[comp.editors] vi with windows?

michaelw@syacus.acus.oz (Michael Wang) (11/19/90)

Is there a public domain vi editor that has a windowing feature?
If so, where can I get it?  Does Elvis and Stevie have window features?

I'd like to edit one file while looking at another and our SysV
does not have ^Z feature to swap between different processes.  This makes
editing related files a pain.  So I am in dire need of a vi editor with
windowing feature.  (I don't particularly want to learn emacs.)

Thanks for the info..

Michael Wang	michaelw@syacus.acus.oz.au

s887212@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au (Stephen Riehm [Romulis]) (11/19/90)

michaelw@syacus.acus.oz (Michael Wang) writes:

>Is there a public domain vi editor that has a windowing feature?
>If so, where can I get it?  Does Elvis and Stevie have window features?

very nice to have I must admit.. (the 'ol cyber 760 Full Screen Editor had
features like this), but there is more.....

>I'd like to edit one file while looking at another and our SysV
>does not have ^Z feature to swap between different processes.  This makes
>editing related files a pain.  So I am in dire need of a vi editor with
>windowing feature.  (I don't particularly want to learn emacs.)

what you need is to learn how to use vi with multiple files.. it can do
the job quite nicely if you care to learn. Essentially you need to learn
to use the :n and :e commands (these are at their best when  auto-write is
turned on by the way).
I often start a programming session in vi by typing vi *.c
this starts vi up with the first .c file.. no problems so far.
to then move from one file to the next you can use :n to go to the next
file.. (if auto-write is off you will have to :w! first (if you have
changed anything of course)). you can :n until you get to the last file.
to start with the first file again.. :rew rewinds the list and puts you
back.

if you are swapping between two files a lot.. edit one then use :n file2 or
:e file2 to start up the second one.. once you have done this once you can
use :e# or ^^ (ctrl-shift-6) (I have also noticed that ^6 works.. is this
an undocumented feature?) to swap between the two.. 

why use this rather than suspending? well there are advantages... if you
are editing multiple files this way it is easy to copy information from one
file to the next.. by using the labeled buffers (a-z) <the default buffer
is lost when you change files> for example.. to copy one line from file a
to file b you do something like..
vi a b       /* start editing the two files */
             /* locate line to copy */
"zyy         /* yank the line into buffer z */
:n           /* move to the next file .. in this case "b" */
             /* locate place to put line */
"zp  or "zP  /* put the yanked line from "a" under/above the current
              * position in "b" */

there are a few other things like TAGS which you might also want to read up
about.
these solutions don't offer you many files on the screen at once.. just a
way of swapping between files... I don't find it too difficult to cope.

just one question to those that may have followed this note this far.. I
know the :n goes to the next file in your arglist.. :ar lists them and :rew
rewinds them and put you back to the start.. but is there any way to step
through the files backwards one at a time? < :p don't work and :e# has a
toggling effect >

hope this helps ya some
============================================================================
Romulis [Stephen Riehm]	            Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,
					       (124 Latrobe St., Melbourne.)
s887212@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au					   Australia.

@>---`--,--( Still Stuck on the wrong side of the deep pink sea )--.--'---<@
======================< Insert Usual Disclaimer >===========================

david@bacchus.esa.oz (David Burren) (11/20/90)

In <6284@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au> s887212@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au (Stephen Riehm [Romulis]) writes:

>if you are swapping between two files a lot.. edit one then use :n file2 or
>:e file2 to start up the second one.. once you have done this once you can
>use :e# or ^^ (ctrl-shift-6) (I have also noticed that ^6 works.. is this
>an undocumented feature?) to swap between the two.. 

No Steve, it's just that your keyboard is producing the same character for
each key combination.  It's not unusual in doing that.
If you're ever curious about things like that, `cat -v` is a useful tool.


