 8-Jul-82 00:22:08,676;000000000000
From: DAN@MIT-ML
Date: 07/08/82 00:22:08
Re: C Code for ModeLine(), etc.
To: Amethyst-Users at MIT-MC

Does anyone have the C code for the ModeLine() procedure?  I'd like to
modify it so that:

	1.  It is highlighted, to easily distinguish it from the text, and
	2.  Add the EMACS-like -TOP- and -BOT- to the percentage statistic.


Btw, it seems that this list is rather inactive.  Are many people out there
actually running Mince, or just curious about Mince?  What kind of mods or
projects are people working on for Mince and Scribble?  Perhaps some sort of
poll or questionnaire would be helpful in making this a successful Users-Group.
Any ideas?

Dan
10-Jul-82 21:07:00,547;000000000000
Date: 10 July 1982 23:07-EDT
From: Andrew Scott Beals <BANDY at MIT-AI>
Subject:  mince, of course
To: DAN at MIT-ML
cc: Amethyst-Users at MIT-MC

I don't use mince for the following reasons:
	a) (the major reason) You can't edit files bigger than your
	   screen file allows, and I have an osborne (90k disks!).
	b) It's slower than WordStar (esp when ws is running memory mapped
	   video).
	c) ws was the first screen editor that I used, and I'm still in
	   love with it.
	d) ws has a document processor built in.

					- Andy
11-Jul-82 12:27:00,1232;000000000000
Date: 11 Jul 1982 1127-PDT
From: STERNLIGHT <STERNLIGHT at USC-ECL>
Subject: Re: mince, of course
To: BANDY at MIT-AI, DAN at MIT-ML
cc: Amethyst-Users at MIT-MC, STERNLIGHT at USC-ECL
In-Reply-To: Your message of 10-Jul-82 2007-PDT

Well, here we go again, but I have some empirical data
from a sample size of one (me).  I edit about every other day.  I have
mince/scribble, wordstar and vedit.  I don't use m/s either; I use
wordstar for documents (right justification, proportional space printer
support, and handy menu), and vedit for programs (simple set of
commands, very small .com file so it can be on more than one disk if
desired without taking too much space, and a memory mapped install
option with trivially easy keyboard customization).
Neither uses a swap file.  Vedit allows abort at anytime, restoring
conditions to those before editing began, as does
wordstar.  I also have a new screen editor from the C user's group,
but too early to evaluate.
Mince's main advantage, which I need only rarely,
is split screen.  Perhaps if Mince could support right justification,
proportional spacing (at the same time), and handle larger
files it would be a bigger winner.  Comments?
--david--
-------
11-Jul-82 14:24:00,690;000000000000
Date: 11 Jul 1982 1324-PDT
From: Bill White <WHITE at SUMEX-AIM>
Subject: Re: mince, of course
To: STERNLIGHT at USC-ECL, amethyst-users at MIT-MC
cc: WHITE at SUMEX-AIM
In-Reply-To: Your message of 11-Jul-82 1127-PDT

I use Mince because of it's compatibility with emacs and multiple file/
buffer capabilities. The swap file is a definite drawback even on
my 1.2Meg floppies  It's a real pain to have to wait to read the
entire file simply to change a few parameters at the beginning of the
file when the file is very large.

I don't use scribble because Magic Wand gives me better ability to control
my Qume printer and produce personalized letters.

Bill White
-------
12-Jul-82 04:08:00,367;000000000000
Date: 12 July 1982 06:08-EDT
From: Steven T. Kirsch <SK at MIT-MC>
Subject:  mince, of course
To: AMETHYST-USERS at MIT-MC, BANDY at MIT-AI, DAN at MIT-ML

Well, I used to use mince, but my computer is on loan to the company 
I used to work for.

Never got around to trying Scribble.

