PCjs Machines
Home of the original IBM PC emulator for browsers.
PC-SIG Diskette Library (Disk #2683)
[PCjs Machine "ibm5170"]
Waiting for machine "ibm5170" to load....
FILE2683.TXT
Disk No: 2683
Disk Title: HXED
PC-SIG Version: S1
Program Title: HXED
Author Version: 2.00
Author Registration: $15.00
Special Requirements: None.
HXED is a fast and easy-to-use editor for binary files that can be
customized for your video and processing preferences. By using disk and
memory very efficiently, HXED consumes less than 30K of memory and it
can edit files of up to two megabytes in less than 100K of memory. HXED
supports Insert and Overwrite modes and character delete, as well as
Search and Replace functions. File data is displayed in a hexadecimal
format: addresses on the left, hexadecimal representation in the middle,
and character representation (ASCII) on the right. The current location
in the file is marked by a pair of cursors, one for the hexadecimal data
and one for the character data.
HXED provides on-screen Help, always available with a single keystroke.
A DOS shell is also available, returning to HXED using the standard EXIT
command. Customize the way HXED operates by specifying command line
options. Set cursor and text colors, specify fill characters and
display characters for unprintable character values, set the number of
memory buffers to use, and specify video BIOS instead of direct video
access for speed improvement.
HXED is unique because it comes with the complete source code. See how
file editors are constructed and perhaps even create one of your own.
PC-SIG
1030D East Duane Avenue
Sunnyvale Ca. 94086
(408) 730-9291
(c) Copyright 1991 PC-SIG, Inc.
HXED.DOC
HXED, Version 2.00, a Hexadecimal Editor for Binary Files,
Copyright 1991 Anthony F. Stuart, All rights reserved.
1. Description
HXED is a fast and easy to use editor for binary files. It
supports insert and overtype modes, character delete, and search
and replace. Command line options let you customize it for your
video hardware and processing preferences. HXED uses memory
and disk very efficiently. The executable file itself consumes
less than 30 kb and it can edit files up to two megabytes in less
than 100 kb of memory.
HXED uses the popular hexadecimal dump display, with address
on the left, hexadecimal representation in the middle and character
representation on the right. The current location in the file is
marked by a pair of cursors, one for the hexadecimal representation
and one for the character representation. The arrow keys, page up,
page down, home and end select the current location in the file.
There is also a goto command to select a specific address.
Text can be inserted or overtyped as either hexadecimal or
character codes. A single key combination switches between modes. In
hexadecimal mode the hexadecimal cursor is active and lets you enter
a one or two digit hex value. In character mode the character cursor
is active and lets you enter a character. Characters can also be
entered using decimal code by holding down the Alt key and entering
the decimal code on the numeric keypad.
HXED makes an ideal binary file pager. The search and goto
commands, and current address display field, let you quickly locate
an address without having to count bytes.
2. Use
To invoke HXED with default display and processing options
just type the command followed by an existing filename:
HXED file
HXED will display its header and footer lines and the first page
of the file. The current location is set to the first byte of the file.
The header line contains the current address, file size, insert/
overtype indicator and hex/ascii indicator. The footer line contains
the file name, time and date last modified and original file size.
Press function key F1 for a help display that summarizes the
interactive commands. This display is also produced if you enter an
invalid function or Alt key sequence. The help display is cleared by
pressing any key.
The cursor positioning keys move the cursor around the file
in the usual way. The home key selects the beginning of the file and
the end key selects the end of the file. Page up and page down move
one page backward or forward.
The delete key deletes the current character, and all following
characters shift up one. The insert key toggles insert/overtype mode.
The default mode is overtype mode. In overtype mode each character that
is entered replaces the character that was previously there. In insert
mode each character that is entered is inserted at the current location
and the following characters are shifted down one. The current mode
is indicated on the header line.
HXED recognizes a variety of Alt key sequences:
Alt-D (Dos Suspend) suspends the current editing session and
enters the DOS command processor. Return to HXED by typing
exit at the DOS prompt. Caution: while suspended do not delete
or modify the file you are editing or any "hxedtmp" files.
