1 $FreeBSD: src/usr.bin/ee/README,v 1.1.1.1.10.1 2001/06/10 11:06:06 sobomax Exp $
3 THIS MATERIAL IS PROVIDED "AS IS". THERE ARE NO WARRANTIES OF
4 ANY KIND WITH REGARD TO THIS MATERIAL, INCLUDING, BUT NOT
5 LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND
6 FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Neither Hewlett-Packard nor
7 Hugh Mahon shall be liable for errors contained herein, nor for
8 incidental or consequential damages in connection with the
9 furnishing, performance or use of this material. Neither
10 Hewlett-Packard nor Hugh Mahon assumes any responsibility for
11 the use or reliability of this software or documentation. This
12 software and documentation is totally UNSUPPORTED. There is no
13 support contract available. Hewlett-Packard has done NO
14 Quality Assurance on ANY of the program or documentation. You
15 may find the quality of the materials inferior to supported
18 This software may be distributed under the terms of Larry Wall's
19 Artistic license, a copy of which is included in this distribution.
21 This notice must be included with this software and any
24 Any modifications to this software by anyone but the original author
28 The editor 'ee' (easy editor) is intended to be a simple, easy to use
29 terminal-based screen oriented editor that requires no instruction to
30 use. Its primary use would be for people who are new to computers, or who
31 use computers only for things like e-mail.
33 ee's simplified interface is highlighted by the use of pop-up menus which
34 make it possible for users to carry out tasks without the need to
35 remember commands. An information window at the top of the screen shows
36 the user the operations available with control-keys.
38 ee allows users to use full eight-bit characters. If the host system has
39 the capabilities, ee can use message catalogs, which would allow users to
40 translate the message catalog into other languages which use eight-bit
41 characters. See the file ee.i18n.guide for more details.
43 ee relies on the virtual memory abilities of the platform it is running on
44 and does not have its own memory management capabilities.
46 I am releasing ee because I hate to see new users and non-computer types
47 get frustrated by vi, and would like to see more intuitive interfaces for
48 basic tools (both character-based and graphical) become more pervasive.
49 Terminal capabilities and communication speeds have evolved considerably
50 since the time in which vi's interface was created, allowing much more
51 intuitive interfaces to be used. Since character-based I/O won't be
52 completely replaced by graphical user interfaces for at least a few more
53 years, I'd like to do what I can to make using computers with less
54 glamorous interfaces as easy to use as possible. If terminal interfaces
55 are still used in ten years, I hope neophytes won't still be stuck with
58 For a text editor to be easy to use requires a certain set of abilities. In
59 order for ee to work, a terminal must have the ability to position the cursor
60 on the screen, and should have arrow keys that send unique sequences
61 (multiple characters, the first character is an "escape", octal code
62 '\033'). All of this information needs to be in a database called "terminfo"
63 (System V implementations) or "termcap" (usually used for BSD systems). In
64 case the arrow keys do not transmit unique sequences, motion operations are
65 mapped to control keys as well, but this at least partially defeats the
66 purpose. The curses package is used to handle the I/O which deals with the
67 terminal's capabilities.
69 While ee is based on curses, I have included here the source code to
70 new_curse, a subset of curses developed for use with ee. 'curses' often
71 will have a defect that reduces the usefulness of the editor relying upon
74 The file new_curse.c contains a subset of 'curses', a package for
75 applications to use to handle screen output. Unfortunately, curses
76 varies from system to system, so I developed new_curse to provide
77 consistent behavior across systems. It works on both SystemV and BSD
78 systems, and while it can sometimes be slower than other curses packages,
79 it will get the information on the screen painted correctly more often
80 than vendor supplied curses. Unless problems occur during the building
81 of ee, it is recommended that you use new_curse rather than the curses
82 supplied with your system.
84 If you experience problems with data being displayed improperly, check
85 your terminal configuration, especially if you're using a terminal
86 emulator, and make sure that you are using the right terminfo entry
87 before rummaging through code. Terminfo entries often contain
88 inaccuracies, or incomplete information, or may not totally match the
89 terminal or emulator the terminal information is being used with.
90 Complaints that ee isn't working quite right often end up being something
91 else (like the terminal emulator being used).
93 Both ee and new_curse were developed using K&R C (also known as "classic
94 C"), but it can also be compiled with ANSI C. You should be able to
95 build ee by simply typing "make". A make file which takes into account
96 the characteristics of your system will be created, and then ee will be
97 built. If there are problems encountered, you will be notified about
100 ee is the result of several conflicting design goals. While I know that it
101 solves the problems of some users, I also have no doubt that some will decry
102 its lack of more features. I will settle for knowing that ee does fulfill
103 the needs of a minority (but still large number) of users. The goals of ee
106 1. To be so easy to use as to require no instruction.
107 2. To be easy to compile and, if necessary, port to new platforms
108 by people with relatively little knowledge of C and UNIX.
109 3. To have a minimum number of files to be dealt with, for compile
111 4. To have enough functionality to be useful to a large number of
115 h_mahon@fc.hp.com | |