Clearly those on the wrong side of the vi vs emacs are idiots, but there is cause for common acceptance, there are far too many people who think nano is acceptable.
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(Score: 2) by stretch611 on Saturday March 26 2022, @04:34AM
(6 children)
It has been observed that a TECO command sequence more closely resembles transmission line noise than readable text. One of the more entertaining games to play with TECO is to type your name in as a command line and try to guess what it does. Just about any possible typing error while talking with TECO will probably destroy your program, or even worse - introduce subtle and mysterious bugs in a once working subroutine.
I've used TECO for a few months in my first job as a computer programmer. Back then, it was the best editor they had. No, I didn't destroy any documents with it, and my name didn't do anything in TECO. (Of course I checked, but I don't think "k" was a TECO command!) A few months later, they got EDT [wikipedia.org], a full screen editor, after an OS upgrade, and line-based editors, such as TECO, were abandoned. I became proficient in EDT, and even wrote a set of EDT emulation macros for vi, when I started using Unix.
I moved on to using TPU [wikipedia.org]/EVE [wikipedia.org], including some programmatic stuff where call handlers could edit case-logs, able to view the entire log, but only able to append to the end of it while still using the familiar text editor they were used to using. I liked EVE.
Oh, and I'll agree about vi. I learned just enough to get into mode, make the necessary changes, write out the new file and exit. I know it is far more capable and has a rich set of commands, but it's never been something I've spent time learning. I tend to use nano, and vi only if nano is not available on the (usually) SoC/embedded system I'm working on and needing to make configuration file changes.
I use vi, if I need to make a tiny change in a file. Otherwise, there's no reason not to use a real editor. I.E. Notepad++ which I can use to make Macros for repetitive tasks.
-- Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 30 2022, @03:28PM
by Anonymous Coward
on Wednesday March 30 2022, @03:28PM (#1233522)
if you have a macro for repetitive tasks, you're doing it wrong. repetitive tasks are solved with clearly defined code that you write once and run many times --- because there are clearly defined ways to verify and improve it. "macros in an editor" means that whatever you do with your macro cannot be properly accounted for by others who inherit your work.
in other words: if you need to write a macro, it means the text file you're editing is not a text file, it's data. and you should treat it as such.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 30 2022, @03:31PM
by Anonymous Coward
on Wednesday March 30 2022, @03:31PM (#1233524)
this may be the most underrated comment on the site. it's been 5 days and nobody modded this funny yet, despite the fact that you never mention what the wrong side of the "debate" is.
in any case. thank you, sir. whether intentional or not, I can only say your statement is funny in a very satisfying way.
(Score: 2) by isostatic on Friday March 25 2022, @04:23PM (10 children)
Clearly those on the wrong side of the vi vs emacs are idiots, but there is cause for common acceptance, there are far too many people who think nano is acceptable.
(Score: 2) by stretch611 on Saturday March 26 2022, @04:34AM (6 children)
I use nano. BUT... Only for configuration files while in a CLI. Anything else and I use a fully loaded editor like Sublime Text.
I did learn to use vi, but only used it when required or absolutely nothing else is available. (I never used emacs)
I also learned how to use EDLIN, so I win on the geek level of crotchety old greybeard.
So nano vs. vi vs. emacs vs. edlin... Just say no to all.
Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
(Score: 1) by pTamok on Tuesday March 29 2022, @11:27AM (2 children)
EDLIN? Why not sed? (Says the TECO user)
From Wikipedia:TECO (text editor) [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 2) by KritonK on Saturday April 02 2022, @11:13AM (1 child)
I've used TECO for a few months in my first job as a computer programmer. Back then, it was the best editor they had. No, I didn't destroy any documents with it, and my name didn't do anything in TECO. (Of course I checked, but I don't think "k" was a TECO command!) A few months later, they got EDT [wikipedia.org], a full screen editor, after an OS upgrade, and line-based editors, such as TECO, were abandoned. I became proficient in EDT, and even wrote a set of EDT emulation macros for vi, when I started using Unix.
(Score: 1) by pTamok on Saturday April 02 2022, @12:21PM
I moved on to using TPU [wikipedia.org]/EVE [wikipedia.org], including some programmatic stuff where call handlers could edit case-logs, able to view the entire log, but only able to append to the end of it while still using the familiar text editor they were used to using. I liked EVE.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by pTamok on Tuesday March 29 2022, @11:32AM (2 children)
Oh, and I'll agree about vi. I learned just enough to get into mode, make the necessary changes, write out the new file and exit. I know it is far more capable and has a rich set of commands, but it's never been something I've spent time learning. I tend to use nano, and vi only if nano is not available on the (usually) SoC/embedded system I'm working on and needing to make configuration file changes.
(Score: 1) by pTamok on Tuesday March 29 2022, @11:34AM
That should read "...get into [insert] mode..."
[Adding some extra text to batter my way through the lameness filter...]
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Wednesday March 30 2022, @06:27AM
I think vi is great for things like commit messages or other minimal edits. For everything else I use Emacs (actually, XEmacs).
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Wednesday March 30 2022, @02:11PM (1 child)
I use vi, if I need to make a tiny change in a file. Otherwise, there's no reason not to use a real editor. I.E. Notepad++ which I can use to make Macros for repetitive tasks.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 30 2022, @03:28PM
if you have a macro for repetitive tasks, you're doing it wrong.
repetitive tasks are solved with clearly defined code that you write once and run many times --- because there are clearly defined ways to verify and improve it.
"macros in an editor" means that whatever you do with your macro cannot be properly accounted for by others who inherit your work.
in other words: if you need to write a macro, it means the text file you're editing is not a text file, it's data. and you should treat it as such.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 30 2022, @03:31PM
this may be the most underrated comment on the site.
it's been 5 days and nobody modded this funny yet, despite the fact that you never mention what the wrong side of the "debate" is.
in any case. thank you, sir. whether intentional or not, I can only say your statement is funny in a very satisfying way.