Alt-G (Goto Address) prompts for an address and makes it the
new current location. The address can be entered in octal,
decimal or hexadecimal format. Octal addresses must be preceded
by a 0 and hexadecimal addresses must be preceded by a 0x. For
example, the octal address 010770 and the hexadecimal address
0x11f8 are equivalent to the decimal address 4600.
Alt-H (Toggle Hex/Character Mode) controls which cursor is
active for inserting or overtyping. In hexadecimal mode the
hexadecimal cursor is active and you can enter any of the
digits 0123456789abcdef. In character mode you can enter any
character that can be typed from the keyboard. Remember that
text lines in DOS are terminated by a carriage return, line
feed combination. This can be entered using Ctrl-M, Ctrl-J. Also
note that most PC BIOS's support decimal entry by holding down
the Alt key and entering a decimal code on the numeric keypad.
Alt-Q (Quit) exits the editor. First you are prompted for
whether you really want to quit or not. Then, if you have made
changes, you are prompted for whether you want to save them.
Note that at this point it is only possible to write the changes
back to the original file. If you want to write the changes to
a different file use the Write command before quitting.
Alt-R (Replace) prompts for a search pattern and a replace
string and then interactively asks you whether you would like
to replace each occurence of the pattern. A NO response skips to
the next occurence. A YES response replaces the current occurence.
An ALL response replaces all remaining occurences (to the end of
the file). A STOP response terminates the search and replace
operation. See the search command for a description of patterns.
Alt-S (Search) prompts for a search pattern and locates the
first occurence of it following the current location. A search
pattern consists of a sequence of one or more characters, escape
sequences and/or wildcards. Escape sequences are described below.
Wildcards consist of the question mark character (?) which
matches any one character and the asterisk character (*) which
matches zero or more characters. The asterisk will match the
shortest string that satisfies the remainder of the pattern.
Alt-W (Write) writes the current editing session to a file. First
you are prompted for whether or not you really want to write to
a file. Then you are prompted for the name of a file. The editing
session is then written to the file. If you have specified the
original file as the output file then the time and date modified
and original file size fields of the footer line will be updated.
As mentioned above, text for the search and replace commands can
be entered as a sequence of characters and/or escape sequences. The
escape sequences use the common convention of a backslash followed
by a mnemonic:
Sequence Description ASCII Code or Comment
-------- ----------- ---------------------
\a audible alert BEL
\b backspace BS
\f formfeed FF
\n newline (linefeed) LF
\r carriage return CR
\t horizontal tab HT
\v vertical tab VT
\? question mark negates wildcard function
\* asterisk negates wildcard function
\\ backslash negates escape function
\0nnn octal code nnn e.g. \033 is an ASCII ESC
\dnnn decimal code nnn e.g. \d27 is an ASCII ESC
\xnn hexadecimal code nn e.g. \x1b is an ASCII ESC
The escape sequences can be intermixed with text as long as the
end of an octal, decimal or hexadecimal sequence is not ambiguous.
When entering text for the search, replace or file commands, use
the backspace key to delete the previous character and the escape key
to delete the entire line. You can also cancel any of these commands
by pressing escape followed by return.
3. Limits and Error Recovery
HXED creates a temporary file that is uses to keep track of
changes you make. The file you are editing is not updated until you
write the changes back to it or quit and save the changes. In fact,
the write operation first writes the changes to another temporary file
and then renames the temporary file to the name you specified. This
way if anything goes wrong you will not lose your original file.
Keep in mind that HXED uses temporary files and that they
require disk space. A good rule of thumb is to only use HXED on
disks that have at least 2-3 times as much free space as the size of the
file you are editing. Also keep in mind that HXED should not be used
to edit files over two megabytes (hex 200000). If you run out of memory
or disk space for temporary files the editor aborts and your changes
are lost.
4. Defaults and Command Line Options
HXED lets you customize the way it operates by specifying
command line options. If you want to use certain options every time
you edit, create a batch file that invokes HXED with the desired
options. The following list summarizes the command line options. You
can get a summary of this list by specifying the HXED command without
a filename. Note that command line options should be entered in lower
case. Also, for options that require a parameter, there should be no
space between the option and the parameter.