>just one question to those that may have followed this note this far.. I
>know the :n goes to the next file in your arglist.. :ar lists them and :rew
>rewinds them and put you back to the start.. but is there any way to step
>through the files backwards one at a time? < :p don't work and :e# has a
>toggling effect >

No sorry, but lemme know, ok? :-)
_____________________________________________________________________________
David Burren [Athos]                          Email: david@bacchus.esa.oz.au
Software Development Engineer                 Phone: +61 3 819 4554
Expert Solutions Australia, Hawthorn, VIC

tomm@uucp (Tom Mackey) (11/22/90)

In article <1190@syacus.acus.oz> michaelw@syacus.UUCP (Michael Wang) writes:
>Is there a public domain vi editor that has a windowing feature?
>If so, where can I get it?  Does Elvis and Stevie have window features?
>
>I'd like to edit one file while looking at another and our SysV
>does not have ^Z feature to swap between different processes.  This makes
>editing related files a pain.  So I am in dire need of a vi editor with
>windowing feature.  (I don't particularly want to learn emacs.)
>
>Thanks for the info..
>
>Michael Wang	michaelw@syacus.acus.oz.au

Another approach that you can use is the "screen" utility.  It allows
multiple logins per physical device (uses pty's) and allows the user
to switch very quickly between login sessions with a control-key
sequence.  I have the sources if you can't find it at one of the
archive sites.  I've used it for 5 or so years, so it is quite a solid
piece of code.  It works best when installed by root, but still does
most things even when installed at the user level.

--
Tom Mackey       (206) 865-6575        tomm@voodoo.boeing.com
Boeing Computer Services         ....uunet!bcstec!voodoo!tomm
M/S 7K-20,     P.O. Box 24346,     Seattle, WA     98124-0346

rbp@investor.pgh.pa.us (Bob Peirce #305) (11/25/90)

In article <1190@syacus.acus.oz> michaelw@syacus.UUCP (Michael Wang) writes:
>Is there a public domain vi editor that has a windowing feature?
>If so, where can I get it?  Does Elvis and Stevie have window features?
>
>I'd like to edit one file while looking at another and our SysV
>does not have ^Z feature to swap between different processes.  This makes

You can do this with shl layers in SysV.
-- 
Bob Peirce, Pittsburgh, PA				  412-471-5320
...!uunet!pitt!investor!rbp			rbp@investor.pgh.pa.us

pgf@cuba.tmc.edu (Paul Fox) (12/03/90)

Well, since you asked, I guess I'll 'fess up.  I've already taken a copy of
micro-Emacs, and converted it into a very passable multi-window multi-file
vi work-alike.  And it's available to anyone who wants it.  What
follows are the README, and then the vile help file.  If I should post
the whole thing, let me know.  In the meantime, it is available for
anon ftp from ftp.cayman.com. 

(The biggest single missing feature, which I do intend to work on eventually,
though someone else is welcome to do it if they'd like, is a proper set of
"colon" commands -- the most commonly used ones are there, but in an ugly
way.  I never felt like writing the parser for the addresses and the mulitple
regexp syntax, etc.  It does satisfy most users, however.  I think the solution
would be to "borrow" Steve Kirkendall's parser from elvis...)

		paul fox, pgf@cayman.com, (617)494-1999
		Cayman Systems, 26 Landsdowne St., Cambridge, MA 02139

----------------------

The README file:


VILE -- VI Like Emacs: a vi workalike put together from Micro-Emacs by Paul Fox
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

	This editor grew out of a frustration that although lots of eager
	programmers have tackled rewrites of Emacs, with new and better 
	features (not to mention free source), I've not seen anything
	similar done with the Second True Editor.  (The First, of course,
	being /bin/ed)

	So I took a copy of MicroEmacs 3.9 (which I've since discovered was
    out of date, unfortunately) and bashed and badgered it into a vi
    work-alike.  It retains the multiple buffer/multiple window
    features of uemacs, but the "finger-feel", if you will, is very
    much that of vi.  The collective developers of Micro-Emacs should be
    complimented that the changes were as easy as they were.  The code
    was pretty clean and well designed before I started on it.  I'm not
	sure that the same can be said anymore...

