>...(gap buffer and piece table) don't seem well suited to operations that affect the entire buffer With a gap buffer, you can just move the gap to the beginni

>...(gap buffer and piece table) don't seem well suited to operations that affect the entire buffer With a gap buffer, you can just move the gap to the beginning (or end -- whichever is closer) of the buffer, and you'll have the "entire buffer" ready for one of those operations.