--- a/scripts/miscellaneous/edit.m
+++ b/scripts/miscellaneous/edit.m
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@
 ## If the function @var{name} is available in a file on your path and
 ## that file is modifiable, then it will be edited in place.  If it
 ## is a system function, then it will first be copied to the directory
-## @env{HOME} (see further down) and then edited.
+## @env{HOME} (see below) and then edited.
 ## If no file is found, then the m-file
 ## variant, ending with ".m", will be considered.  If still no file
 ## is found, then variants with a leading "@@" and then with both a
@@ -42,26 +42,27 @@
 ## to contain that function along with its current definition.
 ##
 ## @item
-## If @code{name.cc} is specified, then it will search for @code{name.cc}
-## in the path and try to modify it, otherwise it will create a new
-## @file{.cc} file in @env{HOME}.  If @var{name} happens to be an
+## If @code{@var{name}.cc} is specified, then it will search for
+## @code{@var{name}.cc} in the path and try to modify it, otherwise it will
+## create a new @file{.cc} file in @env{HOME}.  If @var{name} happens to be an
 ## m-file or interpreter defined function, then the text of that
 ## function will be inserted into the .cc file as a comment.
 ##
 ## @item
-## If @var{name.ext} is on your path then it will be edited, otherwise
-## the editor will be started with @file{HOME/name.ext} as the
-## filename.  If @file{name.ext} is not modifiable, it will be copied to
+## If @file{@var{name}.ext} is on your path then it will be edited, otherwise
+## the editor will be started with @file{@env{HOME}/@var{name}.ext} as the
+## filename.  If @file{@var{name}.ext} is not modifiable, it will be copied to
 ## @env{HOME} before editing.
 ##
-## @strong{Warning:} You may need to clear name before the new definition
+## @strong{Warning:} You may need to clear @var{name} before the new definition
 ## is available.  If you are editing a .cc file, you will need
-## to mkoctfile @file{name.cc} before the definition will be available.
+## to execute @code{mkoctfile @file{@var{name}.cc}} before the definition
+## will be available.
 ## @end itemize
 ##
 ## If @code{edit} is called with @var{field} and @var{value} variables,
-## the value of the control field @var{field} will be @var{value}.
-## If an output argument is requested and the first argument is @code{get}
+## the value of the control field @var{field} will be set to @var{value}.
+## If an output argument is requested and the first input argument is @code{get}
 ## then @code{edit} will return the value of the control field @var{field}.
 ## If the control field does not exist, edit will return a structure
 ## containing all fields and values.  Thus, @code{edit get all} returns
@@ -75,8 +76,8 @@
 ## @code{getenv ("EDITOR")} and defaults to @code{emacs}.  Use @code{%s}
 ## In place of the function name.  For example,
 ##
-## @table @samp
-## @item [EDITOR, " %s"]
+## @table @asis
+## @item @code{[EDITOR, " %s"]}
 ## Use the editor which Octave uses for @code{edit_history}.
 ##
 ## @item "xedit %s &"
@@ -97,18 +98,18 @@
 ## @end smallexample
 ##
 ## @item home
-## This is the location of user local m-files.  Be be sure it is in your
+## This is the location of user local m-files.  Be sure it is in your
 ## path.  The default is @file{~/octave}.
 ##
 ## @item author
 ## This is the name to put after the "## Author:" field of new functions.
-## By default it guesses from the @code{gecos} field of password database.
+## By default it guesses from the @code{gecos} field of the password database.
 ##
 ## @item email
 ## This is the e-mail address to list after the name in the author field.
 ## By default it guesses @code{<$LOGNAME@@$HOSTNAME>}, and if @code{$HOSTNAME}
 ## is not defined it uses @code{uname -n}.  You probably want to override this.
-## Be sure to use @code{<user@@host>} as your format.
+## Be sure to use the format @code{<user@@host>}.
 ##
 ## @item license
 ##
@@ -133,7 +134,7 @@
 ## This value determines whether the editor should be started in async mode
 ## (editor is started in the background and Octave continues) or sync mode
 ## (Octave waits until the editor exits).  Set it to "sync" to start the editor
-## in sync mode.  The default is "async" (see also "system").
+## in sync mode.  The default is "async" (@pxref{docXsystem,,system}).
 ##
 ## @item editinplace
 ## Determines whether files should be edited in place, without regard to
@@ -153,53 +154,52 @@
   persistent FUNCTION = struct ("EDITOR", [EDITOR() " %s"],
                                 "HOME", fullfile (default_home, "octave"),
                                 "AUTHOR", default_user(1),
-                                "EMAIL",  [],
-                                "LICENSE",  "GPL",
+                                "EMAIL", [],
+                                "LICENSE", "GPL",
                                 "MODE", "async",
                                 "EDITINPLACE", false);
   ## Make sure the stateval variables survive "clear functions".
-  mlock;
+  #mlock;
 
