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Glossary of terminology

Glossary of terminology

ASCII
American Standard Code for Information Interchange refers to the standard first 127 characters of the 256 character ISO character set, which is compatible with MS-DOS and Macintosh. A file in ASCII is a text which contains plain text without any additional information such as fonts, text rulers or pictures.
Auto indent
When this function is switched on through Auto indent (Options menu, Alt Shift I), Edith will automatically indent lines created when you press the Return key.
Auto wrap
When this function is switched on through Auto wrap (Options menu, Alt Shift W), a word will automatically be moved to the next line when it exceeds the right margin.
Backup
A copy of a file made just before a new version is written to disk. Switched on off under File options... (Options menu, Shift Ctrl F). See also carbon copy. By default, the name of a backup file is obtained from the original name by adding the suffix .bak. Backups are not made for files whose name contains /tmp/.
Binary
A file that contains arbitrary data (not text). See editing binary files.
BSL
A bounded stack language is a language definition used for syntax highlighting.
Buffer
A piece of text, divided into fragments, stored in computer memory, but not part of a text window. Edith has two text buffers available to the user, the cut buffer and the trash buffer. A number of additional buffers exist in the underlying system (for undo and selection).
Carbon copy
A copy of a file saved automatically at regular intervals, when abandoning the contents of a text window, or when the editor exits unexpectedly and files were modified. See file options panel. By default, the name of a backup file is obtained from the original name by adding the suffix .ecc.
Cut buffer
The buffer containing data from Copy (Edit menu, Alt C) and Cut (Edit menu, Alt X).
Default text window
A normal window for editing text, whose file name does not match the patterns set for any user defined text modes. Text window appearance and ruler settings for Default setup apply.
Dialog (window)
A non-text window (panel).
Dribble
A line macro.
Editor tab
A number of blanks (ASCII code 32) generated by pressing the Tab key.
Editor tab stop
A triangle, normally in the lower row of triangles, in the text ruler. These tab stops are used when tab key generates edit tabs is selected in the text ruler panel.
Filter
An external, text based UNIX program called by Edith, that is invoked on a selected fragment of text in a window, and whose output is substituted for the selected text.
Font
A type face including size and text attributes (e.g., boldface).
Fragment
A continuous piece of text within a selection or a part of a text buffer.
Input queue
When the number of files to open in one go exceeds a number set in the file options panel, Edith will ask whether some of the files should be put in the input queue.
Insert mode
When Edith is switched to insert mode using Replace mode (Mark menu, Insert), what you type in text windows will be inserted into the text. This is the default behaviour.
Macro
Edith has line-macros only; they are called dribbles.
Marker
Each text window (except browsers) has four text position markers. These are set by Put marker (Mark menu, Alt P), and traversed using Back (Browse menu, Alt Left) and Forward (Browse menu, Alt Right).
Mode
See text window mode.
North-East Quadrant
The vertical mirror image of a south-east quadrant.
Panel font
The font used in dialog panels. Set under Text display/fonts... (Options menu, Shift Ctrl D).
Record, rec
Record a dribble.
Queue
See input queue.
Replace mode
When Edith is switched to replace mode using Replace mode (Mark menu, Insert), what you type in a text window will erase other text. Default is insert mode. Replace mode is indicated with a block-style text cursor. In replace mode, the behaviour of Delete (Edit menu, Alt Shift X) and Overlay (Edit menu, Alt Shift V) is different.
Selection
The part of the text in a text window which is selected (highlighted). A selection can consist of an arbitrary number of fragments. Note that unlike in other editors, while there is a selection, there still is a cursor, and text can be typed both inside and outside the selection. See selection.
Shortcut (1)
An abbreviation for a string of characters, expanded by pressing the Escape key. See shortcut panel.
Shortcut (2)
A key combination that activates a button or a menu item. Shortcuts for menu items are displayed in the menus; in a button which has a shortcut, one of the letters is underlined. The button is then activated by pressing Alt plus that letter.
South-East Quadrant
The part of the text to the right and below the cursor, until there is a line which has at most white space beyond the current cursor position. Created by Select south-east quadrant (Mark menu, Alt Q).
Substitute
That which is substituted for a target by the search/replace function. After searching, the cut buffer contains the substitute(s) for the marked target(s).
Tab
An editor tab or a true tab. Both refer to the space generated by the tab key and the tab stops on the ruler, but an editor tab consists of space characters and a true tab is a single ASCII code (9). See text rulers panel.
Target
An occurrence in a text window of the string or pattern you are searching for.
Text buffer
See buffer.
Text window mode
Edith's windows are divided into 11 modes, 8 of which are user-defined, which have different settings for appearance and editing behaviour.
Trash buffer
The trash buffer contains data discarded from text windows and other text buffers. It can be used to retrieve data which was accidentally lost, and can no longer be recovered by Undo (Edit menu, Alt U). See Trash buffer (Windows menu, Shift Ctrl T).
True tab
ASCII character 9, displayed as space stretching out to the next true tab stop; appearance set under Text display/fonts... (Options menu, Shift Ctrl D).
True tab stop
A triangle normally in the upper row of triangles in a text ruler. Usually placed at 8 column intervals.

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