Editor with DecWindows

[Joel Gringorten]

In article <1991May2.150153.18386 at cm.cf.ac.uk>, robert at computing-maths.cardiff.ac.uk (Robert Evans) writes:
|> I don't want to start any religious wars, but what editor do you use
|> with DecWindows?

dxnotepad.

|> 
|> I've been looking at DecStations with a view to purchase and can't find
|> a window-based editor.  Our local DEC sales people tell me they use
|> "vi" in a dxterm window if they're using an Ultrix workstation.  

Fools.  You can quote me on that.  :-)  

Notepad offers the following features:

1)  journalling
2)  multiple screen splits
3)  Filter Selections (the ability to pipe the selection thru a shell command)
4)  Automatic File locking

Notepad is based on the Text widget.  This means that it has the same editing
paradigm as all the other text fields in other applications (like dxmail and xrn.)  
The text widget allows you to customize its key bindings.  I set mine up like
emacs.  Once you do this, the bindings show up in all text widgets in all apps. 

I especially like the use of filter selections.  You specify filters in your
.Xdefaults file and the buttons that represent them show up in your Edit menu.
A filter specification contains the button name and shell command to execute.
Those buttons can then be bound to keys via keyboard accelerators.  You can
have keyboard buttons for such neat things as block indents, filling, C 
beautify, whatever. 

Notepad does have some limitations.  It has only one file context per
instance of the application.  But the idea is in a windowing environment, 
this is tolerable.  The icon names contain the current filename so your window
manager sort of manages your buffers.  

-joel