Ausam/doc/edit.tut/tut
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.E1 em em 2
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.ds t Introduction
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.cu
EDIT: A TUTORIAL
.sp 1i
.np
Text editing using a terminal connected to a computer allows a user to
create, modify, and print text easily.
Creating text is as easy as typing it much as one would on an electric
typewriter. Modifying text involves telling the text editor what
to add, change, or delete. Text is printed by giving the proper command
to print the file contents, with or without special instructions
as to the format of the desired output.
.np
These lessons assume no prior familiarity with computers or with text editing.
They consist of a series of text editing sessions which will lead you through
the fundamental steps of creating and revising a file of text.
After scanning each lesson and before beginning the next, you should
follow the examples at a terminal to get a feeling for the actual process of
text editing.
Set aside some time for experimentation, and you will soon become familiar
with using the computer to write and modify text.
In addition to the actual use of the text editor, other features
of UNIX will be very important to your work.
You can begin to learn about these other
features by reading
"A Guide to Using UNIX".
You will be ready to proceed with the lesson as soon as you are
familiar with your terminal and its special keys, the login
procedure, and the ways of correcting typing errors.
Let's first define some terms:
.np
.in +10
.CC program
A set of instructions given to the computer, describing the sequence of
steps which the computer performs in order to accomplish a specific task.
As an example,
a series of steps to balance your chequebook is a program.
.CC UNIX
UNIX is a special type of program, called an operating system, that
supervises the machinery and all other programs comprising the total
computer system.
.CC \*(em
\*(em is the name of the UNIX text editor which you will be learning
to use, a program that aids you in writing or revising text.
This document was designed for beginning users.
.CC file
Each user of UNIX is allotted space
for the permanent storage of information,
such as programs, data or text.
A file is a logical unit of data, for example, an essay, a program, or a chapter
from a book, which is stored on a computer system. Once you create a file, it is
kept until you instruct the system to remove it.
You may create a file during one UNIX session, log out, and return to use it at a later
time.
Files contain anything you choose to write and store in them.
The sizes of files vary to suit your needs;
one file might hold only a single number while another might
contain a very long document or program.
The only way to save information from one session to the next
is to store it in a file.
.CC filename
Filenames are used to distinguish one file from another,
serving the same purpose as the labels of manila folders in a file cabinet.
In order to write or access information in a file, you use the name
of that file in a UNIX command, and the system will automatically locate
the file.
.CC disk
Files are stored on an input/output device called a disk, which looks
something like a stack of phonograph records.
Each surface is coated with a material similar to the coating on a magnetic
recording tape, on which information is recorded.
.CC buffer
A temporary work space, made available to the user for the duration
of session of text editing and used for building and modifying the text file.
The buffer can be imagined as a blackboard
that is erased after each
session with the editor.
.in -10
.SH "Session 1: Creating a File of Text"
To use the editor you must first make
contact with the system by logging in
to UNIX.
The login procedure is described in
"A Guide to UNIX",
which you should read if you are not
familiar with the ins and outs of using UNIX.
.SS "Asking for em"
You are ready to tell UNIX that you want to work with \*(em, the text editor.
Now is a convenient time to choose a name for the file of text
which you are about to create.
To begin your editing session type \*(em followed by a space and then the
filename which you have selected, for example "text".
When you have completed the command, press carriage return and wait for
\*(em's response:
.nf
% \*(em text
EDITOR
Open: No such file or directory
>
.fi
If you typed the command correctly,
you will now be in communication with
the editor.
The editor has set aside a buffer
for use as a temporary working space during
your current editing session.
It also checked to see if the file you named, "text",
already existed.
As expected,
it was unable to find such a file since "text" is the name
of the new file that you want to create.
\*(Em confirms this with the line:
.nf
Open: No such file or directory
.fi
.np
On the next line appears \*(em's prompt ">",
announcing that \*(em expects
a command from you.
.np
You may now begin to create the new file.
.SS "The |not found| message"
If you misspelt \*(em by typing,
say,
"emm",
your request would be
handled as follows:
.nf
% emm text
emm: not found
%
.fi
.np
Your mistake in calling \*(em "emm" was treated
by UNIX as a request for a program named
"emm".
Since there is no program named "emm", UNIX reported that the
program was "not found".
A new % indicated that UNIX is ready
for another command,
so you may enter
the correct command.
.SS "Messages from em"
If you make a mistake in entering a command and type something that
\*(em does not recognize,
\*(em will respond with
.nf
Syntax ?
