XEDIT

This article is about the editor for VM/CMS, and ports thereof. For the editor for the X Window System on Linux and Unix, see xedit (X11).
An Informatics General computer programmer using XEDIT on an IBM 3279 terminal
An early version of XEDIT from 1982, as displayed on a 3270 terminal emulator.

XEDIT is a visual editor for VM/CMS using block mode IBM 3270 terminals. (Line-mode terminals are also supported.) [1] [2]

XEDIT is much more line-oriented[3] than modern PC and Unix editors. For example, XEDIT supports automatic line numbers, and many of the commands operate on blocks of lines. A pair of features allows selective line and column editing.[4] The ALL command, for example, hides all lines not matching the described pattern, and the COL (Column) command allows hiding those columns not specified. Hence changing, for example, the word NO as it appears only in columns 24 thru 28, to YES, and only on lines with the word FLEXIBLE, is doable.

Another feature is a command line which allows the user to type arbitrary editor commands. Because IBM 3270 terminals do not transmit data to the computer until certain special keys are pressed [such as ↵ Enter, a program function key (PFK), or a program access key (PAK)],[5] XEDIT is less interactive than many PC and Unix editors. For example, continuous spell-checking as the user types is problematic.

  1. ^ XEDIT Commands and Macros Reference (1st ed.). IBM. September 2004. IBM publication number SC24-6131-00.
  2. ^ XEDIT User's Guide (2nd ed.). IBM. December 2005. IBM publication number SC24-6132-01.
  3. ^ Paul W. Ross (2018). Revival: The Handbook of Software for Engineers and Scientists (1995). CRC Press. ISBN 978-1351357050. XEDIT is a line-oriented editor that
  4. ^ source of wording: TRANSLATE of KEDIT, in the German article
  5. ^ "PA - program access key statement". IBM. 28 October 2015. Retrieved December 21, 2018.