Levee, also known as Captain Video, is a compact, screen-oriented text editor modelled on the classic Unix vi editor. It uses a modal editing approach, with separate visual, insert, and command modes. Users familiar with traditional vi commands will recognise much of its keyboard-driven workflow.
The project has an unusually long history. David L. Parsons first developed it in UCSD Pascal for the Terak 8510a, before it was rewritten and ported to numerous computer systems. It is intended for straightforward editing in a terminal rather than the extensive scripting and plugin facilities of larger modern editors.
Levee is not a complete vi implementation. Its developer notes that some ex-mode commands are absent and that long lines are truncated on screen rather than wrapped. These differences matter if you depend on strict vi compatibility.
This is free and open source software.
Key Features
- Vi-style navigation – move by characters, words, lines, paragraphs, sentences, and matching brackets.
- Text editing – insert, append, delete, change, yank, and paste text using keyboard commands.
- Regular-expression searching – search forwards or backwards and repeat searches in either direction.
- Search and replace – substitute matching text, with options for confirmation and repeated replacements.
- Undo and repeat – reverse the last modification or repeat the preceding editing operation.
- Marks and tags – set position marks, follow tags, and navigate a tag stack.
- File operations – read, write, and move between files using command-mode instructions.
- Macros and external commands – map key sequences and pass text through external programs.
- Cross-platform support – runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows.
Website: www.pell.portland.or.us/~orc/Code/levee
Support:
Developer: David L. Parsons
License: Custom BSD-style license
Levee is written in C and C++. Learn C with our recommended free books and free tutorials. Learn C++ with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
Related Software
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|---|---|
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| xvi | Portable multi-file text editor |
| aretext | Minimalist text editor with vim-compatible key bindings |
| Levee | Also known as Captain Video |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
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