Colorizing Text Editor for DOS?

December 5, 2006 8:37 PM

Does anyone know of a text editor for DOS that does syntax coloring?

Yes, DOS. I know this is the 21st century and all, but I have a special need. Thanks.

posted by iconjack to Computers & Internet (13 answers total)

vim for dos.
posted by xiojason at 8:39 PM on December 5, 2006

VIM.
posted by kcm at 8:39 PM on December 5, 2006

(Although the 16-bit dos version seems to omit syntax coloring... Hopefully 32-bit with DPMI works for your purposes.)
posted by xiojason at 8:41 PM on December 5, 2006

There is a DOS version of VIM if you are into that kind of thing here. I'm pretty sure emacs can also run in DOS, though its not obvious to me from the download site (here) which file is the right download.
posted by advil at 8:43 PM on December 5, 2006

doh, too slow.
posted by advil at 8:43 PM on December 5, 2006

Elvis may be another option for you.
posted by xiojason at 8:43 PM on December 5, 2006

gVIM will be easier to use for someone new to VIM.
posted by jaden at 9:28 PM on December 5, 2006

Response by poster: Thanks, everyone, but my apologies for not being more detailed. Definitely needs to be plain old 16-bit DOS (no extenders nor DPMI), and the syntax coloring is for C (assembly language would be a bonus).
posted by iconjack at 9:48 PM on December 5, 2006

Beyond the vi clones, several others are mentioned on this Free software for DOS page, including MicroEmacs, JED, SETEdit, FTE, FED, TDE, and ZED.
posted by xiojason at 9:52 PM on December 5, 2006

Ultraedit
posted by allelopath at 5:16 AM on December 6, 2006

allelopath writes "Ultraedit"

Have you tried it on 16 bit dos? Their download page says it isn't even supported under Win95.
posted by Mitheral at 8:40 AM on December 6, 2006

Can you get your hands on TurboC?
posted by aubilenon at 8:10 PM on December 6, 2006

Hey, that's a great idea, aubilenon. Turbo C 2.01 is a free download from Borland. Would that work for your purposes?
posted by xiojason at 10:31 AM on December 7, 2006