# The SemWare Editor

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Text editing software

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The Semware Editor (TSE) Original author Sammy Mitchell Developer The SemWare Corporation Release 1985; 41 years ago (1985) Stable release 4.49[1] / January 2023 Operating system Windows, Linux, MS-DOS, OS/2 Platform x86 Available in C Type Text editor License 2021: BSD-2-Clause[2] 1985: Proprietary Website www.semware.com

**The SemWare Editor** (TSE) is a [text editor](/source/Text_editor) [product line](/source/Product_line). Initially named **QEdit** and released November 1985 as [shareware](/source/Shareware), it was later modified to run as a [terminate-and-stay-resident](/source/Terminate-and-stay-resident) (TSR) program, and ported to [OS/2](/source/OS%2F2)[3] and eventually evolved (via rewrite) to TSEPro (professional edition).

TSEPro supports many productivity features including an [automation](/source/Automation) [macro language](/source/Macro_(computer_science)), [regular expression](/source/Regular_expression) search and replace, keystroke record and playback, undo and redo, and user-assignable [shortcut keys](/source/Shortcut_keys). Like its predecessor QEdit, TSEPro is often used as a [code editor](/source/Code_editor).[4]

Older versions (QEdit) supported [MS-DOS](/source/MS-DOS) and [OS/2](/source/OS%2F2), and newer versions (TSEPro) support [Windows](/source/Windows) and [Linux](/source/Linux).

## QEdit

Manual, box and disk (circa 1990)

Initially, QEdit ran only on MS-DOS. As [memory](/source/Computer_memory) of contemporary computers was limited, less memory use was desirable. QEdit used only 50 [KB](/source/Kilobyte) whereas some contemporary editors used 10 times as much.[5] Early versions maintained file content in [conventional memory](/source/Conventional_memory), but to support larger files, later versions supported various [DOS memory management](/source/DOS_memory_management) features including [expanded memory](/source/Expanded_memory) (EMS), [extended memory](/source/Extended_memory) (XMS) and [virtual memory](/source/Virtual_memory), up to a maximum of 16 [MB](/source/Megabyte).

QEdit was ported to [OS/2](/source/OS%2F2) as a 16-bit application for OS/2 1.x. Version 1.50 is dated February 1990.[6]

SemWare ported QEdit for 32-bit OS/2 with the release of QEdit Pro 3.0 for OS/2 in February 1994 which sold for $99. Version 3.0 includes multi-file operation, HPFS support and access to the OS/2 Clipboard. SemWare claimed over 120,000 licensed users on all platforms at that time.[7]

The last versions were released as The SemWare Editor Junior edition.[8] The last version was released in February 1997 for OS/2 with the name "TSE Junior/2".[9] It is functionally equivalent to TSE Junior v4.00e with support for OS/2's system-wide clipboard and long filenames. It retailed at the time for $99 and was supplied with a copy of the MS-DOS basic version.[10]

## TSEPro

QEdit was rewritten and significantly expanded, and eventually released as The SemWare Editor Professional (TSEPro) edition which includes a macro programming language, syntax highlighting, and large file support.[11] The initial release maintained the tradition of fast I/O and response, fast search, a simple text scripting language and the fundamental design of a native core with functionality split between native code and scripting.[12] New features included [regular expression](/source/Regular_expression) search and replace and a more powerful scripting language (with access to [DLL](/source/Dynamic-link_library) entry points).

Earlier versions operated in the console window in text-only mode with limited character sets and colors. Version 2.6 was a [native](/source/Native_mode) [Win32](/source/Win32) [port](/source/Ported), but was still character-based (using the [Win32 Console](/source/Win32_console) [APIs](/source/API)). Version 4.0 included the [Win32](/source/Win32) application rewritten as a [pixel](/source/Pixel)-based graphical application (g32.exe) using [Graphics Device Interface](/source/Graphics_Device_Interface) (GDI). This is commonly misunderstood to be a [console](/source/System_console) application, as it still appears textual despite being a Win32 graphical application. Visually, g32 appears to work in lines and columns, though it is a graphical application (via [WinMain](/source/Message_loop_in_Microsoft_Windows) and GDI, not the Console API).

## SemWare Application Language

The macro programming language, SemWare Application Language (SAL), uses a [Pascal](/source/Pascal_(programming_language))-like notation supporting [procedural](/source/Procedural_programming) [functions](/source/Function_(computer_science)) and [procedures](/source/Subroutine), [local](/source/Local_variable) and [global](/source/Global_variable) [variables](/source/Variable_(programming)), [constants](/source/Variable_(programming)#Constants), a [preprocessor](/source/Preprocessor) including common #include and #ifdef [keywords](/source/Keyword_(computer_programming)), [iterative](/source/Iteration#Computing) and [recursive](/source/Recursion) [control structures](/source/Control_structure), and many text-editing-specific functions. SAL supports two data types: an [integer](/source/Integer) is a 32-bit, base-2, signed, integral number, and a [string](/source/String_(computer_science)) is a fixed-size array of characters, with a maximum definable length of 255 characters. SAL supports the creation and use of text [buffers](/source/Buffer_(computer_science)), including non-interactive buffers, which are not visible to the user.

