The SemWare Editor: Difference between revisions

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New features included [[regular expression]] search and replace and a more powerful scripting language (with access to [[Dynamic-link library |DLL]] entry points). It was a [[Win32]] port with better native platform support including [[Windows GDI]] (previous versions employed the console window), native file dialogs (e.g. open), and graphical features such as window transparency.

New features included [[regular expression]] search and replace and a more powerful scripting language (with access to [[Dynamic-link library |DLL]] entry points).

The SemWare Editor (TSE) is a text editor; initially named QEdit and released November 1985 as shareware. It was later modified to run as a terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) program, and ported to OS/2^[3] and eventually evolved (via rewrite) to TSE. Today, it is runs in MS-DOS, OS/2, Windows and Linux.

TSE supports many productivity features including an automation macro language, regular expression search and replace, keystroke record and playback, undo and redo, and user-assignable shortcut keys. Like its predecessor QEdit, TSE is often used as a code editor.^[4]

Initially, QEdit ran only on MS-DOS. As memory of contemporary computers was limited, less memory use was desirable. QEdit used only 50 KB whereas some contemporary editors used 10 times as much.^[5] Early versions maintained file content in conventional memory, but to support larger files, later versions supported various DOS memory management features including expanded memory (EMS), extended memory (XMS) and virtual memory, up to a maximum of 16 MB.

QEdit was ported to OS/2 as a 16-bit application for OS/2 1.x. Version 1.50 is dated February 1990.^[6]

SemWare ported QEdit for 32-bit OS/2 with the release of QEdit Pro 3.0 for OS/2 in February 1994 which sold for $99. Version 3.0 includes multi-file operation, HPFS support and access to the OS/2 Clipboard. SemWare claimed over 120,000 licensed users on all platforms at that time.^[7]

The last version released for OS/2 is “TSE Junior/2” v4.00e released in February 1997.^[8] It is functionally equivalent to TSE Junior v4.00e with support for OS/2’s system-wide clipboard and long filenames. It retailed at the time for $99 and was supplied with a copy of the MS-DOS basic version.^[9]

QEdit was rewritten and significantly expanded, and eventually released as The SemWare Editor (TSE) 1.0. The initial release maintained the tradition of fast I/O and response, fast search, a simple text scripting language and the fundamental design of a native core with functionality split between native code and scripting.^[10]

New features included regular expression search and replace and a more powerful scripting language (with access to DLL entry points).

Earlier versions operated in the console window in text-only mode with limited character sets and colors. Version 2.6 was a native Win32 port, but was still character-based (using the Win32 Console APIs). Version 4.0 included the Win32 application rewritten as a pixel-based graphical application (g32.exe) using Graphics Device Interface (GDI). This is commonly misunderstood to be a console application, as it still appears textual despite being a Win32 graphical application. Visually, g32 appears to work in lines and columns, though it is a graphical application (via WinMain and GDI; not the Console API).

Editions include:

• The SemWare Editor Junior^[11]
• The SemWare Editor Professional adds includes a macro programming language, syntax highlighting, and large file support.^[12]

The SemWare Application Language (SAL) uses a Pascal-like notation supporting procedural functions and procedures, local and global variables, constants, a preprocessor including common #include and #ifdef keywords, iterative and recursive control structures, and many text-editing-specific functions.

For example:

proc Main()
    integer i
    for i = 1 to 3
        Warn("Hello world ", i)
    endfor
end

SAL supports integer and string data types.

An integer in SAL is a 32-bit base-2 signed integral numeric; a string is a (declared) fixed-size array of characters, with a maximum definable length of 255 characters.

SAL APIs support creation of arbitrary buffers, including non-interactive buffers not visible to the user. Many functions are available to access and manipulate buffers and their contents, effectively acting as very large text containers.