\Terse{} is an amazingly powerful full-screen
	editor running on all IBM-PC compatible computers under
	the MS-DOS operating system.
\Terse{} is a very tiny editor. 
The entire program occupies only 4096 bytes of disk space.
No hacker's disk is complete
without it.  No disk, be it hard or floppy, is too full to include it.

A conscious effort was made to reduce the program size
	to an absolute minimum.
The code was written in 8086 assembly using a style that
	breaks many of the rules of structure programming.
This space economy does not come on expense of features or 
	of power.
Full screen mode-less editing is offered to the user
	with the usual cursor movements, insertion, overwriting and
	deletion of text and prime editing operations:
	search and search and replace, 
	cut, copy and paste. 
In addition, \Terse{} provides advanced features 
	including unlimited line length and horizontal scrolling, 
	help screen and status line, 
	configurable key bindings and variable tab setting,
	support for many screen types, editing of binary and 
	UNIX and MS-DOS style text files and more.
\Terse{} default command keys binding 
	are very similar to those of the famous
	{\em brief}\/ editor (by UnderWare Inc.).  

\Terse{} main weakness is that it is restricted to editing
	one file viewed from one window at at time.
This deficiency can be circumvented by using a multi-tasking windowing
	environment such as DESQview.
Indeed, one may argue that it is the responsibility of such an 
	external shell to furnish a good and consistent windowing and 
	multi-file operation support.
An editor should then concentrate on carrying out a 
	a coherent duty of file editing.

Yet another deficiency \Terse{} is that it is limits file size
	to 65,536 bytes. This limitation follows from the segmented
	architecture of the 8086, its restricted address space
	and the lack of virtual memory or any other sophisticated 
	memory management in the MS-DOS operating system.

Despite the numerous dirty assembly tricks employed in the 
	implementation, \Terse{} code is compatible, 
	re-usable and extendable.
\Terse{} works flawlessly on all MS-DOS/PC-DOS versions greater
	or equal to 2, and all MS-DOS clones and replacements
	known to the author including Windows DOS shell, 
	4DOS, DR-DOS, DESQview and OS/2 DOS compatibility box.
In addition there exists a version of \Terse{} for the
	HP95lx palmtop.
This version is especially adapted to some of this computer 
	size limitations.

An extended (in the 5KB range) version of \Terse{} 
	called \Slim{} has even more editing functions.
One particularly interesting function allows the user
	to apply an arbitrary external filter to a text block.
A scaled down (in the 3KB range) version of \Terse{} 
\Lean{} is basically \Terse{} without the
editing code.  Naturally, \Lean{} could never compete with the
excellent LIST utility of Vernon D. Buerg, and other
fine tiny file-listers. However so, \Lean{} contributes to the
purpose of demonstrating the reusability of the editor code.

The editor display engine was modified in
	\Zair{} which is a bidirectional version of \Slim{} 
	intended for entering mixed 
	right-to-left and left-to-right text such as input for \TeXXeT.


\Terse{} is free (but copyrighted) to private users.  If you are a private
user who uses \Terse{} ``for pleasure", you are not required to register.
However, if you use \Terse{} for any commercial application, i.e., in
your company, at work, etc., or make money from selling software or
distributing shareware, you are {\em required} to register your copy of \Terse.
Registration cost is only \$15 and buys you a personalized version, and
grant your institution a site license.  
For an additional payment of only \$5, you will receive the source 
	code of \Terse.

\paragraph{Disclaimer}
\Terse{} and \Slim{} are written in highly optimized assembly language.
The code is probably the worst spaghetti you have ever seen!  This
means that the risk of \Terse{} and \Slim{} having bugs is especially
high.  The author exterminated all the bugs he identified, and he
did his very best to test the program thoroughly.  However, there
might still be other unidentified bugs lurking there.  These bugs
by nature are unpredictable.  Usage of the program acknowledges the
following disclaimer of warranty: ``This program is supplied as is!"
All warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation,
the fitness of this program for any purpose, are hereby explicitly disclaimed.

