otto@fsu1.cc.fsu.edu (John Otto) (05/03/91)
This is my second try to post this using VMS /EDT. My all time favorite editors have been ame and EDIF/FSE. I used ame on an SGI Iris work-station for software development. We used a system of directories with a single routine per file, so ame's many window support was very helpful. Its interface was much like those of Mac word processors, but it had more richness - more oomph. It truly was an advanced mouse editor, but I haven't seen it elsewhere. My first full screen editor on a mainframe was fse, so I guess a lot of what I like about it are just things that I got used to. I like being able to use the <cr> as a cursor positioner, without having it insert an end-of-line marker into the file; I'd really like to see an editor that implemented this as a modal. The same can be said for <tab>. Sometimes, I just want it to move the cursor faster to a specific place, not insert the ASCII <tab> character into the file. Both FSE and EDIF take full advantage of function keys, especially on terminals or work-stations where these can be encoded. (Developers of FSE used control data's Viking 721 terminals which gave them 44 programmable keys, if my all to faulty memory serves.) Even if the "terminal" did not have programmable keys, the software on the mainframe is adaptable through use of terminal definition files. Most vendors require one or a small number of specific terminals which they manufactured to be used, but FSE & EDIF can adapt while taking fair advantage of smart terminal features. My favorite feature is the UNDO command or function which will let you back up to any step back to the beginning of even a series of sessions, without creating a multitude of "cycles" of the file. In EDIF, the source code management utility is fully integrated as is the system control language, with some extra, editor specific functions added. These are not "word processors" though they can be made to do the job. John G. Otto jgo@fsu.bitnet jgo@rai.cc.fsu.edu
guy@auspex.auspex.com (Guy Harris) (05/04/91)
>My first full screen editor on a mainframe was fse, so I guess a lot of >what I like about it are just things that I got used to. Yup. Personally, I hate editors that don't let me use the <RETURN> key to insert new lines, or that don't let me use the <TAB> key to insert tabs, but there are those who like editors where those keys are cursor-positioning keys....