Xy enthusiasm

[Daniel Say say@xxxxxxxx]

Looking for Xy in a simple editor, I see a reference in
VDEdit

http://www.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/msdos/editors/vd .......
ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/msdos/editors/vd.........

vde164cs.zip  16126 02-10-92 Screen writers macros for VDE text editor
vde165c.zip  140965 31-05-93 Meyer's small, fast, WordStar-like text editor
vde17sp.zip  47309 07-04-96 Screen writers macros for VDE text editor
vde18d.zip  168770 07-04-96 Meyer's small, fast, WordStar-like text editor
vde_bc.zip   6677 24-11-90 Big characters for VDE text editor
vde_ed2.zip  10626 17-04-91 Shell adds enhancement features to VDE editor
vde_mc.zip   17939 08-12-90 Macros for VDE text editor
vde_mc11.zip  18130 01-04-91 VMC v1.10: Macro compiler for VDE text editor
vde_wp.zip   9520 13-12-90 WP compatibility hints for VDE text editor
vdedb.zip   38474 21-10-91 Turns VDE editor into Rolodex-like database
vdemacro.zip  2658 13-06-92 Collection of macros for VDE word processor
vdemc18.zip  36269 07-04-96 VMC v1.8: Macro Compiler for VDE text editor

	I was looking for an editor with large fonts (see big
	character program above) or some kind of restful font
	for late night editing and thought
	that VDE might be useful, but in the documentation it
	mentions limited Xy compatibilty (... and you can redefine
	the keyboard a la XYwrite), to wit:

........... quote from VDE.DOC .......
 * multiple file formats for text exchange (including ASCII, WordStar,
   WordPerfect, XyWrite, NotaBene, Microsoft Word)

  VDE allows you to edit (and perform rough conversions between) many
different types of text files, including nondocuments, simple ASCII
documents, and documents in the format of such word processors as WordStar,
WordPerfect, XyWrite, NotaBene, and Microsoft Word. (See FILE MODES,
COMPATIBILITY.) The maximum individual file size is roughly 70-80k (about
80,000 characters). If an existing file is too large to edit with VDE, it
can be divided up (see SPLITTING FILES).
    XYWRITE/NOTABENE - Limited compatibility. /X mode reads files
  created by XW/NB; it recognizes margin changes, and print codes for bold,
  underline, and italics. Features not supported by VDE will be removed.
  /X mode writes files that can be read by XW as native text. (Note: /U
  mode can also be used to read XW/NB files without processing or filtering
  out formatting codes.)
.................................... end quote

and from their self-congratulatory view and doc file, I did
a "ci /VDe/XYwrite/" for I think in their enthusiasm for a
simple editor that is fast and powerful they echo my sentiments
for XY 3.52

------------------------------------------------modified puffery...

   Reviewers and users comment on XYWrite as a writing tool:

    "XYWrite is a word-processing program for people who like their
  programs lean, mean and simple... executes all the standard
  operations necessary for writing articles, books or screenplays...
  blazingly fast... Even the loading and storing of files is speedy."
       - Paul Ciotti, Los Angeles Times Magazine (18 March 1990)

    "This may be the finest piece of word processing code ever
  written. I have never been as impressed with anything as I have with
  XYWrite 1.5... writing software in 100 percent assembly language still
  pays off in performance and reduced code size. It's an astonishing
  product, believe me. It's more than the perfect laptop word
  processor. Actually, it's something that corporations should
  consider if they want to save tens of thousands of dollars... I
  cannot give a higher recommendation for any product that I have seen
  in ten years than I can for XYWrite 1.5. Top recommendation."
       - John Dvorak, PC Magazine (24 April 1990)


     "The recurrent theme in this business is smaller, faster,
     cheaper. Except for software, which gets bigger, slower,
     and costs the same."  -- Bill Machrone
                  PC Magazine, May 1993

  For some years now, XYWrite has offered an alternative to the trend among
 retail word processors to emulate desktop publishing software by making
 elaborate provisions for font variations and page layout, and presenting a
 graphic representation of the printed result on screen. These hybrid programs
 include numerous features which most people never use, consume lots of disk
 space and memory, and have sluggish response times even on the fastest
 computers. Their design ignores the fundamental fact that type-setting is a
 process quite unrelated to writing, and there is no particularly good reason
 for a writer to be distracted by it. Of course computers can make either task
 easier, but apparently not with the same software -- not as long as processor
 speed keeps struggling to keep up with software complexity.

speed keeps struggling to keep up with software complexity.

 XYWrite is so small and efficient that it still works well on generations of
older PC's long abandoned by major software vendors, as well as today's
simplest handheld PC-compatibles. The fundamental advance of a word processor
over a typewriter or a pen is in speed and ease of writing and revision, and
XYWrite allows you to concentrate on your writing, whether it's running on an
8086 or a Pentium. You can find a phrase, or make a global change, instantly;
work gets done sooner, and more of it can be done at the keyboard, eliminating
unnecessary printouts. Of course, when you are ready to print, XYWrite can
still take advantage of a variety of your printer's fonts. (And if you truly
need more sophisticated page design, you can easily import what you've written
into a full-blown desktop publishing program.)

  How much can a program as small as XYWrite accomplish? Even more than a
glance at its list of built-in features might suggest. As you will discover,
VDE's programmable macros allow you to design and add many useful features
that aren't provided directly, like mail-merge, as you find a need for them.