>
.fi
.np
When you receive a diagnostic, check what you typed in order
to determine what part of your command confused \*(em.
.SS "Entering text"
You may now begin to enter text into the buffer.
This is done by appending text to whatever is currently
in the buffer.
Since there is nothing in the buffer
at the moment,
you are creating text.
.np
All \*(em commands consist of a single letter.
.np
The command input text is to "append" which is abbreviated to "a".
Type "a" and press carriage return.
.nf
>a
.fi
.np
By giving the command "a"
you enter append mode.
When you enter append mode,
\*(em responds by doing nothing.
You will receive no prompts while
in append mode.
Each line you type in is entered into the buffer
and held there during the editing session.
You may append as much text as you want,
and when you wish to stop entering text lines you should
type a period "." as the only character on the line and press carriage return.
When you give this signal that you want to stop appending text,
you will exit from append mode and
re-enter command mode.
\*(Em will again prompt you for a command by printing ">".
.np
Leaving append mode does not destroy the text in the buffer.
You have to leave append mode to do any of the other kinds of editing, such as
changing, adding, or printing text.
If you type a period as the first character
and type any other character on the same line,
\*(em will
remain in append mode and will not let you out.
As this can be very frustrating, be sure to type only the period and carriage
return.
.np
This is as good a place as any to learn an important lesson about computers
and text:
a blank space is a character as far as a computer is concerned.
If you so much as type a period followed by a blank
(that is, type a period and then the space bar on the keyboard),
you will remain in append mode.
.np
Let's suppose that you typed in the following
.nf
>a
This is some sample text.
And thiss is some more text.
Text editing is strange, but nice.
.
>
.fi
.np
The last line is the period followed by
a carriage return that gets you out of
append mode.
If while typing the line you hit an incorrect key,
recall that you may
delete the incorrect character or cancel the entire line of input
by erasing in the usual way.
Erasing a character or cancelling a line must be done before
the line has been completed by a <return>.
We will discuss changes in lines already typed in session 2.
.SS "Writing text to disk"
Writing the buffer to the disk
is the only way to save information from one session to the next,
since the editor's buffer is temporary and will last only until
the end of the editing session.
Thus, learning how to write a file to disk is second in importance only to
entering the text.
To write the contents of the buffer to a disk file, use the command
"w".
.nf
>w
.fi
.np
\*(Em will copy the buffer to a disk file,
automatically creating the file if it
does not yet exist.
The newly created file will be given
the name specified when you entered the
editor, in this case "text".
To confirm that the disk file has been successfully written,
\*(em will give the total number of characters in the file.
The buffer remains unchanged by the "write" command.
All of the lines which were written to disk will still be in the buffer,
should you want to modify or add to them.
.np
\*(Em must have a filename to use before it can write a file.
If you forgot to indicate the name of the file when you began the
editing session, \*(em will print:
.nf
File ?
>
.fi
.np
in response to your command.
If this happens,
you can specify the filename in a new write command:
.nf
>w text
.fi
.np
After the "w" type a space and then the name of the file.
When you type in the "w" command
\*(em will respond with the number of characters
written to the disk file,
ie.
.nf
>w
90
>
.fi
.np
If there are no characters in the
buffer,
and you type in "w",
\*(em will print the following message
.nf
Buffer empty ?
>
.fi
.np
It is important to realise that the disk file
is not affected in any way until you type
a "w" command,
and there is no automatic "w" when you
finish editing.
If you wish to save your file,
you must enter a "w" command.
On the other hand,
if you find you have made a mess
of your file,
you may quit the editor without entering a "w"
command,
and the disk file will be as it was before editing.
.SS "Signing off"
We have done enough for this first session on using the UNIX
text editor, and are ready to quit the session with \*(em.
To do this we type "q"
.nf
>q
%
.fi
.np
The % is from the shell to tell you
that your session with \*(em is over and you may
command UNIX further.
Since we want to end the entire session at the terminal
we also need to exit from UNIX.
In response to the UNIX prompt of "%" type a "[control]d".
This is done by holding down the control key (usually labelled "CTRL")
and pressing the 'd' key.
This will end your session with UNIX and will ready the terminal for the
next user.
It is always important to type a "[control]d" at the end of a session
to make absolutely sure no one could accidentally stumble into
your abandoned session and thus gain access to your files,
tempting even the most honest of souls.
