RAYBRO%HOLON@UTRCGW.UTC.COM ("William R Brohinsky", ay) (05/17/91)
I have had no trouble with embedded <control-z>'s in MS-DOS since I started using brief (Solution System's programmer's editor). I write all my C and TeX code using brief. It even has a 'smart' template capability in C that matches braces. I intend to write such an intellegent template for TeX someday... brief is not public domain, nor cheap. It does have a controllable undo (and with a new revision I don't have yet, it also has a controllable redo) which allows you to allocate memory to the undo based on expected ability to screw up and how much memory you can do with out. My undo buffer is about 32K... 8^) brief apparently pays attention to file length as reported by dos as well as control-z's, and if the file is reported longer than indicated by EOF (<ctrl>-Z, decimal 26), it will show what is behind the <ctrl-z>. Also, when you save the file, it will be corrected (the dos-reported size) to the size of the document buffer. Once in a while, I get a file that is a few bytes longer than EOF indicates. Usually, in these cases, the remainder of the file is padded with repeated <ctrl-z>s. I just delete them in brief, and when it stores them, it fixes the file size for dos so subsequent loads do not load more than EOF allows. On the other hand, brief handles infotex.tex without truncation. I also ran a test case, where I typed a line, 2 <CR>s (which were translated into CR/LF pairs by brief in the final file-DOS is not Unix, either!) a control-z (entered with alt-q, ctrl-z) another pair of CR's, and another sentence. I can [inadvertant interruption-sorry] I can list this file with list.com (available from Simtel20), which also goes on reported size, and see everything, embedded control-z included. Likewise, brief can re-load it without problems. If I type it using the dos type command, I only see the first line. I hope this helps. I'll finish this non-review with the paragraph from `The Programmer's Shop' catalog for brief, including list price, and their `quick access' fax #: call the phone number (617-740-0025) from your fax. follow the computer voice's instructions, then type in 732-032 (the code for brief) and when told to, hang up the phone. Your fax should engage and spit out Solution System's brochure on brief. ``Customizable Programmer's editor. Unlimited windows; multi-level undo; C-like and LISP-like macro languages; macro language debugger; multiple keystroke macros; built-in support for most popular languages and networks; more. BRIEF uses all memory available to it; can edit files over 2 billion lines.'' list price: 249US street prices are usually 30bucks less or better. your mileage may vary. TINAR (a real review would be much longer, and I prefer CEDpro on the amiga!) Disclaimer: I can't use one: I really am responsible for everything that is wrong. [especially the last statement 8^)]