From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: James Freer Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help Subject: Re: editor and word processor history (was: Re: RTF for emacs) Date: Thu, 29 May 2014 10:39:55 +0100 (BST) Message-ID: References: <87ha4d64r2.fsf@robertthorpeconsulting.com> <87bnuho13m.fsf@debian.uxu> <874n09nz3c.fsf_-_@debian.uxu> NNTP-Posting-Host: plane.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; format=flowed; charset=US-ASCII X-Trace: ger.gmane.org 1401356433 14407 80.91.229.3 (29 May 2014 09:40:33 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@ger.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Thu, 29 May 2014 09:40:33 +0000 (UTC) Cc: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org To: Emanuel Berg Original-X-From: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Thu May 29 11:40:26 2014 Return-path: Envelope-to: geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([208.118.235.17]) by plane.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.69) (envelope-from ) id 1Wpwoz-00052L-4u for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Thu, 29 May 2014 11:40:25 +0200 Original-Received: from localhost ([::1]:46874 helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1Wpwoy-0006EH-OB for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Thu, 29 May 2014 05:40:24 -0400 Original-Received: from eggs.gnu.org ([2001:4830:134:3::10]:55635) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1Wpwoe-000611-Rp for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Thu, 29 May 2014 05:40:10 -0400 Original-Received: from Debian-exim by eggs.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1WpwoZ-0005nF-Cq for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Thu, 29 May 2014 05:40:04 -0400 Original-Received: from mail-wg0-x22c.google.com ([2a00:1450:400c:c00::22c]:33649) by eggs.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1WpwoZ-0005n9-5v for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Thu, 29 May 2014 05:39:59 -0400 Original-Received: by mail-wg0-f44.google.com with SMTP id a1so92569wgh.27 for ; Thu, 29 May 2014 02:39:58 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20120113; h=date:from:to:cc:subject:in-reply-to:message-id:references :user-agent:mime-version:content-type; bh=tuSN+GQ0O7SfF9+hcQXAgS+SlOHHMYRGwG39/u57Yj0=; b=GMWJCMSD2eNzm6FrOCTi30XfiF5sbVGwRHUqVdarHPrJLMH3RmmgUU3wd6zKSEPiyb +SVL/qVM60GgHkUdSI6mEf33lZIn1fneyMGRlu4NG3MhqwFymi41kvSuaZtog16+uvZB qA3L/OTm07hyCGB7sh9vLQzV7WYFbqYTmtx+VfIdGdweMZJ+VYFLV9WMe3csnN5HufgA pMvHszHje84ngXDWd2SBv59KMKQ/zi+t81k+n0Py6yrpxoVoRev5WcYm638cka9UH4ai wpheVmp9QBctV6xgQzBDts7S4e/WX0RjJvVMkIa54XoAHbffrxikhIIMuWzBa1GQ4Su+ SF1g== X-Received: by 10.180.36.241 with SMTP id t17mr9947102wij.38.1401356398124; Thu, 29 May 2014 02:39:58 -0700 (PDT) Original-Received: from james.home (host86-170-32-167.range86-170.btcentralplus.com. [86.170.32.167]) by mx.google.com with ESMTPSA id k2sm363098wjq.20.2014.05.29.02.39.56 for (version=TLSv1.1 cipher=ECDHE-RSA-RC4-SHA bits=128/128); Thu, 29 May 2014 02:39:57 -0700 (PDT) X-X-Sender: james@james In-Reply-To: <874n09nz3c.fsf_-_@debian.uxu> User-Agent: Alpine 2.10 (DEB 1266 2009-07-14) X-detected-operating-system: by eggs.gnu.org: Error: Malformed IPv6 address (bad octet value). X-Received-From: 2a00:1450:400c:c00::22c X-BeenThere: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.14 Precedence: list List-Id: Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Original-Sender: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:97931 Archived-At: On Thu, 29 May 2014, Emanuel Berg wrote: > Emanuel Berg writes: > >> I never heard of WordStar - it doesn't seem to be >> related to Oracle's StarOffice either because it >> originated from a program called StarWriter. > > Wait... It's coming back to me. Like a blue, gray, and > white star as the splash screen, for the early PC? Back > then, I used computers from the accursed Apple world, > so the word processors were MacWrite, M$ Word, and, > much later, ClarisWorks (shivers). On the PC at > somewhat the same time, perhaps a bit later, there were > the WordPerfect, which was simpler, along with Word. > > For the Unix world, I have read there was once an > editor called ed that didn't showed the file being > manipulated at all - the "state" of the file, as it was > called (unbelievable). Some people actually liked that, > so some other people made em ("ed for mortals") which I > believe showed a single line - that project (em) forked > to ex (extended editor) and ded (display editor). ex > later became vi (visual editor) and even later vim ("vi > improved"). > > Emacs (or EMACS, the macro editor) came from the MIT > project TECO (text/tape editor and corrector). > > nano is another very basic editor yet to be mentioned. Wordstar may have 'died' long ago but it had the most efficient keybindings of any editor/word processor - experts tell me! Writers still use it. Word Perfect and Word replaced it as you say - they were simpler to learn. Somehow 'oldies' like me - the WS keybindings don't leave you... even when you are over 50 and 30 years has past. As for editors there are hundreds and yet very few are suitable for prose unless they have a true wordwrap like emacs, gedit, and dare I say it an editor beginning with 'V'. The Wordstar keybindings don't seem to fully work in emacs so I am going to learn the emacs ones. james