.np
This is the end of the first session on UNIX text editing.
.SH "Session 2"
Login with UNIX as in the first session.
.np
This time when you say that you want to edit,
you can specify the name of the file
you worked on last time.
This will start \*(em working and it will fetch the contents
of the file into the buffer,
so that you can resume editing the same file.
When \*(em has copied the file into the buffer,
it will
tell you the number of characters the file contains.
Thus,
.nf
% \*(em text
EDITOR
90
>
.fi
means you asked \*(em to fetch
the file named "text" for editing,
causing it to
copy the 90 characters of text into the buffer.
\*(Em awaits your further instructions.
In this session,
we will append more text to our file,
print the contents of the
buffer,
and learn to change the text of a line.
.SS "Adding more text to the file"
If you want to add more to the end of your text you may do so by using
the append command to enter append mode.
.nf
>a
This is text added in Session 2.
It doesn't mean much here, but
it does illustrate the editor.
.
>
.fi
.SS "Interrupt"
Should you press the RUBOUT key
(sometimes labelled DEL)
while
working with \*(em,
it will send this message to you:
.nf
Interrupt ?
>
.fi
.np
Any command that \*(em might be executing is terminated by rubout or delete,
causing \*(em to prompt you for a new command.
If you are appending text at the time,
you will exit from append mode
and be expected to give another command.
The line of text that you were typing when the append command was
interrupted will not be entered into the buffer.
.SS "Making corrections"
If you have read "A Guide to Using UNIX"
you will recall that it is
possible to erase individual characters that you have typed.
This is done by typing the designated erase character,
usually the
number sign (#)
or backspace,
as many times as there are characters you want to erase.
When you type the at-sign (@),
you erase the entire
line typed so far.
You may immediately begin to retype the line.
This, unfortunately, does not help after you type the line and press
carriage return.
To make corrections in lines which have been completed,
it is necessary to use the editing commands covered in this session and
those that follow.
.SS "Listing what's in the buffer"
Having appended text to what you wrote in session 1,
you might be curious
to see what is in the buffer.
To print the contents of the buffer,
type the command:
.nf
>1,$p
.fi
.np
The "1" stands for line 1 of the buffer,
the "$" is a special symbol
designating the last line of the buffer,
and "p" (or print) is the command
to print a line.
Thus, "1,$p" gives you:
.nf
This is some sample text.
And thiss is some more text.
Text editing is strange, but nice.
This is text added in Session 2.
It doesn't mean much here, but
it does illustrate the editor.
>
.fi
.np
In looking over the text we see that
"this" is typed as "thiss" in the second
line.
Let's correct the spelling.
.SS "Finding things in the buffer"
In order to change something in
the buffer we first need to find it.
We can find "thiss" in the text we
have entered by looking at a listing of the
lines.
Physically speaking,
we search the lines of text looking for "thiss"
and stop searching when we have found it.
The way to tell \*(em to search for something
is to type it inside slash marks:
.nf
>/thiss/
.fi
.np
By typing /thiss/
\*(em is instructed to
search for "thiss".
If we asked \*(em to look for a pattern
of characters which it could not
find in the buffer,
\*(em would respond:
.nf
No match ?
>
.fi
When \*(em finds the characters "thiss",
it will print the line of text for your
inspection:
.ne 5
.nf
And thiss is some more text.
>
.fi
.np
\*(Em is now positioned in the buffer
at the line which is just printed,
ready to make a change in the line.
Note that it was not necessary
to type in the whole line,
just some unique string on the line required
is sufficient.
.SS "The current line"
At all times during an editing session,
\*(em keeps track of the line in the
buffer where it is positioned.
In general,
the line which has been most recently printed,
entered,
or changed is considered to be the current position in the buffer.
You can refer to your current
position in the buffer by the symbol period (.)
usually known by the name "dot".
If you type "." you will be instructing \*(em to print
the current line:
.nf
>.
And thiss is some more text.
>
.fi
Note that in this context,
"." is a command to print the current line.
This is different to the way you used it before,
to finish off the "a" command.
If you want to know the line number of the current line,
you can type ".="
and \*(em will respond with the line number:
.nf
>.=
2
>
.fi
If you type the number of any line,
\*(em will position you
at that line and print its contents:
.nf
>2
And thiss is some more text.
>
.fi
.np
You should experiment with these commands
to assure yourself that you understand
what they do.
