ale (Another Linux Editor)


The ale text editor in .rpm format is available from this link.
The .deb package for Debian compaitible systems is here.
The ale editor in .tar.gz format with installer is available from this link.
The ale source code package is available from this link.


The ale text editor is a basic no frills exitor for the Linux console or an xterm. It has all of the needed functions to quickly create, or edit config files or any other common text file. It does not do spell checking, parse regex expressions, or pretend to be a word processor.

It does have low overhead, and is fast to use as well as easy to learn. Ale comes complete with docs and a man page describing all of its command key combinations. This is a work in progress, and this version is the first beta release, so it may well have hidden "features" in it still.


New Features in 1.1.0-1

It's been a while since I have had the time to work on ale. This release fixes
some of the bugs, and adds a couple alternate commands.

Re-wrote the input routines so that they handle key combinations more
reliably. The home and end keys no longer bring up the load file or save
file dialogs. You'll probably need to use the setup command and the Learn
keys selection to get everything working again.

Fixed the copy routine so that it now copies all of the marked area. Some of
the math wasn't correct on copy pointers (probably the result of working
when I should have been asleep).

Fixed the Status panel. Ale now displays the filename and status items
correctly.

Fixed the Unhandled Exception error that would occur if a terminal window
was too small. Ale will now adjust it's dialogs to fit the current terminal
size.

Fixed an exception caused by ale trying to write a copy of it's config file
in the current directory. This was never meant to happen, but it was, so ale
would bail out with an error if you didn't have write permission in the current
directory. Ale now writes it's config only in your home dir as it was
supposed to in the beginning.

Fixed the find routine (F4) so that it actually finds all occurances of the
search string, and no longer screws up the line numbering.

Added some alternate commands. I was shocked when I installed a new distro
and discovered that it doesn't handle ALT keys over a remote ssh session
like my other distros. Now Ctrl+S will get you to the setup area like Alt+S
does. This way you can get to the learn keys routine. Also Ctrl+X exits just
like Alt+X in case of emergency.

No longer requires that gpm be installed and running.





New Features in 1.0.5b

NOTE THE NEW EMAIL ADDRESS! mlsoft@sbcglobal.net  The old email addy will no
longer work.

Added keys to the learn keys function. This changed the config file format, so ale will re-create your current config file when run the first time. You will need to teach ale any custom colors or key strokes again. The keys added are: Ctrl+pgup, ctrl+pgdn, ctrl+rightarrow, and ctrl+leftarrow. These keys are (in order above) 1st line of file, last line of file, word right, and word left.

Fixed editing long lines. Lines would wrap when it reached the right screen edge. The screen will now scroll right as you type.

Added copy buffer. Yep you can now copy and paste in ale. I decided to use the old style Borland key commands for copy/paste because of the mappings used in some destops and window managers. The key combinations are as follows:

All copy/paste commands begin with ctrl+K followed by a single key.

Ctrl+K b  Marks the beginning of a block.

Ctrl+K k  Marks the end of the block and copies the contents into the buffer.

Ctrl+k c  Copies the contents of the copy buffer to the current cursor position.

Still to do is the Delete marked area command.

Added very limited mouse support. You can now copy FROM ale to another app, but NOT to ale via gpm

More code cleanup and optimizations.


New Features in 0.9.9-2

Added abort (escape key) to file open prompt.
Added tab completion to open and save file prompts.
Fixed appending to the end of a line that is less than the length of the screen.


New Features in 0.9.9-1

Added terminal type recognition. Ale will now adjust it's command set to work
in a gnome-terminal.

New Features in 0.9.8

I added a setup menu that allows you to choose the colors that ale uses for the editor, status panel, and help screen. Also added a learn keys command so ale can learn the function and cursor keys in an Xterm. Use the Alt+S command to get to the setup menu. Ale now creates a config file in the user's  home directory.


If you find a bug, or want to suggest an addition that is not too outrageous, please email me at the link below or from the main page.


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