   if (nargin == 1)
     ## User has supplied one arg, this can be a single file name
-    ## or a cell array of strings containing multiple files to be
-    ## opened
-    if (iscellstr(varargin{1}))
-      ## If first arg is a cell array of strings, it becomes the
-      ## list of files to be edited
+    ## or a cell array of strings containing multiple files to be opened
+    if (iscellstr (varargin{1}))
+      ## If first arg is a cell array of strings, 
+      ## it becomes the list of files to be edited
       editfilelist = varargin{1};
-    elseif (ischar(varargin{1}))
+    elseif (ischar (varargin{1}))
       ## If first arg is a string, create a cell array of strings
-      ## of length one (by copying the input cell array)
+      ## of length 1 (by copying the input cell array)
       editfilelist = varargin(1);
     else
-      error('edit: expected file to be a string or cell array of strings');
+      error ("edit: expected file to be a string or cell array of strings");
     endif
   elseif (nargin == 2)
-    ## User has supplied two arguments, these could be two file
-    ## names, or a combination of editor state name and new value
-    ## for that state, so first check for the various states
+    ## User has supplied two arguments, these could be two file names,
+    ## or a combination of editor state name and new value for that state,
+    ## so first check for the various states
     statevar = varargin{1};
     stateval = varargin{2};
     switch (toupper (statevar))
     case "EDITOR"
       FUNCTION.EDITOR = stateval;
-      return
+      return;
     case "HOME"
       if (! isempty (stateval) && stateval(1) == "~")
         stateval = [ default_home, stateval(2:end) ];
       endif
       FUNCTION.HOME = stateval;
-      return
+      return;
     case "AUTHOR"
       FUNCTION.AUTHOR = stateval;
-      return
+      return;
     case "EMAIL"
       FUNCTION.EMAIL = stateval;
-      return
+      return;
     case "LICENSE"
       FUNCTION.LICENSE = stateval;
-      return
+      return;
     case "MODE"
       if (strcmp (stateval, "sync") || strcmp (stateval, "async"))
         FUNCTION.MODE = stateval;
@@ -232,15 +232,15 @@
       editfilelist = varargin;
     endswitch
   elseif (nargin > 2)
-    if (iscellstr(varargin))
+    if (iscellstr (varargin))
       editfilelist = varargin;
     else
-      error('edit: if supplying more than one input all inputs must be strings containing fiel names to open.');
+      error ("edit: if supplying more than one input all inputs must be strings containing field names to open.");
     endif
   endif
 
   ## Start the editor without a file if no file is given.
-  if (nargin < 1)
+  if (nargin == 0)
     if (exist (FUNCTION.HOME, "dir") == 7)
       curr_dir = pwd ();
       unwind_protect
@@ -255,11 +255,11 @@
     return;
   endif
 
-  if (numel(editfilelist) > 1)
+  if (numel (editfilelist) > 1)
 
     ## Call edit on each of the files in the list if there are more than 1
-    for i = 1:numel(editfilelist)
-      edit(editfilelist{i});
+    for i = 1:numel (editfilelist)
+      edit (editfilelist{i});
     endfor
 
   else
@@ -296,15 +296,13 @@
     ## If file has no extension, add file.m and file.cc to the list.
     idx = rindex (file, ".");
     if (idx == 0)
-      ## Create the list of files to look for
-      filelist = {file};
       if (isempty (regexp (file, '\.m$')))
         ## No ".m" at the end of the file, add to the list.
-        filelist{end+1} = cat (2, file, ".m");
+        filelist{end+1} = [file ".m"];
       endif
       if (isempty (regexp (file, '\.cc$')))
         ## No ".cc" at the end of the file, add to the list.
-        filelist{end+1} = cat (2, file, ".cc");
+        filelist{end+1} = [file ".cc"];
       endif
     endif
 
