db21@ihuxk.UUCP (Dave Beyerl) (04/03/85)
I recently purchased the newly introduced MIX Editor which was
advertised in Dr. Dobb's Journal. Because of recent net discussion
on the subject of editors, I thought I would share my findings.
According to the MIX Editor, herein called MIX, user manual
introduction, MIX is described as a full screen,
programmable text editor designed for entering programs. The
three features that make MIX a great tool are:
1) it allows the screen to be split either vertically or
horizontally for simultaneous editing of two files,
2) it is programmable via user defined macros built from
the 100+ predefined editor commands, and
3) it can be customized for different terminal or
application configurations via user defined setup
files.
Editing is accomplished by using either the predefined key
sequences or by entering commands by name from command mode. Key
layout and commands are patterened after Wordstar but can be
customized to user specification. In addition to the many
familiar editing commands are some useful new commands such
as auto indent, change disk, display line numbers and autoline.
Autoline automatically increments and includes lne numbers when
entering BASIC programs. Auto numbering is provided for inserted
lines as well, but there does not appear to be a way to renumber
should the need arise. Also included are commands to duplicate
and center lines and to 'undelete' mistakenly deleted words or
lines. While the split screen feature is a welcome addition, I
found that the vertical split mode did not behave as described in
the manual when invoked on my NEC PC8800 computer.
MIX comes with a 100 page user manual that does a good job of
explaining the editor commands and features. There are a few
samples of setup files and macro definitions but there could be
more. Noticeably absent, however, is a command quick-reference
card. I think one would be very useful particularly because of
the many special commands and multiple invocation modes. A file
on the distribution diskette contains explanations and examples
of useful patches for the .COM and .OVY files and includes a
section detailing special cursor addressing.
All things considered, I must agree with the advertising copy
statement that MIX is "a powerful addition to any programmer's
tool box." MIX provides many features not found in more
expensive editors and is a bargain at the introductory price of
$29.95 plus $5 shipping (US). MIX is available for PCDOS/MSDOS or
CPM80 in a number of formats and can be obtained from:
MIX Software
2116 E. Arapaho
Suite 363
Richardson, TX 75081
phone: 1-800-622-4071
1-800-942-7317 (Illinois only)
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and wrong!