Re: SEUL: Text editors.

[Kevin Forge <forgeltd@pop.netaddress.usa.net>]

Cyberdyn wrote:
> 
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> 
> On 15-Feb-98 Kevin Forge wrote:
> - -> Most X Based editors are OK.  Nedit could be a default editor ( the one
> - -> that pops up when you double click on a file that may be text )
> - -> ... This is part of the 'S' in our title
> 
> Nedit isn't free it's linked to motif.
>
This point had escaped me ... I use several X editors and can't remember 
the name of sume.  I haven't found many with design problems, but I have
found a few that don't work ( core dumps etc... )
Nedit must have been 1 of those I didn't use since I don't have Motif 
( can't afford it )
>
> - -> I CAN'T use pico.  I have tried.  it just doesn't suite me very well.
> - -> Why ?  I learned about PCs on a DOS/Win3.0, I then played around with
> - -> a Coleco Adam ( I've only met 3 people who recognize the name as a
> - -> computer ), Apple 2, Commodore 64/128 Macs and of course more DOS/win
> - -> PCs.
> 
> Can you use pine?  If you can use edit.com you can use pico.  If you can use
> lynx or pine, you can use pico.  I think you are thinking of vi.  Pico has
> all the commands listed at the bottom of the screen.  It's an editor version
> of pine.
> 
> BTW, pico isn't free either.  It may be free enough but that's debatable.
>
I'm not too worried about what's fully free.  As long as it can be 
included in a commercial distro and a free distro.  I only know about
usability.  see below.
> 
> - -> I never quite got WordStar down ( even though my current console editor
> - -> is allegedly like it ... JOE ).  Word Perfect 5.0/1 ( can't remember
> - -> which I touched first ) was "easy".  All the Windows Word processors
> - -> imitated it.  MSDOS edit.com is like it too.  What I am getting at here
> - -> is that this may be the only app the SEUL needs to write from scratch.
> - -> a text editor with basic functionality.
> 
> This is a very strange thing to say.  I can use edit.com blindfolded but
> can't do a damned thing in WP5.0/1 without using a menu pop-up and scanning
>            ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> the menu's for what I want to do.  F5 opens a file in WP but alt-o does in
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> all MS products.  F7 exits WP but alt-x exits all MS products.  alt-s saves
> in MS products but, I think it's shift F7 in WP.
> 
> Where's the similarity?
> 
The highlighted comment is WHAT made WP51 easy for me.  You didn't need
to 
memorize Keybindings.  That is good in the long run, but when you just
need to edit a few small files to customize your system or fix a 
problem, Drop down menus are where it's att ( see my last post about 1 
real world example )
If you don't remember 'F5 to open new file' you will remember 'alt to
drop down menu and arrow keys to find what I want'
As for keybindings.  I can't think of a single reason to not have 2 or
3 keybindings for some functions
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