[TUHS] ed, and all the other editors - a summary

[Cameron Míċeál Tyre via TUHS]

Folks,

It has been great to read about everyone's preferences, uses and recollections for and of editors. In my ignorance, until just a few days ago I knew of perhaps only ed, vi, vim, nano and emacs so it has been a bonus to learn of all the others and their variants.

In a somewhat related thread that seemed to end up on COFF and on here, Warner said, in part, "It may just be an odd quirk of when I grew up...", and I think that and other factors leads each of us to use the different tools we use.  

My earliest hands on computer experiences involved machines with monochrome display capabilities, no GUI and very little little memory to work with and those are some of the influences that led me, now, to ed. One of my favorite parts is opening a file or writing an edited file.

ed somefile
438

<add some more lines>

w
672

So simple and, for me, relatable. In the sample file above, the enlarged file would just about fit in my first computer, a Sinclair ZX81 which came with 1KB of RAM. In short, everyone needs to wear the shoe that best fits them. 

What I've found, with ed, is that it helps me focus more intently on what I'm typing, regardless of whether it's code or a magazine article. Always at the back of mind when I use ed, especially if I run into a problem with my operation of it, is the thought, "Operating systems and languages were created on this.". That humbles me every time.

Best regards,

Cameron


-------- Original Message --------
On 20/07/2025 02:28, Warner Losh <imp at bsdimp.com> wrote, in part:

>  It may just be an odd quirk of when I grew up 
>  
>  Warner