The Sinclair QL Forum

tofro wrote: Mon Sep 15, 2025 8:50 am

t0nyt wrote: Mon Sep 15, 2025 8:09 am

tofro wrote: Mon Sep 15, 2025 7:54 am Even today, most of the vi commands have left their traces in muscle memory.

I’m using QED on the QL and I still keep trying to use vi keystrokes even though I haven’t really used it since the early 00’s

I used to have a colleague whose text files sporadically had an arbitrary "ZZ" at the end for no apparent reason

When writing in Welsh, I suffer from Double Consonant-itis - I can never remember where there are double n's and double r's in words like "torri" or "annwyl".

A work colleague used to tell me off for getting it wrong. So I shut him up by adding a few extra r's and n's to the bottom of emails, with the message in Welsh "a few spare rrrrr and nnnnn for you to copy and paste to where I got it wrong."

He soon stopped correcting me.

NormanDunbar wrote: Mon Sep 15, 2025 7:29 am EMACS?
Micro_EMACS?

Cheers,
Norm. (Posting from outside the supermarket until we get broadband!)

Grab a couple of Gold Cards while you're there!

NormanDunbar wrote: Mon Sep 15, 2025 7:29 am EMACS?
Micro_EMACS?

I feel the urge to port Vi/Vim to the QL!

I remember using Micro_EMACS on a QL with Trump Card and floppies way back in the very early 1990s, maybe late 1980s, and it was an evil bugger to get to grips with. I stopped using it shortly afterwards. It just didn't work for me. Years later, at work, I had to use Vi, so that's the side of that religious argument that I'm on.

However, the best editor for the QL is whichever one helps you get the task done most efficiently and without getting in your way. My own editor these days is VSCode or Sublime Text (paid for!) On Linux, then uploaded to QPC2. Works for everything except QL non standard characters like copyright, Euro and arrow key characters.

Cheers,
Norm. (Posting from outside the supermarket until we get broadband!)

Hi Norm,

Dave Walker has ported over Elvis v1.6

https://dilwyn.theqlforum.com/editview/elvis.zip

Which is supposed to be a nicer VI(M)

But also use DPs TheEditorSE turbo compiled basic with source.

NormanDunbar wrote: Mon Sep 15, 2025 7:29 am EMACS?
Micro_EMACS?

I feel the urge to port Vi/Vim to the QL!

...

Cheers,
Norm. (Posting from outside the supermarket until we get broadband!)

NOOO!

I have to use vi a fair bit at work - and I have to say I hate it. It's similar enough to Xedit which I used to use on IBM Mainframes - but annoyingly different in the places that matter.

Now if someone would port Xedit... (We already have REXX apparently)

Pr0f wrote: Mon Sep 15, 2025 5:14 pm

NormanDunbar wrote: Mon Sep 15, 2025 7:29 am EMACS?
Micro_EMACS?

I feel the urge to port Vi/Vim to the QL!

...

Cheers,
Norm. (Posting from outside the supermarket until we get broadband!)

NOOO!

I have to use vi a fair bit at work - and I have to say I hate it. It's similar enough to Xedit which I used to use on IBM Mainframes - but annoyingly different in the places that matter.

Now if someone would port Xedit... (We already have REXX apparently)

REXX was ported by Jim Gilmour in the 1990s, which is available on the QL Homepage.

I have never used REXX, but it looks fully featured, is Xedit source code available?

Rexx did make an appearance on the Amiga too - Arexx - and was quite a fully featured version of it.

I think Xedit was ported to Windows / Linux under the name Sedit - but not sure the source code ever got released, and it was, what processor that would have been for.

swensont wrote: Sun Sep 14, 2025 6:20 am I've not use Emacs, but I don't think it and MicroEmacs are very similar. MicroEmacs does not use Lisp as a scripting language (luckily).

Do you know the name of the scripting language MicroEMACS is using? At least it seems to me very similar to LISP. E.g. Polish Notation (NOT Reverse PN!), lot of braces necessary...

The best QL editor/IDE might have the following features:

Doesn't need line numbers
Automatic indent, configurable. 2, 3, 4 spaces. 240x75 that'll be useful
Allows context colouring of keywords
Highlights indents
CTRL=> on DEF PROC or FN calls jumps you there, on RETurn jumps you back
Same with PROC and FN names directly
Opening a proc/fun it adds the close automatically. Same with loops or condition lists
Trace shows list of variables and their values, types, unset etc.
Log variable/const creation, changes as a CSV log file during execution for analysis
Tracking of all memory allocation requests and releases
Memory leak finder (incl. gas detector for van peebles)
Variable/constant highlight screen. Shows everywhere it appears, jumps you there quickly
Undo / history
F1 thru F10 show ten BASIC shells. Easy child processes.
Creating child process, "CREATE CHILD JOB" drops in template code at cursor & entry point code in next free shell for child job
Monitors Proc/Fn usage and reorders definitions to quickest order by frequency of calls
Monitors BASIC keyword usage and reorders linked list by frequency of calls
Automatic dist packaging: creates distribution image
AI code optimisation assistant (that is actually Tim S fixing your code at night)
Github or similar integration

Hi,

MicroEmacs has a simple cut down macro language, the user manual can be found here:

http://www.aquest.com/emacs.pdf


I do not think it is the same as EMACS, but is gives good functionality.

I would of liked more integration with the Extended Environment, but QD does all that, I use both to write programmes.

Derek_Stewart wrote: Wed Sep 17, 2025 7:28 am
I would of liked more integration with the Extended Environment, but QD does all that, I use both to write programmes.

The most annoying thing IMHO is that uEmacs warps the pointer to some unexpected place if you select a menu item. I keep searching my mouse pointer in that program.