Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1993 01:24:32 +0200 (EET)
From: Matti Haveri <mhaveri@phoenix.oulu.fi>
Subject: Text editor for large files (S)

I asked what is the best application to view and edit large text-files
_without huge amounts of memory_ and with the option to automatically
wrap lines longer than the screen _without adding LF/CR_ (auto-wrap)?
Search and replace would be nice too.
 
**TeachText** and **TexEdit** have auto-wrap but they can open only
<30K files. **SaintEdit** has auto-wrap but it needs much application
memory when opening big files. **Edit II** is also memory-hungry with
large files. It has auto-wrap-option but there it means that it just
inserts CR's at the right margin automatically.
 
It turns out that **BBEdit** is also memory-dependent so it can't open
huge files with little available memory. Even though its application
memory is only 300K it uses System memory when dealing with large
files. BBEdit 2.2.2's manual says:
 
 > File size limited only by available memory. BBEdit's default
 > partition size is 512K of RAM. This can be set as low as 300K, to
 > make BBEdit the ideal constantly-resident editor for small to
 > moderate tasks, or turned up as high as necessary to edit many large
 > files or perform large-scale search-and-replace operations. If youUre
 > running under System 7.0, BBEdit automatically _takes advantage of_
 > _available system memory_, so that you donUt have to adjust its
 > partition size to edit large files.
 
So my 1.3M test file (which, by the way, was "interest-groups") was
about the largest file BBEdit could open with 2500K of free memory.
 
**Quick View** could open the 1.3M test-file _very fast_ and with just
20K of free memory it uses by itself. However, it crashed the system
if Cancel-button was pressed in open file dialog box. Without those
bad crashes (7.0.1, shift-boot) this small DA would be nice although
it lacks auto-wrap (in fact it lacks everything except the ability to
view text - copying and pasting are missing too).
 
**McSink** also takes advantage of available system memory so it
couldn't open the 1.3M file when there wasn't enough memory and it
lacks auto-wrap too. McSink's commercial version **Vantage**
(Signature Software for Preferred Publishers) has automatic word wrap
but I don't know if it is still sold as McSink's date is as old as
1/25/90. And I'm not sure if its auto-wrap is similar to Edit II.
 
I tried **Alpha 5.63** and it, too, used System memory and inserted CR's
when converting from paragraph format.
 
 > ~John W. LeBlanc:~ I have sucessfully used McSink (shareware) for this
 > it features "Wrap to length" and "Wrap to Window", and can "Form
 > Paragraphs" from CR laden text. The commercial version is Vantage,
 > which offers automatic word wrap and filters for word procesing
 > documents.
 >
 > ~Dr Alun J. Carr:~ ...the one I tend to use most is Alpha (mostly
 > because it has superb facilities for LaTeX users).
 >
 > ~Larry K. Smith:~ You want Alpha, a great shareware text editor.
 
~Dieter Shirley~ keeps "Mac Text Editor Christmas Wish List" in
comp.sys.mac.programming and comp.sys.mac.apps:
 
 >It seems that many Mac users, particularily programmers, have some
 >really good ideas about what an ideal text editor would do. It also
 >seems that several text editors come close but not close enough.
 >
 >Let's make the Mac Text Editor Christmas Wish List. I'm willing to
 >compile the thing, assuming it doesn't take *too* much of my time.
 >And just before Christmas, I'll post the whole list. Bare Bones
 >software, creators of BBEdit, have expressed an interest in seeing
 >this list, and Pete Keleher, author of Alpha, also appears to be
 >following this thread.
 >
 >So, mail me (**shirleyd@cognos.com**) with one of four subject lines.
 >(This isn't a mailer daemon, so you do have some flexiblity, it's
 >just so I can file the replies easily.)
 >
 >TE Ideas - Fill the body with things you'd like to see in your ideal
 >text editor. I'll also be following c.s.m.programming. If possible,
 >try to help with nifty interface ideas. It would nice to have a good
 >interface to these powerful features (I know that I always have to
 >keep a vi reference close by... you shouldn't need that for a Mac
 >application.))
 >
 >TE Request - To be sent the current incarnation of the TE X-mas wish.
 >I'll also try to post the list at regular intervals to both
 >c.s.m.programming and c.s.m.apps.
 >
 >TE Support - Fill the body with the items that you *like* that are
 >currently on the list and why. (Please don't gripe about features
 >unless you find them really offensive. eg. Don't send a message
 >saying that you think vi is stupid, or that no Mac text editor should
 >be under control of the keyboard. Any decent Mac developer knows not
 >to abandon the mouse interface, but may not realize how many users
 >would like to circumvent it.) I hope the final list to contain
 >reasons for certain features as well as what those features are.
 >Points will be awarded based on literary merit and style. :-)
 >
 >TE Errors - Errors that I've made, particulaily when referring to
 >what BBEdit, Alpha and MPW can and can't do. In particular, I invite
 >the developers to mail/post with info on there own product.
 
Thanks for the replies. It seems that at the moment there isn't such
shareware text-editor available.
 
Matti Haveri <mhaveri@phoenix.oulu.fi>