.SS "Substitute command (s)"
Now that we have found our misspelt word it is time to change it from
"thiss"
to "this".
As far as \*(em is concerned,
changing things is a matter of substituting one thing for another.
As "a" stood for append,
so "s" stands for substitute
(or swap).
This command will instruct \*(em to make the change:
.nf
>2s/thiss/this/p
.fi
.np
We first indicate the line to be changed,
line 2,
and then type an "s" to indicate we
want substitution.
Inside the first set of slashes are the characters that we want to change,
followed by the characters to replace them and then a closing slash mark.
A "p" then follows to print the line after the
substitution is performed.
To summarize:
.nf
>2s/what is to be changed/what to change to/p
.fi
.np
If \*(em finds an exact match of the characters to be changed
it will make the change only
in the first occurrence of the characters.
If it does not find the characters to be changed it will respond:
.nf
No match ?
>
.fi
indicating your instructions could not be carried out.
When \*(em does find the characters which you want to change,
it will make the
substitution and automatically print the changed line,
so that you can check that the correct substitution was made.
In the example,
.nf
>2s/thiss/this/p
And this is some more text.
>
.fi
line 2
(and line 2 only)
will be searched for the characters
"thiss".
Strictly speaking,
it was not necessary to
specify the line number to be changed.
In
.nf
>s/thiss/this/p
.fi
\*(em will assume that we mean
to change the line where we are currently
positioned (".").
In this case,
the command without a line number would have produced the
same result because we were already positioned at the line we wished to change.
For another illustration of substitution we may choose the line:
.nf
Text editing is strange, but nice.
.fi
.np
We might like to be a bit more positive.
Thus, we could take out the characters "strange,~but" so the line would read:
.nf
Text editing is nice.
.fi
.np
A command which will first position \*(em at that line and then
make the substitution is:
.nf
>/strange/s/strange, but //p
.fi
.np
What we have done here is combine our search with our substitution.
Such combinations are perfectly legal.
This illustrates that we do not necessarily have to use line
numbers to identify a line to \*(em.
Instead, we may identify the line we want to change by asking
\*(em to search for a specified pattern of
characters which occur in that line.
The parts of the above command are:
.nf
/strange/~~~~~~~~tells \*(em to find the characters "strange" in the text
s~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~tells \*(em we want to make a substitution
/strange, but //~substitutes nothing at all for the characters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"strange, but "
p~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~print the line after the substitution has been done
.fi
.np
You should note the space after "but" in "/strange, but /".
If you do not indicate the space is to be taken out,
your line will be:
.nf
Text editing is~~nice.
.fi
which looks a little funny because of the extra space between "is"
and "nice".
Again, we realize from this that a blank space is a real character to a
computer, and in editing text we need to be aware of spaces within a line just
as we would be aware of an "a" or a "4".
.SS "Another way to list what's in the buffer (|)."
Although the print command is useful for
looking at specific lines in the
buffer,
other commands can be more convenient for viewing large sections of
text.
You can ask to see a screen full of text at a time by using the command ".
If you type
.nf
>0" ( <zero> the numeral )
.fi
\*(em will start with line 1 and continue
printing lines,
stopping either when the screen of your terminal
is full or when the last line in the buffer has been printed.
If you want to read the next segment of text,
give the command
.nf
>"
.fi
.np
If no starting line number is given for the " command,
printing will start at the "current" line~+~1,
in this case the last line printed.
Viewing lines in the buffer one screen full at a time is
known as paging.
Paging can also be used to print a section of text on a hard-copy terminal.
.SS "Saving the modified text"
This seems to be a good place to pause on our work,
and so we should end the second session.
Remember that,
if you (in haste) type "q" to quit the session,
you will lose the work you have done during the editing
session since the latest write command.
Since in this lesson we have not written to disk at all,
everything we have
done would be lost.
It would be as if we had not done Session 2!
However,
since we want to preserve what we have edited,
we need to say:
.nf
>w
.fi
and then,
.nf
>q
% [control]d
.fi
and turn the terminal off when UNIX asks for a login.
This is the end of the second session on UNIX text editing.
.SH "Session 3"
Login to UNIX and make contact with \*(em.
.SS "Bringing text into the buffer (e)"
Did you remember to give the name of the file you wanted to \*(em?
That is, did you say
.nf
% \*(em text
.fi
or simply
.nf
% \*(em
.fi
.np
Both ways get you in contact with \*(em,
but the first way will bring a copy of the
file named "text" into the buffer.