-b creates a backup file before writing changes. The backup
file uses the same base name and a .bak suffix. Caution: the
new backup file will replace any existing file with the same
name.
-c<c> specifies the color to use for the cursor and help
display. The method for specifying colors is described
below. The default is -ckw for both monochrome and color.
-d<d> specifies the display character to use for characters
outside the printable ASCII character set. This character
can be represented using the escape sequence notation
described above. If no character is specified then the
character from the PC character set is displayed. The
default is -d\xfa for the centered dot.
-e<f> specifies the fill character to use when characters are
added beyond the end of the file. The default is -e\x0, i.e.
fill from end of file to the current location with zeros.
-f<c> specifies the color to use for the footer line. The default
is -fkw for monochrome and -fyr for color.
-h<c> specifies the color to use for the header line. The default
is -hkw for monochrome and -fyr for color.
-m<c> specifies the color to use for the message line. The default
is -mwk for both monochrome and color.
-s specifies silent mode. Invalid keys are ignored. The default
is to produce a tone when an invalid key is entered.
-t<c> specifies the color to use for the text area. The default
is -twk for monochrome and -tck for color.
-u<n> specifies the number of memory buffers to use. Specifying
a large number makes editing faster but limits editing to
smaller files. Specifying a small number slows down editing
but lets you edit larger files. The default is -u8. The
minimum is -u4.
-v specifies use of the video BIOS instead of direct video
access. Use this option if you have any problems with the
display. The video BIOS is slower than direct access.
Colors are specified as a two character sequence. The first
character represents the foreground color. The second character
represents the background color. Colors are abbreviated:
b = blue, g = green, c = cyan, r = red,
m = magenta, y = yellow, w = white, k = black
For example, to specify a text area of white on black, use -twk.
5. Distribution
HXED is shareware. Registration costs $15.00. In addition
to supporting the development of HXED and other quality programs,
this fee entitles you to unlimited use of the HXED source code in
projects that you develop, provided the amount of source code you
develop is at least as great as the amount you derive from HXED.
In addition, if you register you will receive the next release of
HXED when it becomes available.
Registration is easy. Just send a note saying that you wish
to register HXED, Version 2.00, along with a check or money order
for $15.00 to:
Anthony F. Stuart
21042 Thoreau Court
Sterling, VA 22170
HXED is distributed as-is with no warranties, for use at
your own risk. Every effort has been made to produce a robust and
reliable program, but there are undoubtedly some bugs left in it. If
you find a bug, try to reduce it to its simplest case and send me a
description. I would also like to hear general comments and
suggestions for new features.
Directory of PC-SIG Library Disk #2683
Volume in drive A has no label
Directory of A:\
DOS C 8204 2-10-91 4:00p
FILE C 18272 2-10-91 4:00p
INPUT C 10279 2-10-91 4:00p
MAIN C 15380 2-10-91 4:00p
OUTPUT C 8296 2-10-91 4:00p
SEARCH C 7166 2-10-91 4:00p
UNIX C 5405 2-10-91 4:00p
UTIL C 2974 2-10-91 4:00p
HXED DOC 14057 2-10-91 4:00p
HXED EXE 28555 2-10-91 4:00p
DCL H 2546 2-10-91 4:00p
DEF H 2857 2-10-91 4:00p
DOSDEF H 1464 2-10-91 4:00p
EXT H 1057 2-10-91 4:00p
FILE H 8397 2-10-91 4:00p
FMT H 2300 2-10-91 4:00p
HELP H 3008 2-10-91 4:00p
MCB H 1345 2-10-91 4:00p
PROTO H 887 2-10-91 4:00p
SD H 783 2-10-91 4:00p
UNIXDEF H 1368 2-10-91 4:00p
USAGE H 1825 2-10-91 4:00p
DOS MK 501 2-10-91 4:00p
UNIX MK 433 2-10-91 4:00p
PREVIEW EXE 7347 4-18-91 1:15p
FILE2683 TXT 1557 7-24-91 1:32a
GO BAT 99 7-24-91 1:22a
27 file(s) 156362 bytes
151552 bytes free