Things are really tough on an H-89 with just the built-in mini-floppy!
12-Jul-82 06:09:00,422;000000000000
Date: 12 July 1982 08:09-EDT
From: Andrew Scott Beals <BANDY at MIT-AI>
Subject:  mince, of course
To: STERNLIGHT at USC-ECL
cc: DAN at MIT-ML, Amethyst-Users at MIT-MC

Actually, ws (and vedit) /does/ use a swap file -- it's
<filename-you're-editing>.$$$ I think that this is a
better way to do it. If mince would do this, I would use it
for program editing, and leave ws for just text processing.
					- Andy
12-Jul-82 08:00:00,1753;000000000000
Mail-From: PCO-MULTICS received by MIT-MULTICS at 12-Jul-1982 11:02:17-edt
Date:  12 July 1982 08:00 mst
From:  Heiby.Micro at PCO-MULTICS
Subject:  I use 'em!
Reply-To:  Heiby at HI-MULTICS
To:  Amethyst-Users at MIT-MC
cc:  Heiby at HI-MULTICS

One reason I chose (and use) Mince is specifically because it is a *text
editor*, not a *word processor*.  If I want right justification and
proportional spacing, I use Scribble.  My CRT doesn't know how to
proportional space, anyway.

The other main reasons I chose Mince are 1) Extensible in C with source
supplied, and 2) similarity to Multics Emacs I use at work.

As to ease of configuration:  I run on an Apple II (gasp!) with about as
odd a configuration as you could want.  I use a Mountain Computer CPS
card and A Bit-3 Computer Full-View 80 for I/O.  Both are very nice
boards, but neither gets much software written for it.  I configured
Mince with little time and no trouble.  I configured Scribble as well,
but it took me a bit more time and a call to Unicorn, because I hadn't
read the manual carefully enough.  Once I knew what I was looking for,
it jumped off the page of the manual and bit my hand!

Also, I don't like to edit a file in place.  I'd much rather read it
into a buffer.  That way, I can write back out the changed file to a
different file name and also have some protection against destroying a
file I don't want to change.

I haven't seen any other editor for a micro that beats Mince for 2
window, multiple buffer operation.  How easy is it in Wordstar to move a
block of text from one file to another?  (That's a real question.  I
don't know all that much about it.  Just enough to know it wasn't for
me.)

Ron.  (Heiby at HI-Multics)
13-Jul-82 23:55:00,984;000000000000
Date:     14 July 1982 0155-edt
From:     Brian N. Hess              <Hess.Unicorn at MIT-MULTICS>
Subject:  Amethyst Users Group
To:       Amethyst-Users at MIT-AI

Quite a few people have asked about what ever happened to the Amethyst
Users Group and the AUGment newsletter.  Well, after a long hiatus, they
are about to be resurrected again.  For the time being, you can address
AUG mail to Mark of the Unicorn rather than to the Texas address which
you may have come to know and love.  Since the group should really be
run by someone who's not a MotU person, are there any volunteers out
there who have modified Mince a lot and have free time to devote to this?
We're looking for a replacement for me...  If you've written to the
Texas address, patience is the keyword -- we're going to revive the
group somehow, but how quickly or what it will look like when
reincarnated we don't know!
                              Cheers,
                              Brian
16-Jul-82 07:35:00,999;000000000000
Date: Fri 16-Jul-1982 09:35-EDT
From: Richard Kenner <KENNER at NYU>
To:   amethyst-users at MIT-MC
Subject: Mince on MP/M-II

I am having a problem with Mince on MP/M-II that I can't figure out how to fix
and I wonder if anyone else has any idea (I may have fixed this at one point
but can't remember how or if I, in fact, did).

I am running MP/M-II on an H89 with Magnolia's 128K board.  I have half of
the Z67 as my A disk.  I have a MINCE.SWP in user 0, SYS, RW.  All works
fine in CP/M.  In MP/M, when I try to run from (e.g.) user 12, when swapping
gets done, I get the BDOS error message that a write is being attempted to
a file opened R/O.  Reading the MP/M documentation, it appears that doing
a default open on a file in user 0, even if the file is RW, the open is done
R/O.

I tried all four compatibility attributes even though the documentation didn't
make it sound as though they were the problem and, in fact, they didn't do
the trick.

Anyone have any ideas?
17-Jul-82 06:20:58,572;000000000000
Date: 17 Jul 1982 05:20:58-PDT
From: decvax!duke!uok!uokvax!mwm at Berkeley
Date-Sent: Sat Jul 10 20:16:20 1982
Subject: Mode line for Mince and Scribble
To: uok!duke!decvax!ucbvax!dan@Mit-ml
Cc: uok!duke!decvax!ucbvax!amethyst-users@mit-ai

I just looked at your letter again, and realized that I had missed part
of it. Namely, the query 'bout the Mode line on Mince.

I haven't tried munging the mode line itself, but I have played with
the error messages. I have a version which prints them in inverse
video. If you are intersted, drop me a line.

	mike