	The benefits over standard vi include:
		- multiple files open at once
		- multiple windows on the screen
		- a larger set of operator commands
		- the possibility of porting to your favorite micro.
			(mind you, I haven't even tried this on a small
				UNIX machine, let alone DOS etc...)
		- more uniform undo/yank register treatment
		- tags doesn't lose your last search pattern
		- "next error" cursor positioning
	Of course, it _may_ lack some of vi's reliability. (grin)

	Although I can't imagine the emacs folks wanting to buy much of this
	stuff back (insert mode, anyone? (grin), they might want to look at:
		- full global undo
		- tags support
		- better (maybe?) UNIX terminal handling
		- better UNIX shell escapes
		- terminal scroll support
		- multiple yank registers (formerly called kill buffers)
		- multiple marks  (actually kind of messy)
		- improved aesthetics of window splitting and deleting
		- "next error" cursor positioning
		- list mode


	Take a look at vile.hlp for more information about features and
	differences.

	I have not tried this on a small system, or even _any_ non-UNIX
	system.  I'm sure some work will be required to make it work on
	DOS again, for instance -- especially for spawning sub-shells, etc.

	I ifdef'ed out the language features (user-defined procs, etc.) a
	long time ago -- I don't know if they still work, though I didn't
	actively try to break them.

	Hope you enjoy -- 

	Paul Fox
	pgf@cayman.com

p.s.  The code distributed with vile in the "shortnames" subdirectory
	is covered by GNU Public License.  The vile code itself in the upper
	level directory is _not_ covered by the GNU public license.


The help file:

Getting along with vile
-----------------------

	The only vile commands described herein are those not 
	present in vi, or differing greatly from those in vi.
	There is a section at the bottom describing other differences
	between vile and vi.

	First, to leave vile, use any of the following:
		:q
		:quit
		:exit
		:wq	(writes the file before quitting)
		:q!	(quits without writing changes!)
		Q
		ZZ	(will write all unwritten buffers)
		^X-^C	(don't know why.  _They_ don't put in ":q" for _us_!)

	To get help (probably just this text), use any of:
		:h
		:help
		^X-^H
		^A-^H

General Remarks
---------------
	Vile holds text in "buffers".  Usually, these correspond to a file
	that you are editing, but not always.  For instance, a buffer
	might be used to display this help text, or to hold the output
	of a shell command that you have run.  Buffers have names, and
	these usually match the names of the files they contain.

	Buffers are sometimes displayed in windows.  A buffer may be 
	displayed in more than one window at the same time.  There is 
	no such thing as a hidden window.  All existing windows are on 
	the screen.  There may, however, be hidden buffers, which are not 
	currently associated with any window.

	All yank/delete registers (the default unnamed register, the numbered
	registers ("1-"9) that hold line-deletes, and the named registers
	("a-"z)) are global to the editor, and not attached to any single
	buffer.  Thus you can delete text in one buffer and put it back in
	another. 

	Undo operations are attached to a buffer, not a window.  Thus if
	you have two windows to the same buffer, and make a change in one,
	you can undo it in the other.

Buffer manipulation commands:  
-----------------------------
	_	Show a history list of the up to 9 most recently visited 
		buffers.  Follow this command with a digit to select that
		buffer, or simply repeat it ("__") as a synonym for "_1".
		Modified buffers are preceded by a '*' in the history list.
		There are many different ways to get the previous file:
			__
			_1
			1_
			:p
			:e#
			^^   (ctrl-^)  (but many keyboards can't produce this)

	*	Display a list of all buffers, or make that display go away
		if it's already present.  Leave your finger on the key, and
		it's easy to create and destroy the list.  The buffers are
		numbered; the numbers correspond to the history numbers
		shown and used by the '_' command, described above.  (If
		the buffer number is greater than 9, then the "nn_" form of
		the '_' command must be used, since '_' will only accept a
		single following digit.)  Note that since the buffer names
		are displayed in order of use, the list can quickly grow
		"stale" -- the numbers may be meaningless if buffer
		switching has been done since the last display of the list. 

		The program version is also displayed with this command.

	^A-*	Always display a list of all buffers.  Useful for updating the
		list if it's already on the screen but may be out of date.
		Any argument will cause the list to include _all_ buffers,
		even those normally considered "invisible".  (For example,
		macros are stored in "invisible" buffers.)

	:e	Edit a file.  If the file is already in a buffer, that buffer
		will be recalled into the current window.

	:e!	Re-edit a file.  A different filename can be given, but the 
		buffer name will not change to match it. 

