Peter Robinson (peterr@vax.oxford.ac.uk) has announced Collate 1.0, a program to help scholars compile a critical edition based on many sources. It runs on most Macintosh computers. Collate can merge up to one hundred richly marked-up texts (with special treatment for editorial comments embedded in the text, location markers, editorial expansions, and separate collation of punctuation) and many different output formats (including TEI forms and TeX). Automatic generation of hypertext electronic editions from the output is also possible. Collate works on both prose and verse and has been tested successfully on texts in many languages (including Malay, Sanskrit, Latin, Middle English, and Old Norse). The scholar may regularize any word or phrase in any source; regularizations will be remembered the next time Collate runs.

Collate has been developed as part of the Computers and Manuscripts Project, funded for three years from 1st September 1989 by the Leverhulme Trust at the Oxford University Computing Service with support from Apple Computer, under the direction of Susan Hockey. [Note the sponsorship. Federal grants aren't the only source of research support.] It was written by Peter Robinson (peterr@vax.ox.ac.uk). The program costs 20 pounds or $40. A free demonstration disc of the program is available. [IRList.]