If you did forget to tell \*(em the name of your file,
you can get
it into the buffer by saying:
.nf
>e text
171
.fi
.np
The command e,
tells the editor that you want to erase anything that might
already be in the buffer and bring a copy of the file "text" into the
buffer for editing.
You may also use the edit (e) command to change files in the middle of an
editing session or to give \*(em the name of a new file that you want to create.
Because the "e" command clears the buffer,
you should write the contents of the buffer
to disk before editing the next file.
.SS "Moving text in the buffer (m)"
\*(Em allows you to move lines of text from one location in the
buffer to another by means of the move (m) command:
.nf
>2,4m$
.fi
.np
This command directs \*(em to move lines 2, 3 and 4 to the end of the buffer ($).
The format for the move command is
that you specify the first line to be moved,
the last line to be moved,
the move command "m", and the line after which
the moved text is to be placed.
Thus,
.nf
>1,6m20
.fi
would instruct \*(em to move lines 1 through 6 (inclusive) to a position
after line 20 in the buffer.
To move only one line, say,
line 4, to a position in the buffer
after line 6,
the command would be "4m6".
.np
Let's move some text using the command:
.ne 10
.nf
>5,$m2
>1,$p
This is some sample text.
And this is some more text.
It doesn't mean much here, but
it does illustrate the editor.
Text editing is nice.
This is text added in Session 2.
>
.fi
We can restore the original order by typing:
.nf
>5,$m2
.fi
or, combining context searching and the move command:
.nf
>/And this is some/,/This is text/m/This is some sample/
.fi
The problem with combining context searching with the move command
is that the chance of making a typing error in such a long
command is greater than if one types line numbers.
.SS "Copying lines (t)"
The t command is used to make a second copy of specified lines,
leaving the original lines where they were.
The copy command has the same format as the move command,
for example:
.nf
>12,15t$
.fi
makes a copy of lines 12 through 15,
placing the copied lines after the buffer's end ($).
Experiment with the copy command so
that you can become familiar with how it works.
.SS "Deleting lines (d)"
Suppose you want to delete the line
.nf
This is the text added in Session 2.
.fi
from the buffer.
If you know the number of the line to be deleted,
you can type
that number followed by "d".
The following example deletes line 4:
.nf
>4d
.fi
Here "4" is the number of the line to be deleted and "d"
is the command to delete the line.
.np
If you do not happen to know the line number you can search for the line
and then delete it using this sequence of commands:
.nf
>/added in Session 2./
This is the text added in Session 2.
>d
.fi
The "/added in Session 2./" asks \*(em to locate and print the next line which
contains the indicated text.
Once you are sure that you have correctly
specified the line that you want to delete, you can enter
the delete (d) command.
In this case it is not necessary to specify a line number before
the "d".
If no line number is given,
\*(em deletes the current line ("."),
that is,
the line found by our search.
After the deletion,
the buffer should contain:
.ne 7
.nf
>1,$p
This is some sample text.
And this is some more text.
Text editing is nice.
It doesn't mean much here, but
it does illustrate the editor.
>
.fi
To delete both lines 2 and 3:
.nf
And this is some more text.
Text editing is nice.
.fi
you type
.nf
>2,3d
.fi
which specifies the range of lines from 2 to 3,
and the operation on those lines - "d" for
delete.
.np
Again,
this presumes that you know the line numbers for the lines to be
deleted.
If you do not you might combine
the search command with the delete command as so:
.nf
>/And this is some/,/Text editing is nice./d
.fi
Note that now these lines have
been deleted,
all of the lines following those
deleted will have their line number
changed.
.SS "A word or two of caution"
In using the search function to locate lines to be deleted you should be
absolutely sure the characters you give as the basis for the search
will take \*(em to the line you want deleted.
\*(Em will search for the first occurrence of the characters
starting from where you last edited - that is,
from the line you see
printed if you type dot (.).
.np
A search based on too few characters may result in the wrong lines being
deleted,
which \*(em will do as easily as if you had meant it.
For this reason,
it is usually safer to specify the search and then
delete
'cu
in two separate steps,
at least until you become familiar enough
with using the editor that you understand
how best to specify searches.
For a beginner it is not a bad idea to double-check each command
before pressing carriage return to send the command on its way.
.SS "More about dot (.) and buffer end ($)"
We know that dot has at least two functions.
