Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!uunet!milhow1!how
From: how@milhow1.UU.NET (Mike Howard)
Newsgroups: gnu.emacs
Subject: /rdb mode?
Keywords: relational data base
Message-ID: <265@milhow1.UU.NET>
Date: 18 May 89 03:27:29 GMT
Organization: Miller/Howard Invst., Malden-on-Hudson, NY
Lines: 22

I would like a mode to edit/create/display fields of records where
the records are new-line separated text containing tab-character
separated fields.  Something like the `/rdb' format:
 - each record is a regular line of text terminated by \n
 - each record contains ths same number of fields
 - fields are separated by \t
 - the fields in the first line are the field names
 - the second line is ersatz and contains fields filled with -'s
   the same length as the field names.
 - record 1 is line 3, record 2 is line 4, etc.

It would be useful to:
 - load in a file and have the field names picked off the first line
   automatically - split the screen vertically with the field names
   on the left and the data on the right - one field per row.
 - character editing restricted to fields.  ^N, ^P move between fields.
   ^V, M-V move between records.

Any suggestions as to how to implement something like this?
-- 
Mike Howard
uunet!milhow1!how