MINCE

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MINCE is a text editor, originally created for 8080-based microcomputers running the CP/M operating system. Later versions of MINCE were available for GEMDOS on the Atari ST, VAX/VMS, RSX-11, and various flavors of Unix.

Developed in BDS C [1] by Mark of the Unicorn, it was bundled with computers from Kaypro [2] and Morrow Designs, and the Epson QX-10. [3] It was a subset of Emacs (MINCE stands for "MINCE Is Not Complete Emacs") designed to run within the 64kB memory limit of 8-bit computers.

MINCE used a gap buffer to fit within 48kB, and implemented a very efficient virtual memory system to support multiple buffers and a maximum file size limited only by available disk space.

MINCE was a companion product to SCRIBBLE, a text formatter based on Scribe. This separation of duties into editor plus formatter was common among advanced word processors at that time.

Although it was not open source, MOTU distributed partial code they deemed most useful for extending the product.

In 1981, MINCE and SCRIBBLE were sold together, along with their source code and the BDS C compiler, as a software bundle for US$350 [4] (almost US$1000 in 2014 dollars) under the name "Amethyst". [5] Amethyst was available without the compiler for $250, and MINCE and SCRIBBLE were available alone for $175. [4] In 1984 the list price of MINCE was US$175. [6] (equivalent to US$433.22 in 2019).

MINCE and SCRIBBLE were later developed into the Perfect Writer and FinalWord word processors. FinalWord later became Sprint.

An open source project, Portable MINCE, allows the CP/M-80 version of MINCE to run on current operating systems and provides customizations, extensions, and documentation for the editor.

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Perfect Writer is a word processor computer program published by Perfect Software for CP/M. In 1984, Thorn EMI Computer Software acquired an exclusive marketing and distribution licence for Perfect Software's products, and the program was rewritten and released as Perfect II for IBM PC compatible computers. Written in C and famous for its stability, it was an enhanced version of MINCE, which itself was a version of Emacs for microcomputer platforms. Emacs itself was too heavyweight to fit within the 64 KB RAM limit of most microcomputers. Like MINCE, it included a floppy disk based virtual memory system.

References

  1. ↑ Waite, Mitchell; Lafore, Robert; Volpe, Jerry (1985). The Official Book for the Commodore 128. Howard W. Sams & Co. p. 108. ISBN   0-672-22456-9. LCCN   85-50977 . Retrieved 2016-06-24. Some excellent applications programs for CP/M were written in BDS-C, including the Mince text editor (from Mark of the Unicorn) and the PeachText word processor (from PeachTree)
  2. ↑ "System Review The Kaypro II". Archived from the original on May 27, 2014. Retrieved May 24, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Epson QX-10". Computing History. Retrieved 2016-06-24.
  4. 1 2 "Mark of the Unicorn Amethyst". BYTE (Ad). Vol. 6, no. 6. June 1981. p. 179. Retrieved 2016-06-24.
  5. ↑ "ftp.nisc.sri.com: netinfo/interest-groups" (TXT). 21 September 1990. Retrieved 2016-06-24– via TEXTFILES.COM. This list is intended for people who use Amethyst, a software package of CP/M-80 programs: MINCE (an ersatz EMACS) and SCRIBBLE (an ersatz SCRIBE)
  6. ↑ "The Programmer's Shop". InfoWorld (Ad). Vol. 5, no. 40. 1983-10-03. p. 34. Retrieved 2016-06-24.
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