TEXT EDITORS

A text editor is a type of program used for editing plain text files.

Text editors are often provided with operating systems or software development packages, and can be
used to change configuration files and programming language source code.

Typical features

 String searching algorithm – search string with a replacement string. Different methods are
employed, Global(ly) Search And Replace, Conditional Search and Replace, Unconditional Search
and Replace.
 Cut, copy, and paste – most text editors provide methods to duplicate and move text within the
file, or between files.
 Text formatting – Text editors often provide basic formatting features like line wrap, auto-
indentation, bullet list formatting, comment formatting, and so on.
 Undo and redo – As with word processors, text editors will provide a way to undo and redo the
last edit. Often—especially with older text editors—there is only one level of edit history remembered
and successively issuing the undo command will only "toggle" the last change. Modern or more
complex editors usually provide a multiple level history such that issuing the undo command
repeatedly will revert the document to successively older edits. A separate redo command will cycle
the edits "forward" toward the most recent changes. The number of changes remembered depends
upon the editor and is often configurable by the user.
 Data transformation – Reading or merging the contents of another text file into the file currently
being edited. Some text editors provide a way to insert the output of a command issued to the
operating system's shell.
 Ability to handle UTF-8 encoded text.
 Filtering – Some advanced text editors allow the editor to send all or sections of the file being
edited to another utility and read the result back into the file in place of the lines being "filtered". This,
for example, is useful for sorting a series of lines alphabetically or numerically, doing mathematical
computations, and so on.
 Syntax highlighting – contextually highlights software code and other text that appears in an
organized or predictable format.
Types of text editors :-

1.Line editors :-The scope of edit operations ina line editor is limited to a line of text.The line is
designated positionally, e.g. by specifying its serial number in a text, or contextually, e.g. by specifying a
contextwhich uniquely identifies it.The primary advantage of a line editor is its simplicity.

2.Stream editors:-A stream editor views the entire text as a stream of characters.This permits edit
operations to cross line boundaries.Stream editors typically support character,line and context oriented
commands based on the current editing context indicated by the position of a text pointer. The pointer can
be manipulated using positioning or search commands.

Line and stream editors typically maintain multiple representations of text.One representation (the display
form)shows the text as a sequence of lines. The editor maintains an internal form which is used to
perform the edit operations .This form contains end of line characters and other edit characters .The
editor ensures that these representations are compatible at every moment.

Disadvantage:-A line or stream editor does not display the text in the manner it would appear if printed.

3.Screen editors:-A screen editor uses the what you see is what you get principle in editor design.The
editor displays a screenful of text at a time.The user can move the cursor over the screen ,position it at
the point where he desires to perform some editing and proceed with the editing directly.Thus it is
possible to see the effect of an edit operation on the screen .this is very useful while formatting the text to
produce printed documents.

4.Word processors:-Word processors are basically document editors with additional features to
produce well formatted hard copy output. Essential features of word processors are commands for
moving sections of text from one place to another,merging of text, and searching and replacement of
words. Many word processors support a spell check option.With the advent of personal computers, word
processors have seen wide spread use amongst authors, office personnel and computer professionals.
Wordstar is a popular editor of this class.

5.Structure Editors:-A structure editor incorporates an awareness of the structure of a document. This
is useful in browsing through a document, e.g. if a programmer wishes to edit a specific function in a
program file.The structure is specified by the user while creating or modifying the document.Editing
requirements are specified using the structure. A special class of structure editors , called syntax directed
editors, are used in programming environments.