I was introduced to WordStar many, many moons ago.  I built myself a Ferguson BigBoard CP/M based computer (the system came with a board and parts.  I had to buy my own soldering iron), bought a Hazeltine 1400 terminal and two 8 inch floppy disk drives.  The terminal is so old, I can’t even find an image of it on the Internet.  That computer eventually fried… don’t ask.

The one thing I truly got from that system, was a deep love for WordStar from MicroPro.  I took to the command sequences like a fish to water.  Even after the BigBoard died, I stuck with WordStar and it’s command sequences.  Turbo Pascal used the WordStar keys, one of the text editors I use today has a WordStar mode (joe).

I’ve even remapped my Caps Lock key to be a Ctrl key to make keyboard navigation easier. That being said, I do seem to have gotten into the habit of using the cursor keys for navigation.  Hmmm.

I missed my WordStar.  Oh, I always had a DOS or CP/M Emulator available that would run WordStar, but then I couldn’t print quite right.  The files couldn’t be read by other apps for printing.  It was generally a pain.

So, I decided to double my pain… I wrote a WordStar ‘clone’.  It’s got most of the command sequences in it, it’s missing most of the dot commands, and has only rudimentary formatting support.  Still, it’s getting there.  I can pretty much read and write WordStar 4 and under files.  Wordstar 5 and up is coming.

My next steps from here (once I get out of novel revision mode) is to

1. complete printing
2. complete the command keys
3. complete the dot commands.
4. add RTF read/write abilities (write for sure).
5. read and write all WordStar files

Then I’ll look into adding macros.  I’ve never used WordStar macros, so it’s a new one on me.

WordTsar (yeah, bad name) isn’t a WYSIWYG wordprocessor, but it does try make things look close.  For example, the screen width is the printer width (hard coded to 8.5 x 11 for now).  The screen shot above uses Times New Roman as it’s font, so variable width fonts are displayed correctly.  Bold, italics, etc are displayed as is as well.  The main code base can deal with font changes and display the correct font, but a user can’t change the font yet.  These font styles do not yet follow the WordStar font table.  I’m not sure if they will.  I’ve added a full screen mode, since I hate distractions when I write.  The program is UTF-8 throughout, except reading and writing of WordStar files, that’s still 8 bit ASCII.

It’s currently at version 0.0.1 Alpha, but it’s pretty stable and usable.  It has one crashing bug that I’m working on (weird delete problem).

I use wxWidgets to code it, so it’s cross platform: Windows, Linux, and OSX.  I currently only have the Linux version running, but next month, we’ll see.

Ahh, what I do to keep my programming skills up while I write!  Fun fun fun.

A good friend of mine, Rob Peters, posted in his blog some pearls of wisdom he gleaned from Jennifer Kornelsen, Ph.D. :

1)  The simplest explanation is the best. (i.e. the most likely, the most accurate, the most truthful)

2)  The data is what it is. (trust it, let it be…)

3)  If you’re nervous and think you’re going to puke, eat something colourful! (at least then it will be Spectacular!)

Rob found these pearls to be as true in Design as in Neurophysiology.  I’m here to say they also apply extremely well to Software Design/Development, and IT work.  It’s unfortunate that, in software and IT at least, a lot of people forget item number one.

However, in the writing of fiction, I’m not so sure (well, except for item 3), at least not on the surface.  For item 1, when the reader reaches the end of a book, the final explanation of event should be clearly evident and obvious, and yes, even simple.  But during the reading of the book, the simplest explanation of the events occurring is usually the one you want the reader to follow, but should not be the true reason.  You gotta keep ‘em interested.

In writing fiction, item 2 closely correlates to item 1.  This can be especially true when reading a first person narrative, where everything presented to the reader is viewed through the eyes of a single (or potentially multiple first person) characters.  If the character looks at the world through rose colored glasses (cliché), then that is how the reader will interpret the events (data) in the book, and therefor, the data is tainted.

Perhaps I should re-phrase my original statement.  To the reader of fiction, the above pearls should not be true, but to the writer, they probably should.

I had a wonderful opportunity today.  I was able to take off and spend the day alone.  I brought my laptop, worked on The Courier and started working on the undo/redo code for my WordStar clone: WordTsar (though I may change that name).

I also brought some free range chickens to Ev and Rob in Winnipeg Beach, and spent some time on the shores of Lake Winnipeg.  A wonderful and restful day.  Thanks Marnie!