	^X-e	Edit the file whose pathname appears under the cursor.  That
		is, if you are editing a makefile, you could edit one of the
		source files by placing the cursor at the start of its name
		and using this command.

	:n	Go to the next buffer.  "next" means least recently used.

	:rename	Rename the current buffer.  Prompts for a new name.  Does
		not affect the filename associated with the buffer.  Use ":f"
		to do that.
		This command is useful for renaming the "[Output]" buffer, if
		you wish to preserve its contents, but run a new command. 

	:b	Edit a buffer.  Recalls the named buffer.  Does not look for
		a file of that name.  Will find "invisible" buffers.

	:k	Kill a buffer.  Remove the buffer and its contents from the
		editor.  Will ask if changes to the buffer should be discarded.
		Currently, a buffer that is being displayed cannot be killed.
		
Window manipulation commands:  
-----------------------------
	^T	Make Two windows.  Splits the current window in half. This
		is the usual way to create a new window.
		The emacs-style commands ^X-0, ^X-1, and ^X-2 are also 
		included.
	^K	Get rid of (Kill) this window.
	^O	Make this the Only window on the screen.

	^N	Go to the next window on the screen.
	^P	Go to the previous window on the screen.
		These two commands may be disturbing to vi users who use
		^N and ^P to move between lines.

	v	Make the current window smaller.
	V	Make the current window larger.

	^A-^D	Scroll the next window down half a screen.
	^A-^U	Scroll the next window up half a screen.
	^A-^E	Scroll the next window up one line.
	^A-^Y	Scroll the next window down one line.
	(The previous four commands are useful when comparing two buffers.
	 Mnemonic -- think of them as affecting the "A"lternate window.)

	zH zM zL  These are synonyms for vi's 'z+', 'z.', and 'z-', which 
		position the line holding the cursor at the top, middle, or
		bottom of the screen, respectively.

File manipulation commands:  
---------------------------
	The usual :e, :r, :f, :w commands are available, though only
	":e!" is available of the "!" options.  The :r command reads the
	named file in after the current line.  To read a file before the
	first line, one would use ":0r" in real vi, but the vile command parser
	doesn't accept this -- so use :R" instead.
	
	No line numbers or marks may precede these commands, so two 
	non-"colon" commands have been added:

	^R	Prompts for a filename, and then reads it in _above_ the
		current line.  If a register is specified (e.g. "a^R ), 
		the file is read into that named register, but not inserted 
		into the current buffer.

	^W	is a writing operator, which prompts for a filename, and 
		writes the specified region to that file.  Like all operators,
		it the command is repeated, as in ^W^W, then lines are 
		affected.  Use 10^W^W to write 10 lines.

		If a register is specified (e.g. "a^W ) then the command 
		is _not_ an operator, but writes the specified register to 
		the named file.  

Shell Access
------------
	Anywhere a filename is valid, a command name is also
	valid, entered in the form "!shell-command".  The whole line is
	handed to the shell, and the read or write operation is done on
	the commands standard input or output, as appropriate.  Thus
	you can type ":e !date" to edit a copy of today's date.

	The ": !cmd" shell escape works pretty much as it does in vi.
	The command ":!!" will rerun the previous such shell command.
	
	In addition, the ^X-! command runs a shell command and captures
	its output in a specific buffer, called "[Output]".  This is
	almost identical to ":e !cmd", except that in that case the buffer
	is named according to the command name.

	These output capture commands are most useful in conjunction with
	the "error finder", described below.

	On systems supporting job control, ^Z will suspend vile.

Text manipulation command:
--------------------------
	Remember, these are only the new or different commands.  The 
	standard vi set should still work.

	Undo ("u") and line-undo ("U") are available for all commands.
	They should be a little less capricious than their
	vi counterparts, since they do not share the default yank register
	for their operation.  Also, line-undo ("U") is available until
	the next change to the file, rather than until you leave the line.

	The vi "global" command is present, in its non-interactive form
	only.  So is the "substitute" command.  These both look pretty
	different while they're being used than they do in vi, and since
	the searching is done right after the pattern is entered, there
	can be a long delay while you're trying to finish typing your
	complete command.  You can type commands just as you would have
	in vi, i.e. ":g/oldpat/s//newstring/" will work.  But you won't
	see any of the '/' characters.  Try it-- you'll get the idea.

