at least,
no _one_ package has everything).

Question: Anyone know if anyone has ever written a true EMACS in TPU?

Query: Are things like DIRED (directory editing w/in your editor) 
          really necessary, esp. in today's windowed world?  Fancy 
	  and nice to have, but a bit heavy unless you're stuck on a 
	  VTxxx.  (As someone posted, "I want an editor, not an 
	  environment.")  I like bells and whistles too, but at some
	  point we lose track of the idea that we are _editing_ and
	  have shells to do our dirty work in.
	  
	  (Or do we want to evolve out of the shell environment mindset,
	  as are seeming to do w/ mice and menus?
	  
Further thought: The number of strictly non-editing functions an editor
          has may be directly proportional to the amount of time spent
	  in that editor -- the more time in the editor, the less time
	  spent escaping out, doing a quick compile, and slipping back in.

` M.P.Gerlek (mikeg@watson.c3.lanl.gov)              "To tweak,             '
` Los Alamos Nat'l Lab / Merrimack College              Or not to tweak?    '
`                                                     That is the           '
` Disclaimer: They don't tell me                        Question."          '
`             anything worth disclaiming.                                   '
.