.in +5
.ti -5
1.~~~to exit from append mode we type dot (and only a dot) on a line and
press carriage return;
.ti -5
2.~~~to refer to the line we are at in the buffer.
.in -5
.np
Dot can also be combined with the
equal sign to get the number of the line
currently being edited:
.nf
>.=
.fi
.np
Thus if we type ".=" we are asking for the number of the line
and if we type "." we are asking for the text
of the line.
.np
In this editing session and the last,
we used the dollar sign to indicate the
end of the buffer in commands such as print,
copy, and move.
The dollar sign as a command asks \*(em to print the last line in the
buffer.
If the dollar sign is combined with the equal sign ($=)
\*(em will print the line number corresponding
to the last line in the buffer.
.np
"." and "$" therefore represent line numbers.
Whenever appropriate,
these symbols can be used
in place of line numbers in commands.
For example
.nf
>.,$d
.fi
instructs \*(em to delete all lines from the current line (.) to the end
of the buffer.
.SS "Moving around in the buffer (+ and -)"
It is frequently convenient during an
editing session to go back and re-read
a previous line.
We could specify a context search for a line we want to read
if we remember some of its text,
but if we simply want to see
what was written a few
lines ago, say 3, we can type
.nf
>-3p
.fi
.np
This tells \*(em to move back to a position 3 lines before the current
line (.) and print that line.
We can move forward in the buffer similarly:
.nf
>+2p
.fi
instructs \*(em to print the line which is 2 ahead of our current position.
.np
You may use "+" and "-" in any command where \*(em accepts line numbers.
Line numbers specified with
"+" or "-" can be combined to print a range of lines.
The command
.nf
>-1,+2t$
.fi
makes a copy of 4 lines:
the line before the current line,
the current line,
and the two after
it.
The copied lines will be placed after the last line in the buffer ($).
.np
Try typing only "-"; you will move back one line
just as if you had typed "-p".
Typing the command "+" works similarly.
You might also try typing a few plus or minus signs in a row (such as "+++")
to see \*(em's response.
Typing a carriage return alone on
a line is the equivalent of typing "+p";
it will move you one line ahead in the buffer and print that line.
.np
If you are at the last line of the buffer and try to move further ahead,
perhaps by typing a "+" or a carriage return alone on the line,
\*(em will remind you that you are at the end of the buffer.
Similarly, if you try to move to a position before the first line,
\*(em will print:
.nf
Address ?
>
.fi
.np
The number associated with a buffer line is the line's
"address", in that it can be used to locate the line.
.SS "Changing lines (c)"
There may be occasions when you want
to delete certain lines and insert new
text in their place.
This can be accomplished easily with the "c" (change) command.
The change command instructs
\*(em to delete specified lines and then switch to
text input mode in order to accept the text which will replace them.
Let's say we want to change the first two lines in the buffer:
.nf
This is some sample text.
And this is some more text.
.fi
to read
.nf
This text was created with the UNIX text editor.
.fi
To do so, you can type:
.nf
>1,2c
This text was created with the UNIX text editor.
.
>
.fi
.np
In the command 1,2c we specify that we
want to change the range of lines beginning
with 1 and ending with 2 by giving line
numbers as with the print command.
These lines are deleted
and the editor
places you in text input mode.
Any text typed on the following lines will be inserted
into the position where lines were deleted by the change command.
You will remain in text input mode until you exit in the usual way,
by typing a period alone on a line.
Note that the number of lines added to the buffer need not be
the same as the number of lines deleted.
.np
This is the end of the third session on
text editing with UNIX.
.SH "Session 4"
This lesson covers several topics,
starting with commands which apply
throughout the buffer,
characters with special meanings,
and how to
issue UNIX commands while in the editor.
The next topics deal with files:
more on reading and writing.
The final section suggests sources of further information.
.SS "Making commands global (g)"
One disadvantage to the commands
we have used for searching or substituting
is that if you have a number of
instances of a word to change it appears that
you have to type the command repeatedly,
once for each time the change needs to
be made.
\*(Em, however,
provides a way to make commands apply to the entire contents
of the buffer - the global (g) command.
.np
To print all lines containing a certain
sequence of characters (say, "text")
the command is:
.nf
>g/text/p
.fi
.np
The "g" instructs \*(em to make a
global search for all lines in the buffer
containing the characters "text".
The "p" prints the lines found.
.np
To issue a global command,
start by typing a "g" and then a search pattern
identifying the lines to be affected.