For example:

proc Main()
    integer i
    for i = 1 to 3
        Warn("Hello world ", i)
    endfor
end

## Timeline

Month Year Name Version Description May 1985 QEdit – First beta version Nov QEdit 1.0 First official release – Written in Turbo Pascal Feb 1986 QEdit 1.2 Multiple windows Mar QEdit 1.25 – May QEdit 1.25A – Jul QEdit 1.30 – Apr 1987 QEdit 1.35 – Jun QEdit 1.36 – Jul QEdit 1.37 – Oct QEdit 1.38 Size decreased to 29 KB Feb 1988 QEdit 1.39 – Feb QEdit 2.00 Pulldown menus added Mar QEdit 2.03 Converted to Turbo Pascal 4.0 Apr QEdit 2.05 – Dec QEdit 2.07 Added Column blocks Feb 1989 QEdit 2.07A – Jul QEdit 2.08 – Feb 1990 QEdit 2.1 Converted to C / First release of TSR version / First release of QEdit for OS/2 / First German translation Mar 1991 – – First TSEPro beta / Includes first version of SAL, Virtual memory support, multifile, block support. Aug QEdit 2.15 – – 1992 – – Product line split into TSE Jr. (formerly QEdit) and TSE Pro Mar 1993 TSEPro 1.0 First release, Virtual memory, macro language Feb 1994 QEdit 3.0 Last product named QEdit / HPFS support in OS/2 version Sep TSEPro 2.0 Help system, history Mar 1995 TSEJr 4.0 QEdit renamed to TSEJr Sep TSEPro 2.5 Multifile find, save state, last DOS version Oct 1996 TSEPro 2.6 First Win32 version – Console only Feb 1997 TSE JR/2[13] 4.0 first OS/2 version of TSEJr; console only Mar – – First experimental Windows GUI version Jun TSEPro 2.8 Color syntax highlighting Dec 1998 – – Experimental Windows GUI version killed Apr 2001 TSEPro 3.0 Undo/redo May 2002 TSEPro 4.0 First GUI version Feb 2004 TSEPro 4.2 – Oct – – First beta for Linux May 2005 TSEPro 4.4 – Jan 2022 TSEPro 4.42 For Windows and Linux

## See also

- [Comparison of text editors](/source/Comparison_of_text_editors)

- [Tim Farley](/source/Tim_Farley)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-wikidata-19dc087223d059c46ad633b30c645562b6f35d3a-v20_1-0)** ["SemWare homepage"](https://www.semware.com/). Retrieved 24 October 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Generated TSE Manual"](https://ecarlo.nl/tse/files/TseHelp.html#license_agreement).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Wilburn, Gene (July 5, 1993). "Homesteading the OS/2 applications farm". *Computing Canada*. **19** (14): 22. I took the plunge into native apps by obtaining OS/2 versions of two of my favorite DOS programs - QEdit for OS/2 and Buerg's LIST for OS/2.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** social.wakoopa.com/software/tse-pro Wakoopa stats on TSE Pro as text editor

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Rife, Bob (January 27, 1993). "QEdit fast, simple to use". *[The Globe and Mail](/source/The_Globe_and_Mail)*. p. 9. Besides speed and ease of use, QEdit is compact, taking only 50 KB of space, compared with many other editors that can be 10 times the size.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Metropoli files - metropoli/Pd"](http://www.mpoli.fi/files/software/OS2/UTILS/index.html).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Archived copy"](https://web.archive.org/web/20050810081929/http://www.brado-bbs.de/ra233c.htm). Archived from [the original](http://www.brado-bbs.de/ra233c.htm) on 2005-08-10. Retrieved 2009-09-09.{{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_archived_copy_as_title))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** [The SemWare® Editor Junior V4.0 for MS-DOS](http://semware.com/html/tsejrfl.html)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["SAC"](http://www.sac.sk/files.php?d=19&l=T).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["EDM/2 - A Programmer's Editor Shootout - the SemWare Editor"](http://www.edm2.com/0611/editors12.html).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** [The SemWare® Editor Products](https://semware.com/html/products.php)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Holtzman, Jeff (April 1994). "Build your own text editor". *Popular Electronics*. **11** (4): 76. TSE is relatively speedy, although it's not as fast as QEdit. (The reason is that QEdit is strictly a RAM-based editor that cannot edit flies larger than available RAM.) On the other hand, TSE has numerous powerful features, including column-mode operations, sorting, regular expression search/replace, intelligent tabbing, support for C, C++. and Pascal program flies, and the ability to execute DOS programs (e.g., compilers and print utilities).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["OS/2 Shareware BBS Website"](https://web.archive.org/web/20001211020200/http://www.os2bbs.com/Download/edit.html). *www.os2bbs.com*. Archived from [the original](http://www.os2bbs.com/download/edit.html) on 2000-12-11.

## External links

- [Official website](http://www.semware.com/)

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [The SemWare Editor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_SemWare_Editor) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_SemWare_Editor?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.