Text-Console Based Word Processing?

chipperdog asks: "I am looking for an activly maintained console based word processor, similar to what one could find with Appleworks, from the Apple // era (Prodos 8 version, pre-//gs), or even one comparable to DOS versions of WP and Microsoft Word. An open-source one that compiles and runs in Linux would be best, although it would be nice to find one that could run on a 486DX2 50MHz with 8MB. A Google and Freshmeat search only turned up editors that seem to lack some of the necessary word processing features I am seeking. Although I mostly use VI (and *TEX when necessary), some no-so-geeky end users need the quasi-WSIWYG interface."

Comments

Vi

[Trusty Penfold]

Although I mostly use VI

Try Emacs.

Wordperfect for DOS, $70

[Hobart]

Looks like you can go buy Wordperfect 10 for Windows in a family pack for $49 - $20 holiday discount from corel, then go Here to buy a legal $40 copy of the Wordperfect 5.1 floppies that you are then entitled to use.

Many Wordperfect DOS tips here.

This Ask Slashdot answer provided to you by Google, like most of them. ;)

WordPerfect 8 for Linux (?)

[ThinkingGuy]

As I recall, the Linux version of WordPerfect that was available as a free download a few years ago, had a console mode as well as a GUI mode. I can't say for sure, since I never could get it to install :)

PC-Write?

[Lumpish Scholar]

There was an MS-DOS shareware product -- in fact, it was the product for which the word "shareware" was coined, and by a guy who'd been Microsoft employee number 9, no less -- called PC-Write. It was a lightweight (fit on a floppy), blindingly fast (even on an original 4.77 MHz 8088) quasi-WYSIWYG word processor. I tried it, I paid for it, I used it a lot. With a little care, you could do fairly close to WYSIWYG editing of plain ASCII files.

The author (Bob Wallace) passed away September 29, 2002. His company is long gone, as is the company his product was sold to.

It looks as if you can download version 3.04 here. Halfway down this page you'll find version 4.15. The Pascal source code was available at one point; it's probably disappeared.

A similar product, "Breeze Word Processor," appears to be available here. This is a four year old (to the day!) Netnews discussion of lightweight MS-DOS word processor packages. Your very best bet might be an MS-DOS or Windows 3.x version of WordPerfect or Microsoft Word.

None of these are actively supported.-(

In this day when people lightly port Sim City and Civilization to PDAs and phones and web browsers, it shouldn't be that hard to recreate one of these.

P.S.: What OS is your 8 MB system running?

Re:Clearly,

[alannon]

Emacs is a light weight OS?

Ya. Now if only someone would write a decent text editor that ran on it.