MiniUnix/usr/man/man1/ed.1
.th ED I 1/15/73
.if t .ds q \(aa
.if n .ds q '
.sh NAME
ed \*- text editor
.sh SYNOPSIS
.bd ed
[
.bd \*-
] [ name ]
.sh DESCRIPTION
.it Ed
is the standard text editor.
.s3
If a
.it name
argument is given,
.it ed
simulates an
.it e
command (see below)\| on the named file; that is to say,
the file is read into
.it ed's
buffer so that it can be edited.
The optional
.bd \*-
suppresses the printing
of character counts by
.it e,
.it r,
and
.it w
commands.
.s3
.it Ed
operates on a copy of any file it is editing; changes made
in the copy have no effect on the file until a \fIw\fR (write)\|
command is given.
The copy of the text being edited resides
in a temporary file called the
.it buffer.
There is only
one buffer.
.s3
Commands to
.it ed
have a simple and regular structure: zero or
more
.it addresses
followed by a single character
.it command,
possibly
followed by parameters to the command.
These addresses specify one or more lines in the buffer.
Every command which requires addresses has default addresses,
so that the addresses can often be omitted.
.s3
In general, only one command may appear on a line.
Certain commands allow the input of text.
This text is placed in the appropriate place in the buffer.
While
.it ed
is accepting text, it is said
to be in
\fIinput mode.\fR
In this mode, no commands are recognized;
all input is merely collected.
Input mode is left by typing a period `\fB.\fR' alone at the
beginning of a line.
.s3
.it Ed
supports a limited form of
.it "regular expression"
notation.
A regular expression specifies
a set of strings of characters.
A member of this set of strings is said to be
.it matched
by the regular expression.
The regular expressions allowed by
.it ed
are constructed as follows:
.s3
.lp +3 3
1. An ordinary character (not one of those discussed below)\|
is a regular expression and matches that character.
.s3
.lp +3 3
2. A circumflex `^' at the beginning of a regular expression
matches the empty string at the beginning of a line.
.s3
.lp +3 3
3. A currency symbol `$' at the end of a regular expression
matches the null character at the end of a line.
.s3
.lp +3 3
4. A period `\fB.\fR' matches any character except a new-line character.
.s3
.lp +3 3
5. A regular expression followed by an asterisk `*'
matches any number of adjacent occurrences (including zero)\|
of the regular expression it follows.
.s3
.lp +3 3
6. A string of characters enclosed in square brackets
`[ ]' matches any character in the string but no others.
If, however, the first character of the string is a circumflex
`^' the regular expression matches any character except new-line
and the characters in the string.
.s3
.lp +3 3
7. The concatenation of regular expressions is a regular
expression which matches the concatenation of the strings
matched by the components of the regular expression.
.s3
.lp +3 3
8. A regular expression enclosed between
the sequences
`\\(' and `\\)'is identical to the
unadorned expression; the construction has side effects discussed
under the
.it s
command.
.s3
.lp +3 3
9. The null regular expression standing alone
is equivalent to the last regular expression encountered.
.s3
.i0
Regular expressions are used in addresses to specify
lines and in one command
(see
.it s
below)\|
to specify a portion of a line which is to be replaced.
If it is desired to use one of
the regular expression metacharacters as an ordinary
character, that character may be preceded by `\\'.
This also applies to the character bounding the regular
expression (often `/')\| and to `\\' itself.
.s3
To understand addressing in
.it ed
it is necessary to know that at any time there is a
\fIcurrent line.\fR
Generally speaking, the current line is
the last line affected by a command; however,
the exact effect on the current line
is discussed under the description of
the command.
Addresses are constructed as follows.
.s3
.lp +6 3
1. The character `\fB.\fR' addresses the current line.
.s3
.lp +6 3
2. The character `$' addresses the last line of the buffer.
.s3
.lp +6 3
3. A decimal number
.it n
addresses the
\fIn\fR-th
line of the buffer.
.s3
.lp +6 3
4. `\*q\fIx\fR' addresses the line marked with the
mark name character \fIx\fR,
which must be a lower-case letter.
Lines are marked with the
.it k
command described below.
.s3
.lp +6 3
5. A regular expression enclosed in slashes `/' addresses
the first line found by searching toward the end of the
buffer and stopping at the first line containing a
string matching the regular expression.
If necessary the search wraps around to the beginning of the
buffer.
.s3
.lp +6 3
6. A regular expression enclosed in queries `?' addresses
the first line found by searching toward the beginning of
the buffer and stopping at the first line containing
a string matching the regular expression.
If necessary
the search wraps around to the end of the buffer.
.s3
.lp +6 3
7. An address followed by a plus sign `+'
or a minus sign `\*-' followed by a decimal number specifies that address plus
(resp. minus)\| the indicated number of lines.
The plus sign may be omitted.
.s3
.lp +6 3
8. If an address begins with `+' or `\-'
the addition or subtraction is taken with respect to the current line;
e.g. `\-5' is understood to mean `\fB.\fR\-5'.
.s3
.lp +6 3
9. If an address ends with `+' or `\-',
then 1 is added (resp. subtracted).
As a consequence of this rule and rule 8,
the address `\-' refers to the line before the current line.