	The ":g" command can be followed by any of l (list), p (print),
	< (left shift), > (right shift), r (read file), j (join lines),
	d (delete), L (lower case), U (upper case), ~ (flip case), put
	(append yanked text), Put (prepend yanked text), s (substitute),
	t (trim trailing whitespace).  For example, ":g/pattern/Put"
	will insert the contents of the default yank register just above
	every line containing "pattern". 

	Operators
	---------
	Vi has a class of commands known as "operators".  Operator
	commands are always immediately followed by a motion command. 
	The text affected by an operator is bounded by the initial
	position, and the cursor position after the motion is
	completed.  Thus the delete operator ('d') can be followed by
	the word motion command ('w'), causing the next word to be
	deleted.  The sequence "dG" will delete through the end of the
	file, and "d/junk" will delete to the next occurence of the
	string "junk".  Operators can all be stuttered to affect
	lines.  Thus "dd" deletes one line, "4dd" affects 4 lines,
	etc. 

	Some operators in vile can be forced to affect whole lines,
	though the motion wouldn't normally imply it, by using the ^X
	form of the command.  For example, "d%" (assuming you are on a
	curly brace) will delete a C-style block of code.  "^X-d%"
	will delete that same area, plus anything else on the lines
	containing the curly- brace endpoints. 

	There are several new operator commands:

	^A-~	Is the operator form of the '~' command, so "^A-~~"
		changes the case of all characters on the current
		line, "^A-~w" does it to a word, "3^A-~}" does it for
		3 paragraphs, etc. 
	^A-u	Like ^A-~, but converts the region to upper case.
	^A-l	Like ^A-~, but converts the region to lower case.

	^A-f	Format the region based on the current fill column.  The
                initial indentation of both the first and second lines
                of the region are preserved, and all subsequent lines
                get the second line's indentation.  This makes indented/
		outdented paragraphs work correctly.  The usual use of
                this command is "^A-f}", which does it to the current
                paragraph. 

	^X-d	Delete the region, including the lines it starts and ends on.
	^X-c	Change the region, including the lines it starts and ends on.
	^X-y	Yank the region, including the lines it starts and ends on.

	Text insertion
	--------------
	^X-p	Causes the previously yanked or deleted text, no matter
		how it was obtained, to be inserted after the current line.
		Usually text that did not consist of whole lines where it
		came from is inserted immediately following the cursor.
	^X-P	As above, but the text is put before the current line.
		Thus "dw" followed by a "p" command does a normal insertion
		of the deleted word, whereas "^X-p" results in the word
		being inserted on a line by itself.

	Searching
	---------
	^X-/	Does a forward search for the "word" located under the
		cursor.
	^X-?	Does a reverse search for the "word" located under the
		cursor.
	^A-/	Does not do a search, but sets the search pattern to the
		"word" under the cursor.  Useful for "picking up" a word
		from one buffer, and searching for it in another.

	The following  two commands may not always be present in vile:
	^X-s	Incremental forward searching.  As you enter the search 
		string, the cursor is advanced to the next match with 
		what you've typed so far.
	^X-r	As above, but in reverse.

	Tags
	----
	Vile supports vi-style "tags" files.

	":ta" or ":tag" allows you to enter a tagname to locate.  Changes
		to that file and location.
	^]	Uses the identifier currently under the cursor as the 
		tagname.
	^X-^]	"Un-tag" - pops to the file and location just previous to 
		the last tag command.  (Some versions of vi have this command
		attached to ^T)

	When one of these commands is used, vile will look for a file named
	"tags" in the current directory, and load it into a hidden buffer
	for use during tag searches.  This buffer is editable if you wish
	(":e tags"), but will not appear in the buffer lists.  If a buffer
	named "tags" is already available when a tag is first requested, it
	will be used instead of a file called "tags", and of course will
	remain visible.

	"Advanced" editing
	------------------
	^A-<SPACE>	Convert tabs to spaces on the current line. An argument
		tells how many lines.
	^A-<TAB>	Convert as many spaces to tabs as possible on the 
		current line.  Argument tells how many lines.
	^A-o	Remove all but one blank line at the current spot.

