From owner-freebsd-questions Tue Jun 12 9: 2:35 2001 Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from fac13.ds.psu.edu (fac13.ds.psu.edu [146.186.61.98]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id DBA4137B403 for ; Tue, 12 Jun 2001 09:02:30 -0700 (PDT) (envelope-from hawk@fac13.ds.psu.edu) Received: from fac13.ds.psu.edu (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by fac13.ds.psu.edu (8.11.3/8.11.3) with ESMTP id f5CFupb48865; Tue, 12 Jun 2001 11:56:51 -0400 (EDT) (envelope-from hawk@fac13.ds.psu.edu) Message-Id: <200106121556.f5CFupb48865@fac13.ds.psu.edu> X-Mailer: exmh version 2.3.1 01/18/2001 with nmh-1.0.4 To: Roelof Osinga Cc: Jason Halbert , questions@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: vi In-Reply-To: Your message of "Sat, 09 Jun 2001 14:41:51 +0200." <3B22198F.CB4908A3@nisser.com> From: dochawk@psu.edu Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 11:56:50 -0400 Sender: owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Precedence: bulk List-ID: List-Archive: (Web Archive) List-Help: (List Instructions) List-Subscribe: List-Unsubscribe: X-Loop: FreeBSD.ORG Roelof roled, > Jason Halbert wrote: > > Why is vi the default choice of editor for UNIX and how did it become= > > the default? I find it cumbersome. > Because they weren't there at the time. Besides, it's a big step up fro= m > having to use ed. As far as I can remember there were only vi and an > early version of emacs. WordStar only came on the scene 1980 something > and ran only on CP/M. It also *is* the standard. If you know vi, you can count on being = able to edit at any unix machine you come across from the last 20 = years or so; this isn't true for any other editor (ok, ed & ex, but ex = and vi are the same program anyway). In fact, at nearly anything other = than debian, you can use vi on a partway installed system or from = rescue disks. Therefore anyone serious about the issue knows vi, = therefore all systems have it, . . . Settling on a new stanadard, simple editor would require universal = agreement, and do you really think that *that* is going to happen? Besides, vi is the one true editor, and only heretics use emacs. > It was available, the rest wasn't . The edge over emacs was its size= > and simplicity. Not to mention its weird attraction on programmers ;). ahem. It is a natural and glorious attraction. When God wrote the = universe in Fortran, he used vi. hawk -- = Prof. Richard E. Hawkins, Esq. /"\ ASCII ribbon cam= paign = dochawk@psu.edu Smeal 178 (814) 375-4700 \ / against HTML mai= l These opinions will not be those of X and postings = Penn State until it pays my retainer. / \ = To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message