Acme (Texteditor)

Acme is a hybrid of text window system, Unicode text editor, command interpreter (shell ) and a kind of file server that has been developed and written by Rob Pike for the operating system Plan 9. Characteristic of Acme is the high degree of integration of text-based applications. Server functions allow you to write your own clients.

Details

Except for text and command inputs Acme is exclusively operated by a dreitastigen mouse. The mouse buttons, but the mouse buttons chords, - overloaded part - used for functions. The middle mouse button interpreted the word under the mouse cursor as the name of an executable program. The right mouse button interpreted the word as in a new window Acme file to open the directory associated with the current window. If there is not such a file, the word is interpreted as a search word and the search is performed.

ACME's windows are arranged in columns, the width is variable. Also the height of the window is variable, each window can be permanently or temporarily take the whole column to complete. Each window has its own header, in the example, the file name of the file is associated with the window and a number of window relative commands that can be extended.

If a program is started in Acme, the output and the error output to a new, automatically generated window is written.

In Acme possible to work with regular expressions. The instructions of the text editor Sam are fully implemented.

Acme maintains for each window an " event file " that can be manipulated by programmable Acme clients. An "event " in a window is, for example, a mouse click with a mouse button, a keyboard input or a text selection with the mouse buttons. With a client program can be defined, how to respond to a specific event. For example, one can determine that the mark of an IP address with the right mouse button immediately a Whois query should trigger, with the response from the Whois server is displayed in a new Acme window. Available Clients are, inter alia, a dictionary - browser and an e -mail program.

History

An inspiration for the text window system from Acme was the design of the Oberon system.

Quotes

" ... Acme shows did type scripts june not be the most productive interface to a time-sharing System. "