I'm just wondering if Helios has ceased all TextPad development, since it has been on version 4.x for many years now. I use UltraEdit for large files and for its speed since TextPad just can't handle bigger files without bogging down. But if TextPad is done, I'd like to know so I can leave it behind. No offense, but I keep hoping for better things* from Helios (someday!).
*But then, EditPlus and NoteTab haven't upgraded either for a long, long time.
Has development on TextPad all but stopped?
Moderators: AmigoJack, bbadmin, helios, Bob Hansen, MudGuard
Absolutely not! TextPad is still being developed, and we appreciate the feedback that we get from the Enhancement Suggestions forum.
All editors contain design compromises, to give the best performance in particular circumstances. Editing very large files is a minority requirement, which TextPad is not optimised for. I'd argue that the most sensible way to edit such files is with a batch editor, such as sed or awk (free from http://unxutils.sourceforge.net/) or with a Perl or Python script (free from http://www.activestate.com). However, once TextPad has opened a large file, it will be interactively responsive, because the internal data structures TextPad uses are scalable. The trade-off is the amount of time required to create those structures while opening the file. Conversely, any editor which appears to open a very large file instantly will be slow when going to a specified line near the end of the file.
Keith MacDonald
Helios Software Solutions
All editors contain design compromises, to give the best performance in particular circumstances. Editing very large files is a minority requirement, which TextPad is not optimised for. I'd argue that the most sensible way to edit such files is with a batch editor, such as sed or awk (free from http://unxutils.sourceforge.net/) or with a Perl or Python script (free from http://www.activestate.com). However, once TextPad has opened a large file, it will be interactively responsive, because the internal data structures TextPad uses are scalable. The trade-off is the amount of time required to create those structures while opening the file. Conversely, any editor which appears to open a very large file instantly will be slow when going to a specified line near the end of the file.
Keith MacDonald
Helios Software Solutions