Miscellaneous commands
----------------------
	^X-^X	The "error finder".  Goes to the next file/line error pair 
		specified in the last buffer captured from a command's
		output.  This buffer is usually created with the ^X-! command.
		For example, "-!cc -c junk.c" puts all of the compiler output
		into the buffer named "[Output]".  Repeatedly hitting ^X-^X 
		will position the editor at each error in turn, and will
		eventually start over again at the top..
	^X-t	Set or report on the tab-stop width.  Tab-stops may only be
		set to 2, 4, 8, or 16 column spacings.  To set, the spacing
		must precede the command, as in "4^X-t". The "set tabstop" 
		command described below does the same thing.
	^X-f	Set the fill-column to be used with ^A-f and auto-wrap mode on
		insert.  The default value is 7/8's of the screen size, with
		a maximum of 70.  Since arguments come before commands, you
		type: 65^X-f.  The "set fillcol" command does the same thing.
	^X-(	Begin recording a keyboard macro.  The keystrokes you then type
		are remembered until you use ^X-).
	^X-)	Finish recording a keyboard macro.
	^X-e or &	Execute a keyboard macro.
	^X-x	Set encryption key. (not well tested, but hopefully not broken)
		The CRYPT mode must be set for this to do anything.
	K	Count prefix.  The first time you type it, it is equivalent
		to an argument of 4 to the following command.  If you repeat 
		it, it becomes worth 16, the next time 64, etc...  

Editor modes
------------
	Modes are associated with buffers, and are inherited from a set of
	global modes.  To set a mode on a buffer, use ":set", to remove
	the mode, use ":unset" or ":setno" (the latter is more similar to vi.
	To set and reset global modes, use ":setg", ":unsetg", ":setgno".
	To display modes, use ":setall", ":modes", or ":setgall", ":gmodes".
	The possible modes are:

	wrap	similar to vi's auto-wrap mode.  While inserting, words are
		moved to the next line if the current line gets too long.

	cmode	C-code mode..  Maintains current indentation level
		automatically during insert.  If a line ends with a '{',
		then the next line tabs in further.  If a line begins with
		a '}', it is lined up with its matching paired brace.  If a
		line starts with '#' it is started at the beginning of
		line.  If the global CMODE is set, then the buffer's mode
		is turned on automatically only for files ending in ".c" or
		".h". 

	swrap	Scanwrap mode.  Text searches will continue from past the
		bottom of the file to the top, and vice-versa.

	exact	Text searches must match the pattern exactly.  Otherwise,
		searches are case-insensitive.

	view	View the file only.  No changes are permitted.  This is set
		automatically for the output of shell commands. 

	magic	Allow meta-characters in search strings.  Otherwise,
		strings are taken literally.  Meta characters available are:
		^ - matches beginning of line
		$ - matches end of line
		. - matches any single character
		* - matches any number of the previous character
		[...] - matches a character class
		\ - take the next character literally

	asave	Automatic file saving.  Writes the file after every 256 
		characters of inserted text.  Other file changes are not 
		counted.

	crypt	Causes files to be encrypted.  This is NOT compatible
		with the UNIX crypt(1) routines.

	list	The buffer will be displayed with tabs and newlines made
		visible, instead of as whitespace.

	dos	When writing the buffer, terminate lines with CR/LF pairs,
                rather than the usual single LF.  On input, if the global
		DOS mode is set, then incoming CR/LF pairs are taken as
		line terminators, and the local DOS mode is set on the
		buffer if the majority of lines ended that way.  If global
		DOS mode is _not_ set, then incoming CR characters will be
		visible on the screen. 

	lazy	If an attempt is made to edit a file (with ":e filename")
		which does not exist in the current directory, vile will
		try looking for a file of the same name (but in a different
		directory) which has been referenced in the tags file. 
		This mode is global to the editor, and is not "inherited"
		by buffers. It's not very fast, either.

	tabstop Will prompt for a new value for spacing of tabstops.  The
		only supported values are 2, 4, 8, and 16.  This value is,
		unfortunately, not settable on a per-buffer basis. 

	fillcol Will prompt for a new value for the fill column, where
		auto-wrapping and region formatting will break lines.  This
		value is, unfortunately, not settable on a per-buffer
		basis. 

