JOE Hits 3.0

orasio writes " Joe's Own Editor , a unix editor very much like the old Turbo-Pascal 4 editor, or WordStar, used and enjoyed by us console freaks who still miss the old DOS days, and cannot finish understanding vi's modes, has been revamped, adding syntax highlighting and internationalization support after many years without new features. The Sourceforge project is open for contributors since a year ago, but this is the first major feature improvement, that brings new life to JOE as a neat console-based programmer's editor." Joe is one undervalued program -- less arcane than vi, less cumbersome than emacs.

Comments

VI is everywhere.

[Moderation abuser]

JOE isn't.

So when I learned vi, I could use the knowledge on every Unix system I've ever been on. That alone makes it more useful than JOE.

JOE's really JAE.

Re:VI is everywhere.

[not_a_product_id]

This is what's been pushing me into learning vi (a process that isn't bad at all. just try the tutor - i think it's "vimtutor"). You KNOW that when you have to use an editor in an emergency vi will be there, JOE (or whatever else you prefer) probably won't. You DO NOT want to be learning vi as you try to repair a production server.

Re:VI is everywhere.

[evilviper]

I agree with everything, except this:

The only reason they should be supported as an extension is for people who can't break their mind out of the "arrow keys are the one way to move the cursor" paradigm.

I have a better reason... Any non-US or non-QWERTY keyboard will not put the letters for movement under your fingers. I type in Dvorak, and the 4 keys are scattered across the keyboard.

I don't like moving my hand down to the arrow keys, but at least they are all in one place. Besides, you've got the same problem using the ESC key with your left hand. I really think arrow keys should be better supported by nvi... It's not as if I want to hit the arrow key and have it delete a line for me. If nothing else, it would prevent accidents.

Besides, what's wrong with making life a little easier for those who are used to the arrow keys? They aren't serving any other useful purpose.

It's also more consistent, in that you have to use them to move around in insert mode, so being able to use them in command-mode just makes sense.

Great news, but..

[manavendra]

realistically, how many ppl use Joe?

Yes I've used wordstar in past. And Joe as well. But it seems to me the world has moved far far ahead in the last few years. Sure, vi and emacs lovers wouldnt even think of using any other editor, but IMO, for any serious editing purposes there already are a variety of editors available.

So perhaps, this is news for those who get a nostalgic feeling about the good-old-days. Maybe some will even d/l and give it a go, but the very fact that the this is the first major feature improvement even though the SourceForge project has been open for contributors for over a year, speaks volumes about its usage, demand and popularity.

Re:Windows is everywhere.

[Anonymous Coward]

UNIX isn't.

So when I learned Windows, I could use the knowledge on every computer I've ever been on. That alone makes it more useful than UNIX.

JOE is your friend....

[LoboRojo]

Cannot believe the bunch of negative comments on Joe... what are you trolling about? In the old times, for most people getting into Linux from DOS, JOE was the only editor worth to be relied on. vi was cryptic as hell and emacs was... emacs.

Long life dear old JOE!

Value

[mpmansell]

I was browsing this article armed with moderator points, but the quality of the initial few posters has irritated me enough to make a post myself.

The old hands among us will remember and still have the hidden ability of WordStar keystrokes 'programmed' into our fingers. While many of us have moved on to more powerful editors, we still appreciate that Wordstar like editors give efficient and competent editing capabilities in a small package. There are many of us that don't like drop down menus since we actually spend time writing code and find the action of hunting a mouse menu cumbersome.Deriding these tools because they are DOS like is irrelevant

While I don't often use it, Joe is a good example of this class of editor and I know many people who enjoy using it. While I am firmly in the Vi camp, I enjoy the fact that they have the choice to use a tool that suits them.

However, with the addition of syntax colouring, it may well become my editor of choice (instead of nedit) for when I'm doing multiplatform work and the practical and psychological leap of hopping from a WhineDoze box with Visual Studio to a linux box with Vi (utterly different paradigm) causes tangled fingers (and nerves :) )

(Please feel free to donate large sums to pay for my treatment when windows finally drives me nuts)

On a more general /. rant, over the last few years more an more trolls have invaded our forum. Too many socially defective individuals think that purile comments and insults are somehow witty, even though they have nothing of value to add to the discussion. All too often I see the hard work of developers who are donating their creations to our community belittled by people who I doubt even have the skills of a script kiddy.

Please people, if you have nothing of value to say, then just don't say it.

Re:Joe vs. vi vs. GUI based editors

[Garak]

CTRL-c to exit without saving
CTRL-k, s save
CTRL-k, x exit and save
CTRL-k, b start block
CTRL-k, k end blow
CTRL-k, c copy/paste block
CTRL-k, f find ...

vi has a steep learning curve, no onscreen help, it trapped me too many times for me to give it a chance whe I first started out.

Joe was the only one besides pico with on screen help that I could find in my early slackware days. It stuck and I still use it all the time. In the mean while I've still learned enough vi to use it when I have to.

Re:Why vim is better than joe (and obviously emacs

[Croaker]

# vim works like you think. Many commands are "mnemonic".

Uh, not the way I think. Not the way most people think. Most people, especially those new to the UNIX platform, have no clue. Does alert you to the help facilities on starting up? Does Vim just let you start typing?

Mnemonics are sweet and all, but they are useless unless you already know the command and you are trying to remember it. Joe was really one of the first editors that made it easy for newbies to get help straight off the bat.

# Speed: CPU-wise, vim is still by far more efficient than joe. Try running joe on an SGI Indy! Or on a PC/286!

You're talking out of your ass here. Have you tried running joe on a slow platform? I have... 16 Mhz 68000 UNIX systems, under a 80186 (yes, "1", that's not a typo) at 10Mhz under DOS. What's more I've used it over 1200 baud modems, raw telnet connections across the country back when you were lucky to have a 56k baud line shared with an entire campus. It worked perfectly. I'm not saying that Vim can't do that as well, but you obviously have no clue when it comes to Joe's system requirements. Maybe you're thinking it's some offshoot of EMACS?