Then, on the same line, type the command to
be executed on the identified lines.
Global substitutions are frequently useful.
For example, to change all instances of the word "text"
to the word "material" the command
would be a combination of the global search
and the substitute command:
.nf
>g/text/s/text/material/gp
.fi
.np
Note the "g" at the end of the global
command which instructs \*(em to change
each and every instance of "text" to "material".
If you do not type the "g" at the end
of the command only the first instance of
"text" in each line will be changed
(the normal result of the substitute command).
The "g" at the end of the command is independent of the "g"
at the beginning.
You may give a command such as:
.nf
>14s/text/material/gp
.fi
to change every instance of "text" in line 14.
Further,
neither command will change "Text" to "material" because "Text"
begins with a capital rather than a lower-case t.
.np
The usual qualification should be made
about using the global command in combination
with any other - in essence,
be sure of what you are telling \*(em to do to the
entire buffer.
For example:
.nf
>g/ /d
.fi
will delete every line containing a blank anywhere in it.
This could adversely affect your document,
since most lines have spaces
between words and thus would be deleted.
You should experiment with the
global command on a small buffer of
text to see what it can do for you.
.SS "More about searching and substituting"
In using slashes to identify a
character string that we want to search for or
change,
we have always specified the exact characters.
There is less tedious way to repeat the same string of characters.
To change "noun" to "nouns" we may type either
.nf
>/noun/s/noun/nouns/p
.fi
as we have done in the past,
or a somewhat abbreviated command:
.nf
>/noun/s//nouns/p
.fi
.np
In this example,
the characters to be changed are not specified - there are no
characters,
not even a space,
between the two slash marks which
indicate what is to be changed.
This lack of characters between
the slashes is taken by the editor to
mean "use the characters we last
searched for as the characters to be changed."
.np
Similarly,
the last context search may be
repeated by typing a pair of slashes
with nothing between them:
.nf
>/does/
It doesn't mean much here, but
>//
it does illustrate the editor.
.fi
.np
Because no characters are specified for the second search,
the editor scans
the buffer for the next occurrence of the characters "does".
.np
\*(Em normally searches forward through the buffer,
wrapping around from the
end of the buffer to the beginning,
until the specified character
string is found.
If you want to search in the reverse direction,
use question marks (?)
instead of slashes to surround the character string.
.SS "Special characters"
Two characters have special meanings
when used in specifying searches:
"$" and "^".
"$" is taken by the editor to mean
"end of the line" and is used to identify
strings which occur at the end of a line.
.nf
>g/ing$/s//ed/p
.fi
tells the editor to search for all lines ending in "ing"
(and nothing else, not even a blank space),
to change each final "ing" to "ed" and print the changed lines.
.np
The symbol "^" indicates the beginning of a line.
Thus,
.nf
>s/^/1. /p
.fi
instructs the editor to insert
"1." and a space at the beginning of the
current line.
.np
The characters "$" and "^" have
special meanings only in the context of
searching.
At other times,
they are ordinary characters.
If you ever need to search for a
character that has a special meaning,
you must indicate that the character
is to temporarily lose its
special significance by typing another special character,
the backslash (\\), before it.
.nf
>s/\\$/dollar/p
.fi
looks for the character
"$" in the current line and replaces it by the word
"dollar".
Were it not for the backslash,
the "$" would have represented "the end of the
line" in your search,
not necessarily the character "$".
.np
As well as "^" and "$",
there are several other characters which
have special meaning within search strings.
Two of these will be explained here.
.SS "|.| in a search string"
Whenever "." is used inside a search string
it matches any character.
Thus
.nf
>s/^./T/p
.fi
will swap the first character on the
current line (what ever it is)
with "T".
Also
.nf
>s/..$//p
.fi
will delete the last two characters
from the current line.
\&"." can be useful if,
for instance,
you wish to delete four words from a
line,
but you don't want to type all
the words in.
So you could use
.nf
>s/th...........nd//p
.fi
to delete "this is the end" from the
current line.
This is all very well,
but a little caution is needed
in case you have not specified
enough of the string to be matched.
.SS "|*| in a search string"
When "*" is used in a search string
it matches the first, longest possible
string of zero or more of the character
before the "*".
As an example assume that the current line
contained
.nf
AAAA bbbb HHHHHHHHiHHH
.fi
and you wished the change "HHHHHHHHiHHH"
into "abcd".
