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<H1><A NAME=SECTION005120000000000000000>3.12 Using the vi Editor</A></H1>
<A NAME=secvi>&#160;</A>
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<A NAME=3926>&#160;</A>
<A NAME=3576>&#160;</A>
<A NAME=3577>&#160;</A>
A <b>text editor</b> is simply a program used to edit files which contain
text, such as a letter, C program, or a system configuration file.
While there are many such editors available for Linux, the only editor
which you are guaranteed to find on any UNIX system is <tt>vi</tt>---
the ``visual editor''. <tt>vi</tt> is not the easiest editor to use, nor
is it very self-explanatory. However, because it is so common in the UNIX
world, and at times you may be required to use it, it deserves some
documentation here.
<P>
<A NAME=3581>&#160;</A>
<A NAME=3582>&#160;</A>
Your choice of an editor is mostly a question of personal taste
and style. Many users prefer the baroque, self-explanatory and powerful
<b>Emacs</b>---an editor with more features than any other single program in
the UNIX world. For example, Emacs has its own built-in dialect of the
LISP programming language, and has many extensions (one of which is an
``Eliza''-like AI program). However, because Emacs and all of its support
files are relatively large, you may not have access to it on many systems.
<tt>vi</tt>, on the other hand, is small and powerful, but more difficult to
use. However, once you know your way around <tt>vi</tt>, it's actually very
easy. It's just the learning curve which is sometimes difficult to cross.
<P>
This section is a coherent introduction to <tt>vi</tt>---we won't discuss
all of its features, just the ones you need to know to get you started.
You can refer to the man page for <tt>vi</tt> if you're interested in learning
about more of this editor's features. Or, you can read the book
<em>Learning the <tt>vi</tt> Editor</em> from O'Reilly and Associates. See
Appendix <A HREF="node225.html#appinfo">A</A> for information.
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<UL>
<LI> <A NAME=tex2html3488 HREF="node138.html#SECTION005121000000000000000">3.12.1 Concepts</A>
<LI> <A NAME=tex2html3489 HREF="node139.html#SECTION005122000000000000000">3.12.2 Starting vi</A>
<LI> <A NAME=tex2html3490 HREF="node140.html#SECTION005123000000000000000">3.12.3 Inserting text</A>
<LI> <A NAME=tex2html3491 HREF="node141.html#SECTION005124000000000000000">3.12.4 Deleting text</A>
<LI> <A NAME=tex2html3492 HREF="node142.html#SECTION005125000000000000000">3.12.5 Changing text</A>
<LI> <A NAME=tex2html3493 HREF="node143.html#SECTION005126000000000000000">3.12.6 Moving commands</A>
<LI> <A NAME=tex2html3494 HREF="node144.html#SECTION005127000000000000000">3.12.7 Saving files and quitting vi</A>
<LI> <A NAME=tex2html3495 HREF="node145.html#SECTION005128000000000000000">3.12.8 Editing another file</A>
<LI> <A NAME=tex2html3496 HREF="node146.html#SECTION005129000000000000000">3.12.9 Including other files</A>
<LI> <A NAME=tex2html3497 HREF="node147.html#SECTION0051210000000000000000">3.12.10 Running shell commands</A>
<LI> <A NAME=tex2html3498 HREF="node148.html#SECTION0051211000000000000000">3.12.11 Getting help</A>
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<P><ADDRESS>
<I>Matt Welsh <BR>
mdw@sunsite.unc.edu</I>
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