--- Begin Message ---
- To: Nadim Shaikli <shaikli at yahoo dot com>
- Subject: Unicode text editor mined 2000 release 11
- From: mined at towo dot net
- Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2005 02:57:21 +0200
- Authentication-results: mta164.mail.re2.yahoo.com from=towo.net; domainkeys=neutral (no sig)
ANNOUNCEMENT
mined 2000 release 11
(July 2005)
Mined is a powerful text editor with a comprehensive and easy-to-use
user interface and fast, small-footprint behaviour.
Mined provides both extensive Unicode and CJK support offering many
specific features and covering special cases that other editors
are not aware of (like auto-detection features and automatic handling
of terminal variations, or Han character information).
It was the first editor that supported Unicode in a plain-text terminal.
Basically, mined is an editor tailored to reliable and efficient
editing of plain text documents and programs, with features and
interactive behaviour designed for this purpose.
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More information (with screenshots, feature overview and change log)
and download are available from the mined web site at
http://towo.net/mined/
Mined is co-hosted at sourceforge and has a mailing list
which can be subscribed at
<https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/mined-editor>
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Major enhancements in this release:
Unicode support enhancements:
* Updated to Unicode 4.1.0:
* Case conversion, Script information.
* Combining character width properties.
* Han information (from Unihan database) for CJK characters.
* Radical/Stroke input method (to include new CJK characters).
* Added Hanyu Pinlu and Tang pronunciation information
(from Unihan database) to Han information options.
* Added generic and supplemental character input mnemonics
for new LATIN characters.
* Indication and character information of Unicode combining characters
now refers to the most recent Unicode version, not the actual
terminal capabilities.
Interactive enhancements:
* Conciliated keypad assignment preference conflict between Cut/Paste
functions (as propagated by mined) and character deletion / line
positioning functions (as often commonly expected):
* The more common Home/End/Delete function assignments to the
respective keypad keys are also easily accessible (e.g. Alt-Del).
* Documentation for alternative assignment option improved.
* Using Del without a paste buffer gives an additional hint on
alternative usage.
* Pull-down menus are now scrollable so they are always displayed
(also the large menus in small terminal windows).
* Additional assignment of "Delete single" function (to delete without
auto-undent, or to delete the last combining accent only) to F5
Backarrow.
* Additional commands (HOP) F1 F1 / Shift-F1 / Control-F1 / Alt-F1 to
display a help status line of (shifted) function key assignments.
* Slight revision of function key assignments to improve intuitive
usage and compliance with common usage.
Unification of DOS version function key assignments.
Interoperability enhancements:
* Improved detection of shifted function keys on various kinds and
modes of terminals.
* Added keyboard configuration examples for Control-function key
detection for rxvt and mlterm to the runtime support library.
* Added script to support Unicode X font installation to the runtime
support library.
* Modified xterm start script "uterm" so that with newer xterm
versions (from 201) usage of the xterm built-in most recent version
of Unicode width data is enabled (which is often more current than
the system-provided locale version).
* Provided makefile for Interix.
Feature enhancements:
* Smart arrows added to optional smart input text replacements.
* New word case toggle function Shift-F3 cycling word casing between
all small, beginning capital, and all capitals.
* The "search corresponding bracket" commands ESC ( or ESC ) now also
match /* */ pairs and #if #else/#elsif #endif structures.
* New TAB expansion option (-+4 or -+8) that expands TAB key input to
an appropriate number of Space characters.
Further enhancements:
* Using paps (a Pango printing script) for printing if available.
* Added PC DOS encoding ("codepage 437") to available encodings.
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Mined Overview
Good interactive features
* Intuitive user interface
* Logical and consistent concept of navigating and editing text
(without ancient line-end handling limitations or insert/append confusion)
* Supports various control styles:
Editing with command control, function key control, or menu control
Navigation by cursor keys, control keys, mouse or scrollbar
* Comprehensive menus (driven by keyboard or mouse)
* "HOP" key paradigm doubles the number of navigation functions
that can be most easily reached and remembered by
intuitively amplifying the associated function
* Immediate adjustment if the window size is changed, in any
state of interaction
Versatile character encoding support
* Extensive Unicode support, including double-width and combining characters,
script highlighting,
various methods of character input support
(mapped keyboard input methods, mnemonic and numeric input),
supporting CJK, Vietnamese, Hebrew, Arabic, and other scripts
* Support of bidirectional terminals, Arabic ligature joining
* East Asian character set support: handling of major CJK encodings
(including GB18030 and full EUC-JP with combining characters)
in either Unicode terminal or CJK terminal
* Support for a variety of 8 bit encodings (mapped to Unicode)
(with combining characters for Vietnamese and Thai)
* Support of CJK input methods by enhanced keyboard
mapping including multiple choice mappings (handled by a pick list menu);
characters in the pick list being sorted by relevance of Unicode ranges
* Han character information with description and pronunciation
* Auto-detection of text character encoding, edits files with
mixed character encoding sections (e.g. mailboxes),
transparent handling of UTF-16 encoded files
* Auto-detection of UTF-8 / CJK terminal mode and detailed features
(like different Unicode width and combining data versions)
* Encoding support tested with:
xterm, mlterm, hanterm, cxterm, rxvt,
kde konsole, linux console
Many useful text editing capabilities
* Many text editing features, e.g. paragraph wrapping,
auto-indentation and back-tab, smart quotes (with
quotation marks style selection and auto-detection)
and smart dashes
* Search and replacement patterns can have multiple lines
* Cross-session paste buffer (copy/paste between multiple
- even subsequent or remote - invocations of mined)
* Marker stack for quick return to previous text positions
* Multiple paste buffers (emacs-style)
* Program editing features, HTML support and syntax highlighting,
identifier and function definition search, also across files;
structure input support
* Text and program layout features; auto-indentation and
undent function (back-tab), numbered item justification
* Systematic text and file handling safety, avoiding loss of data
* Visible indications of special text contents
(TAB characters, different line-end types, character
codes that cannot be displayed in the current mode)
* Full binary transparent editing with visible indications
(illegal UTF-8 or CJK, mixed line end types, NUL characters, ...)
* Print function that works in all text encodings
* Optional emacs command mode
Small-footprint operation and portability
* Plain text mode (terminal) operation, supporting wide range of terminals
* Instant start-up
* Runs on many platforms: Unix (Linux/Sun/HP/BSD/Mac and more),
DOS (djgpp), Windows (cygwin, Interix)
* Makefiles also support legacy systems
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Thomas Wolff
mined at towo dot net
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