Differences
------------
	Of course, this really isn't vi.  Some of the following differences
	deserve changing, others do not.

	Currently, the parser for the ':' commands is not very vi-like.
	For instance, ":e" will prompt you for a file name.
	Most commands remember their last argument, and will present it 
	as the default reply to their prompt.

	The '!' operator, for running a region through a filter, is missing.

	The backspace, line kill, job control, etc. characters are not
	taken from the terminal settings on startup, but are hard-coded.
	The insert-mode command characters cannot even be rebound.

	In insert mode there is no word kill (^W) or line kill (^U or @).

	Repeated backspacing while in insert mode will move past the point
	where the insert began, until the beginning of line is reached.

	There is no expansion of ! in filenames or shell escapes.  The
	command ":!!" does rerun the previous shell command.  Occurences of
	'#' and '%' are recognized and expanded to the previous or current
	filename.  Other punctuation (e.g.  '~') may be expanded by your
	shell (sh, csh), since it is handed filenames for expansion if they
	contain punctuation characters other than '.', '/', or '_'. 

	No line ranges are available to ":" commands.  This is partially
	alleviated by the new ^R and ^W commands.  (See above.)

	Paragraph and section boundaries, for the {, }, [, and ] commands
	are not configurable, and do not exactly match those in vi.  The
	current set is:
	  Paragraphs: blank lines, or lines beginning in .I .L .P .Q or .b
	  Sections: lines beginning in {, formfeeds, or .S .H .N
	I think these will find more boundaries than vi, rather than fewer.

	There is no special lisp support.  But then, when was the last time
	you heard of a lisp programmer used vi?

	Of course, ex and open mode aren't there.

	There is no concept of shiftwidth.  ^D and ^T are aliased to backspace
	and tab for those whose fingers are too old for new tricks.

	There are no "sentence" oriented motions. That is, "(" and ")" are
	missing.

	Most, but not all, of the word-motion-with-operator and end-of-line 
	anomalies have been recreated.  For example, "dw" on the last word 
	of a line followed by whitespace deletes the trailing whitespace, 
	unlike vi, which does not.

Credits
-------
	This code has been written by a _lot_ of people.  Names appearing
	within comments in the micro-Emacs source code are: Dave Conroy,
	Daniel Lawrence, John Gamble, Roger Ove, Dana Hoggatt, Jon Reid, Steve
	Wilhite, George Jones, Adam Fritz, D.R.Banks, Bob McNamara.  The
	changes to create vile from micro-Emacs were all done by Paul Fox,
	who can be reached at pgf@cayman.com.


-- 
		paul fox, pgf@cayman.com, (617)494-1999
		Cayman Systems, 26 Landsdowne St., Cambridge, MA 02139

pgf@cuba.tmc.edu (Paul Fox) (12/03/90)

Uh oh.  I don't know how, but the return path on that last article about vile
sure looks wrong to me --- send responses to "pgf@cayman.com", please!!!!

-- 
		paul fox, pgf@cayman.com, (617)494-1999
		Cayman Systems, 26 Landsdowne St., Cambridge, MA 02139

raf@karl.cs.su.OZ.AU (A Stainless Steel Rat) (12/04/90)

In article <1190@syacus.acus.oz> michaelw@syacus.UUCP (Michael Wang) writes:

>Is there a public domain vi editor that has a windowing feature?
>If so, where can I get it?  Does Elvis and Stevie have window features?
>
>I'd like to edit one file while looking at another and our SysV
>does not have ^Z feature to swap between different processes.  This makes
>editing related files a pain.  So I am in dire need of a vi editor with
>windowing feature.  (I don't particularly want to learn emacs.)

Since the '#' command edits the most recently editted file in vi, it can be
used to flip between related files easily. I use this feature a hell of a lot
by just editting a file, :e other_related_file^M and then using '#' use flip
between the two as required. The cursor position is maintained for both files
which is also very nice.

raf


--
Robert A Fabian                       | I may accused of being confused
raf@basser.cs.su.oz.au                | But I'm average weight for my height
Basser Department of Computer Science | My philosophy, like colour TV
University of Sydney                  | Is all there, in black and white