You could type in
.nf
>s/HHHHHHHHiHHH/abcd/p
.fi
but this is rather tedious as you must
first count the number of H's.
By using "*" you only need to type
.nf
>s/H*iHHH/abcd/p
.fi
to achieve the required change.
Again caution must be taken as
the above example will
change the first occurence of
zero or more H's followed by "iHHH".
.SS "The |.*| combination"
Consider the problem of changing
the text inside parentheses.
For example
consider the line of text:
.nf
by Mr Smith (the leader was on vacation), but
.fi
You wish to change the comment within the
parentheses to
"the president was overseas at the time".
What you must do is match all the
characters,
what ever they are.
This suggests that you must use "." somewhere.
You also wish to match all of the characters,
every one of them,
no matter how many there are.
This suggests that you must use "*" also.
.np
A moments concentration on the problem
gives you the required answer as
.nf
>s/(.*)/(the president was overseas at the time)/p
.fi
As you can see "(.*)" will match any
number of characters enclosed in parentheses.
.SS "Other characters with special meaning"
The following characters all have special
meaning within search strings
and hence must be escaped
(have their meaning taken away)
by the use of "\\" (slosh).
.nf
^ $ . * [ ]
.fi
.np
The following characters have special meaning
in both the search string and the swap string
.nf
& %
.fi
Again these characters must be escaped
using "\\".
If you wish to use "\\" in either of the
two strings then you must use "\\\\".
.np
To find the meaning of the other special
characters you should read the
section on \*(em in the
"AGSM System Guide" or in the
"UNIX programmers manual (Sixth Edition)".
.SS "Issuing UNIX commands from the editor"
After creating several files with the editor,
you may want to
delete files no longer useful to you,
or ask for a list of your files.
Removing and listing files are not functions of the editor,
and so they require the use of UNIX system commands (also referred to
as "shell" commands, as "shell" is the name of the program that
processes UNIX commands).
You do not need to quit the editor to
execute a UNIX command as long as
you indicate that it is to be sent
to the shell
for execution.
To use the UNIX command rm to remove the file named "junk" type:
.nf
>!rm junk
!
>
.fi
The exclamation mark (!) indicates that
the rest of the line is to be processed
as a UNIX command.
The editor prints a "!" when the command is completed.
.SS "Filenames and file manipulation"
Throughout each editing session,
\*(em keeps track of the name of the
file being edited as the current filename.
\*(Em remembers as the current filename the name
given when you entered the editor.
The current filename changes whenever
the edit (e) command is used
to specify a new file.
Once \*(em has recorded a current filename,
it inserts that name into any command
where a filename has been omitted.
If a write command does not specify a file,
\*(em, as we have seen,
supplies the
current filename.
You can have the editor write onto
a different file by including its
name in the write command:
.nf
>w chapter3
8798
>
.fi
The current filename remembered by
the editor will not be changed as a result of
the write command unless it is the first filename
given in the editing session.
Thus,
in the next command which does not specify a name,
\*(em will write onto the current
file and not onto the file "chapter3".
.SS "The file (f) command"
To ask for the current filename,
type "f".
In response,
the editor provides the current filename:
.nf
>f
text
>
.fi
If you wish to change the name of the
remembered file without changing the
buffer,
you can type
.nf
>f junk
.fi
and the remembered filename will
be changed to "junk".
.SS "Reading additional files (r)"
The read (r) command allows you
to add the contents of a file to the buffer
without destroying the text already there.
To use it,
specify the line after which the new text will be placed,
the command r,
and then the name of the file.
.nf
>$r bibliography
473
>
.fi
This command reads in the file
bibliography and adds it to the buffer after the
last line.
The current filename is not changed by the read command unless
it is the first filename given in the editing session.
.SS "Writing parts of the buffer"
The write (w) command can write
all or part of the buffer to a file you
specify.
We are already familiar with writing
the entire contents of the buffer
to a disk file.
To write only part of the buffer onto
a file, indicate the
beginning and ending lines before
the write command, for example:
.nf
>45,$w ending
54
>
.fi
Here all lines from 45 through to
the end of the buffer are written onto the
file named "ending".
The lines remain in the buffer as
part of the document you are editing,
and you may continue to edit the entire buffer.
.SS "Help (h)"
The "h" command displays a summary of the editor commands available.
As you will see there are many
features of the editor that were not
described here.
These additional features are described
in the "Introduction to AGSM's UNIX system".
.vs 60u
.CO
.vs 40u