@c This file is NOT included in xwpe.texi -- it is a standalone
@c reference document translated from the Czech review by
@c Miroslav Janiš, published in Linuxové noviny 6/1998.
@c Source: xwpe-archive/linux-cz-1998-06/clanek06.html
@c Language: English (translated from Czech original)

@node Czech Review 1998
@appendix Czech Review of xwpe (1998, translated)

@cindex Linuxové noviny
@cindex Miroslav Janiš
@cindex Czech review

@section Source

Miroslav Jani@v{s}, ``Programátorské editory (X)WPE a (X)FTE''
(Programming editors (X)WPE and (X)FTE), @cite{Linuxov@'e noviny}
issue 6/1998 (9 June 1998).  Originally at
@uref{http://www.linux.cz/noviny/1998-06/clanek06.html}.

This is the earliest known non-English review of xwpe.  The article
reviews xwpe 1.4.2 (Fred Kruse's original) and compares it with
fte (Mirko Macek).

@section Key points (translated from Czech)

@subsection Description

``An almost perfect copy of Borland's interface; it allows everything
(said with great exaggeration) that a spoiled programmer could wish
for.  It was created by Fred Kruse and in version 1.4.2 has existed
unchanged since 1993.  Only recently have the sources been dusted
off and a project `for a better WPE' has begun.''

@subsection Capabilities listed

@itemize @bullet
@item Creating projects with compiler and linker parameter definitions.
@item Breakpoints and stepping directly in the source code; classic
  variable display (Watch) and program stack (Stack).
@item Jumping to errors and warnings discovered by the compiler,
  accessible via the Messages window.
@item Ability to configure and use various compilers -- besides C/C++,
  also Fortran, Pascal, and @LaTeX{}.
@item Displaying man pages and GNU info -- allows comfortable document
  navigation, though it occasionally misinterprets links.
@item Syntax highlighting and colour configuration.
@item Editor behaviour configuration (tabs, auto-indent, auto-save),
  but otherwise the editor configuration is quite limited.
@item And finally, the ability to reliably crash at the most
  inconvenient moment (especially when viewing man pages) ;-)
  (but usually it manages to save your work...)
@end itemize

@subsection Bug report: -c flag with LaTeX

The reviewer noted a significant problem:

@quotation
``xwpe quite wilfully passes the @code{-c} parameter to any compiler
started from the Run/Compile menu, so a script is needed that
ignores the first parameter (@code{-c}) and runs @LaTeX{} with the
second one (filename).''
@end quotation

@noindent
This bug, reported by Jani@v{s} in 1998, was finally fixed in
xwpe v1.6.2 (2026) -- 28 years later -- by skipping @code{-c} and
@code{-o} flags for non-GNU compilers (@code{comp_sw & 1}).

@subsection Evaluation

``Generally speaking, for programming (or rather for trying to
program), this editor is quite usable -- you write code, compile it
right away, fix syntactic and other errors revealed by the compiler,
and you can merrily step through it and perform various tricks
without having to create a Makefile and launch a debugger.  However,
for a larger project, a Makefile is still necessary.''

``The editor seems quite limited -- colour syntax only works for a
few chosen ones (C/C++, Pascal, Fortran(?)), indent is quite stupid,
and the editor cannot do word completion at all.''

@subsection Historical note

The article also mentions RHIDE (a djgpp Borland clone used by
id Software to compile QUAKE instead of Watcom C) and provides the
first known reference to Dennis Payne's new xwpe-alpha project at
@code{http://www.rpi.edu/~payned/xwpe/}.

The accompanying screenshot (Xwpe.gif, showing xwpe stepping through
a program) was unfortunately never captured by the Wayback Machine.