@@ -313,7 +311,7 @@
       ## No "@" at the beginning of the file, add to the list.
       numfiles = numel (filelist);
       for n = 1:numfiles
-        filelist{n+numfiles} = cat (2, "@", filelist{n});
+        filelist{n+numfiles} = ["@" filelist{n}];
       endfor
     endif
 
@@ -335,8 +333,8 @@
         do_edit (FUNCTION.EDITOR, fileandpath, FUNCTION.MODE);
         return;
       else
-        ## If the file is modifiable in place then edit it, otherwise make
-        ## a copy in HOME and then edit it.
+        ## If the file is modifiable in place then edit it,
+        ## otherwise make a copy in HOME and then edit it.
         fid = fopen (fileandpath, "r+t");
         if (fid < 0)
           from = fileandpath;
@@ -359,16 +357,14 @@
     idx = rindex (file, ".");
     name = file(1:idx-1);
     ext = file(idx+1:end);
-    switch (ext)
-      case {"cc", "m"}
-        0;
-      otherwise
-        do_edit (FUNCTION.EDITOR, fileandpath, FUNCTION.MODE);
-        return;
-    endswitch
+    if (! any (strcmp (ext, {"cc", "m"})))
+      ## Some unknown file.  Just open it up.
+      do_edit (FUNCTION.EDITOR, fileandpath, FUNCTION.MODE);
+      return;
+    endif
 
-    ## The file doesn't exist in path so create it, put in the function
-    ## template and edit it.
+    ## The file doesn't exist in path so
+    ## create it, put in the function template, and edit it.
 
     ## Guess the email name if it was not given.
     if (isempty (FUNCTION.EMAIL))
@@ -405,46 +401,46 @@
     switch (uclicense)
       case "GPL"
         head = cstrcat (copyright, "\n\n", "\
-  This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify\n\
-  it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by\n\
-  the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or\n\
-  (at your option) any later version.\n\
-  \n\
-  This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,\n\
-  but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of\n\
-  MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the\n\
-  GNU General Public License for more details.\n\
-  \n\
-  You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License\n\
-  along with Octave; see the file COPYING.  If not, see\n\
-  <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.\
-  ");
+This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify\n\
+it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by\n\
+the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or\n\
+(at your option) any later version.\n\
+\n\
+This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,\n\
+but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of\n\
+MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the\n\
+GNU General Public License for more details.\n\
+\n\
+You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License\n\
+along with Octave; see the file COPYING.  If not, see\n\
+<http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.\
+");
         tail = [author, "\n", revs];
 
       case "BSD"
         head = cstrcat (copyright, "\n\n", "\
-  This program is free software; redistribution and use in source and\n\
-  binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that\n\
-  the following conditions are met:\n\
-  \n\
-     1.Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright\n\
-       notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.\n\
-     2.Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright\n\
-       notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the\n\
-       documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.\n\
-  \n\
-  THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND\n\
-  ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE\n\
-  IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE\n\
-  ARE DISCLAIMED.  IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE\n\
-  FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL\n\
-  DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS\n\
-  OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)\n\
-  HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT\n\
-  LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY\n\
-  OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF\n\
-  SUCH DAMAGE.\
-  ");
+This program is free software; redistribution and use in source and\n\
+binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that\n\
+the following conditions are met:\n\
+\n\
+   1.Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright\n\
+     notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.\n\
+   2.Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright\n\
+     notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the\n\
+     documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.\n\
+\n\
+THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND\n\
+ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE\n\
+IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE\n\
+ARE DISCLAIMED.  IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE\n\
+FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL\n\
+DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS\n\
+OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)\n\
+HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT\n\
+LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY\n\
+OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF\n\
+SUCH DAMAGE.\
+");
         tail = [author, "\n", revs];
 
