🚀 go-pugleaf

I know/think there's a editors group, but in my opinion this
is a msdos question.  Flame by mail, if necessary.  Thanks.

The only programming I do is in C.  What I'd really like is
an emacs clone that works right, but I've given up on DEMACS.
I would keep trying with DEMACS if it ran right under DesqView,
but it still doesn't, right?

I've tried qedit, and don't like it.  The version I tried is
about three years old, does anyone think much of it, if it's
changed much since?  (As I recall, you couldn't even write a
macro that would, say, ask for a string at the time of running
the macro, search for that string and do something.)

I tried an editor call PE (perfect editor, shareware) and 
dislike it.  Same problem with macros, and it's irritating in
how it handles the ring of loaded files.  I'm forever accidentally
renaming files and quitting files.

Brief is on sale from Borland now.  I'd still rather not spend
the $99, but if it's as good as its reputed to be, I guess
I'd take the plunge.  

My main criteria is that it can automatically handle braces, etc.
(You'd think that would be simple enough, but I've never been
pleased with the way any editor does it...) and have a quick to
learn and flexible macro language.  And work under Desqview.

Those of you who use brief, does it meet these criteria?  Other
suggestions are welcome, bearing in mind that I begrudge even
$99 expense.  I am not a professional programmer, I write little
filters and things like that.

An example of how I write follows.  I think it's pretty standard
and auto formatting should be able to indulge my preferences...

int proc(char *arg)
{
  char localc ;
  char *cp ;

  while(*cp != arg)
  {
    dothis(*cp) ;
    getanother(cp) ;
    eflag = estat(*cp) ;
   }
  
   return(something) ;
}

I would like to be able to make it autoexpand ); to ) ; and
}\n to }\n\n if the first non-white char after } \n is not }.

Thanks for suggestions.