Easier way to do text-movement algorithm?

[Sarah]

>   I'm making an source code rearrangement application where I need to 
> rearrange different sections of a long piece of text.  I've basically 
> got a structure that looks like
>
> 1: A
> 2: --
> 3: --
> 4: --
> 5: B
> 6: --
> 7: --
> 8: C
> 9: --
> 10: D
>
> and I'd want to for instance move the 'A' section (lines 1-4 
> inclusive) to where the 'C' section is now (after the current line 7, 
> pushing everything else out of the way.  I also want to keep track of 
> the beginning and ending characters of the sections, so I can select 
> any of them at will.
>
>   Moving the sections around isn't much of a problem - I just copy a 
> character range A and put it at point C, then delete the original 
> range (so I don't have to keep track of what C becomes after I delete 
> range A).  But then I'd have to recalculate all the values of the 
> start and end points of the sections.
How about creating a new variable, and putting all the chunks into it 
in their new order. That way you only have to calculate the start & end 
points once. Then you can record the new start & end points as you move 
and when you have finished, copy the new variable back to the old one 
and the new start-end points list back to the original list.

Cheers,
Sarah
sarahr at genesearch.com.au
http://www.troz.net/Rev/