Subject: Chinese Word-Processor

From: [email-masked] (Benjamin Ao)
Date: 13 Nov 90 07:40:37 GMT

CWP -- A Fast, Easy and Affordable Chinese Word-Processor
 
   **********************************************************
   *   If your resources are limited and all you have is    *
   *   an IBM-XT/AT compatible and a humble 9-pin printer   *
   *   and yet you want to use a Chinese word-processor     *
   *   nearly as convenient as say Word Perfect but have    *
   *   been fed up by the cumbersomeness of the ones you    *
   *   own or been scared away by the prices of others,     *
   *   then this is definitely your choice.                 *
   **********************************************************
 
     A new Chinese word-processor, CWP, has been created for IBM-
PC's or PC compatibles. It is a purely applicational program and
therefore does not affect your computer system after execution.
 
     The main features of CWP are as follows:
 
1.   CWP supports the 6763 characters of the Mainland Chinese
standard. It uses a character coding scheme which is based on 
standard pinyin and is easy to learn. 

2.   CWP allows you to type no more than 3.5 purely alphabetic 
keystrokes per character in a running text. Everything else being 
equal, the fewer keystrokes necessary, and the less scattered the 
keystrokes, the faster the typing speed.

3.   CWP allows you to blind-type characters. The more you use
it, the more characters you can type at the top of your typing 
speed without being slowed down by searching for the correct 
homonym on the screen.
 
4.   CWP can save or retrieve a text in either binary or ASCII
format. In the ASCII format, a text may be saved or retrieved in
either Guobiao code or CWP pinyin code. The CWP pinyin code is 
generally shorter than the Guobiao code. And being readable, it 
is an ideal medium for telecommunication. Following is a sample 
of the same text in Guobiao code and in CWP pinyin code:
 
Guobiao:	C0EBC0EBD4ADC9CFB2DDA3ACD2BBCBEAD2BBBFDDC8D9A1A3|
		D2B0BBF0C9D5B2BBBEA1A3ACB4BAB7E7B4B5D3D6C9FAA1A3|
 
CWP pinyin:	lix lix yuanxb sag caov, i sui i kuh rogxl.|
		yevd hov saoh bu jinl, cunhj fegh cuih you segh.|

5.   CWP provides on-line help. It supports most standard text
editing functions, including move to head/end of line/page/text,
block move/copy/delete, forward/backward search, search-and-
replace with/without confirm, insert, delete, typeover, etc.
 
6.   CWP can be used in either the Chinese mode or the English
mode or a mixture of the two. It supports such functions as word-
wrapping at the end of a line, or justified spacing in printing.
 
7.   CWP can print the text in one of nine fonts differing in
size, shape or density on a 9-pin or 24-pin dot-matrix printer. 
The line spacing and page numbering functions are also adjustable.
 
8.   CWP can be used on any IBM-PC or PC compatible computer
equipped with a CGA, EGA, VGA, Hercules, ATT, IBM8514 or PC3270 
graphics card. It requires 640K RAM and a hard drive.
 
     The major limitations of CWP are the following:
 
1.   CWP does not support traditional character (fantizi) fonts.
     It does not support underlining, superscript, subscript
     and italics, either.
 
2.   CWP does not support laser printers or desk-jet printers.
 
3.   CWP does not support the tab key. It does not support such
functions as flush center/right, adjust top/bottom/left/right
margins, create and edit headers/footers/footnotes/endnotes,
column operations, etc. Once the text format, such as fonts,
linespacing, page numbering etc, is set, it cannot be changed
amidst the text.
 
4.   CWP does not allow you to create your own characters. And
it does not have line-drawing functions. Most of the scientific
symbols or other "funny" characters it supports are those 
included in the ASCII character set, which can be retrieved by 
simultaneously holding down the Alt key and typing the ASCII 
code on the Num-pad.

5.   CWP does not have a DOS Shell function that allows you to
temporarily go to the DOS system and then return to your word 
processing job. It does not allow you to list directories from
within the program, either.

6.   CWP does not have a word-base which allows you to input 
several characters at a time.

     All these limitations will be lifted in future versions.
 
     CWP version 1.0 is now available at $20.00 each. If you
are interested in buying one, please send your check or money 
order to the address at the end of this message. You will 
receive two 5.25" floppy disks, along with instructions for 
installation.

     Should there be any problems that make the program unusable,
please notify the author. If they are caused by errors in the
program, you will receive an update of the program void of the
errors and free of charge. Suggestions for improvement are always
welcome. Thank you! 

				Benjamin Ao
				Department of Linguistics
				The Ohio State University
				Columbus, Ohio 43210-1229

				([email-masked]
				 614-293-9417)