       case "PD"
@@ -462,9 +458,9 @@
     switch (ext)
       case {"cc", "C", "cpp"}
         if (isempty (head))
-          comment = ["/*\n", tail, "\n\n*/\n\n"];
+          comment = ["/*\n\n", tail, "\n\n*/\n\n"];
         else
-          comment = ["/*\n", head, "\n\n", tail, "\n\n*/\n\n"];
+          comment = ["/*\n\n", head, "\n\n", tail, "\n\n*/\n\n"];
         endif
         ## If we are shadowing an m-file, paste the code for the m-file.
         if (any (exists == [2, 103]))
@@ -472,32 +468,31 @@
         else
           code = " ";
         endif
-        body = cstrcat ("#include <octave/oct.h>\n\n",
-                        "DEFUN_DLD(", name, ",args,nargout,\"\\\n",
-                        name, "\\n\\\n\")\n{\n",
-                        "  octave_value_list retval;\n",
-                        "  int nargin = args.length ();\n\n",
-                        code, "\n  return retval;\n}\n");
+        body = ["#include <octave/oct.h>\n\n",               \
+                "DEFUN_DLD(" name ", args, nargout, \"\\\n", \
+                name, "\\n\\\n\")\n{\n",                     \
+                "  octave_value_list retval;\n",             \
+                "  int nargin = args.length ();\n\n",        \
+                code, "\n  return retval;\n}\n"];
 
         text = [comment, body];
       case "m"
-        ## If we are editing a function defined on the fly, paste the
-        ## code.
+        ## If we are editing a function defined on the fly, paste the code.
         if (any (exists == [2, 103]))
           body = type (name){1};
         else
-          body = ["function [ret] = " name " ()\n\nendfunction\n"];
+          body = ["function [retval] = " name " ()\n\nendfunction\n"];
         endif
         if (isempty (head))
-          comment = ["## -*- texinfo -*- \n## @deftypefn {Function File}" \
-                     "{@var{ret} =}" name "(@var{x}, @var{y})\n##\n"      \
-                     "## @seealso{}\n## @end deftypefn\n\n"               \
+          comment = ["## -*- texinfo -*- \n## @deftypefn {Function File} " \
+                     "{@var{retval} =} " name " (@var{x}, @var{y})\n##\n"  \
+                     "## @seealso{}\n## @end deftypefn\n\n"                \
                      "## " strrep(tail, "\n", "\n## ") "\n\n"];
         else
-          comment = ["## " strrep(head,"\n","\n## ") "\n\n"               \
-                     "## -*- texinfo -*- \n## @deftypefn {Function File}" \
-                     "{@var{ret} =}" name "(@var{x} @var{y})\n##\n"       \
-                     "## @seealso{}\n## @end deftypefn\n\n"               \
+          comment = ["## " strrep(head,"\n","\n## ") "\n\n"                \
+                     "## -*- texinfo -*- \n## @deftypefn {Function File} " \
+                     "{@var{retval} =} " name " (@var{x} @var{y})\n##\n"   \
+                     "## @seealso{}\n## @end deftypefn\n\n"                \
                      "## " strrep(tail, "\n", "\n## ") "\n\n"];
         endif
         text = [comment, body];
@@ -517,15 +512,15 @@
 
 endfunction
 
-function ret = default_home ()
+function retval = default_home ()
 
-  ret = getenv ("HOME");
-  if (isempty (ret))
-    ret = glob ("~");
-    if (! isempty (ret))
-      ret = ret{1};
+  retval = getenv ("HOME");
+  if (isempty (retval))
+    retval = glob ("~");
+    if (! isempty (retval))
+      retval = retval{1};
     else
-      ret = "";
+      retval = "";
     endif
   endif
 
@@ -537,30 +532,30 @@
 ## default author.  Otherwise return the login name.
 ## login@host will be the default email address.
 
-function ret = default_user (long_form)
+function retval = default_user (long_form)
 
   ent = getpwuid (getuid);
   if (! isstruct (ent))
-    ret = getenv ("USER");
-    if (isempty (ret))
-      ret = getenv ("USERNAME");
+    retval = getenv ("USER");
+    if (isempty (retval))
+      retval = getenv ("USERNAME");
     endif
   elseif (long_form)
-    ret = ent.gecos;
-    pos = strfind (ret, ",");
+    retval = ent.gecos;
+    pos = strfind (retval, ",");
     if (! isempty (pos))
-      ret = ret(1:pos-1);
+      retval = retval(1:pos-1);
     endif
   else
-    ret = ent.name;
+    retval = ent.name;
   endif
 
 endfunction
 
 function do_edit (editor, file, mode)
 
-  ## Give the hook function a chance.  If that fails, fall back
-  ## on running an editor with the system function.
+  ## Give the hook function a chance.
+  ## If that fails, fall back on running an editor with the system function.
 
   status = __octave_link_edit_file__ (file);