Abstract
A text editor is a program used to create and modify text files stored in the computer. Text editors are useful for creating and modifying computer programs, documentation, data files, letters, and many other kinds of text. MEDIT is a text editor written in MAINSAIL. It can run on any computer for which a MAINSAIL implementation exists, and on any terminal type. Both with regard to the camputer on which it runs and the terminal used, it is machine- independent. The basic line editing commands have been adopted from the powerful SOS text editor for the PDP-10. The intraline editing capability of SOS has been extended in MEDIT to a video editor which keeps the screen of the terminal constantly updated to reflect the true state of the file as modifications are made. Video editing greatly increases user productivity, especially in editing of English and other unrepetitive text. On hard copy terminals and on unsupported CRT terminals, MEDIT cannot provide video editing, but it knows how to utilize full duplex capabilities to provide character by character modifications within a line of text. The commands for making changes within a line are the same for all terminals. This document contains both an introductory user's manual and as a reference manual to MEDIT. The introductory manual introduces the user to the editor while the reference manual provides complete, detailed specifications of the editor's features. The style of the introductory manual is informal to aid the learning process. For clarity, when examples of interaction with MEDIT are given, those parts that were typed by the user will be shown in italics while those cs while those parts typed by MEDIT will be in a more standard font.