Moreover,
trailing
`+' and `\-' characters
have cumulative effect, so `\-\-' refers to the current
line less 2.
.s3
.lp +6 3
10. To maintain compatibility with earlier version of the editor,
the character `^' in addresses is entirely
equivalent to `\-'.
.s3
.i0
Commands may require zero, one, or two addresses.
Commands which require no addresses regard the presence
of an address as an error.
Commands which accept one or two addresses
assume default addresses when insufficient are given.
If more addresses are given than such a command requires,
the last one or two (depending on what is accepted)\| are used.
.s3
Addresses are separated from each other typically by a comma
`\fB,\fR'.
They may also be separated by a semicolon
`\fB;\fR'.
In this case the current line `\fB.\fR' is set to
the previous address before the next address is interpreted.
This feature can be used to determine the starting
line for forward and backward searches (`/', `?')\|.
The second address of any two-address sequence
must correspond to a line following the line corresponding to the first address.
.s3
In the following list of
.it ed
commands, the default addresses
are shown in parentheses.
The parentheses are not part of
the address, but are used to show that the given addresses are
the default.
.s3
As mentioned, it is generally illegal for more than one
command to appear on a line.
However, any command may be suffixed by `p'
or by `l', in which case
the current line is either
printed or listed respectively
in the way discussed below.
.s3
.lp +5 5
( \fB. \fR)\|a
.lp +5 5
<text>
.lp +5 5
.li
\fB.\fR
.lp +5 5
The append command reads the given text
and appends it after the addressed line.
`\fB.\fR' is left
on the last line input, if there
were any, otherwise at the addressed line.
Address `0' is legal for this command; text is placed
at the beginning of the buffer.
.s3
.lp +5 5
( \fB. \fR, \fB. \fR)\|c
.lp +5 5
<text>
.lp +5 5
.li
\fB.\fR
.lp +5 5
The change
command deletes the addressed lines, then accepts input
text which replaces these lines.
`\fB.\fR' is left at the last line input; if there were none,
it is left at the first line not deleted.
.s3
.lp +5 5
( \fB. \fR, \fB. \fR)\| d
.br
The delete command deletes the addressed lines from the buffer.
The line originally after the last line deleted becomes the current line;
if the lines deleted were originally at the end,
the new last line becomes the current line.
.s3
.lp +5 5
e filename
.br
The edit
command causes the entire contents of the buffer to be deleted,
and then the named file to be read in.
`\fB.\fR' is set to the last line of the buffer.
The number of characters read is typed.
`filename' is remembered for possible use as a default file name
in a subsequent
.it r
or
.it w
command.
.s3
.lp +5 5
f filename
.br
The filename command prints the currently remembered file name.
If `filename' is given,
the currently remembered file name is changed to `filename'.
.s3
.lp +5 5
(1,$)\|g/regular expression/command list
.br
In the global
command, the first step is to mark every line which matches
the given regular expression.
Then for every such line, the
given command list is executed with `\fB.\fR' initially set to that line.
A single command or the first of multiple commands
appears on the same line with the global command.
All lines of a multi-line list except the last line must be ended with `\\'.
.it A,
.it i,
and
.it c
commands and associated input are permitted;
the `\fB.\fR' terminating input mode may be omitted if it would be on the
last line of the command list.
The (global)\| commands,
.it g,
and
.it v,
are not permitted in the command list.
.s3
.lp +5 5
( \fB. \fR)\|i
.lp +5 5
<text>
.lp +5 5
.li
\fB.\fR
.br
This command inserts the given text before the addressed line.
`\fB.\fR' is left at the last line input; if there were none,
at the addressed line.
This command differs from the
.it a
command only in the placement of the
text.
.s3
.lp +5 5
( \fB. \fR)\|k\fIx\fR
.br
The mark command marks the addressed line with
name
.it x,
which must be a lower-case letter.
The address form `\*q\fIx\fR' then addresses this line.
.s3
.lp +5 5
( \fB. \fR, \fB. \fR)\|l
.br
The list command
prints the addressed lines in an unambiguous way:
non-graphic characters are
printed in octal,
and long lines are folded.
An
.it l
command may follow any other on the same line.
.s3
.lp +5 5
( \fB. \fR, \fB. \fR)\|m\fIa\fR
.br
The move command repositions the addressed lines after the line
addressed by
.it a.
The last of the moved lines becomes the current line.
.s3
.lp +5 5
( \fB. \fR, \fB. \fR)\|p
.br
The print command prints the addressed lines.
`\fB.\fR'
is left at the last line printed.
The
.it p
command
may
be placed on the same line after any command.
.s3
.lp +5 5
q
.br
The quit command causes
.it ed
to exit.
No automatic write
of a file is done.
.s3
.lp +5 5
($)\|r filename
.br
The read command
reads in the given file after the addressed line.
If no file name is given,
the remembered file name, if any, is used
(see
.it e
and
.it f
commands)\|.
The remembered file name is not changed unless
`filename' is the very first file name
mentioned.
Address `0' is legal for
.it r
and causes the
file to be read at the beginning of the buffer.
If the read is successful, the number of characters
read is typed.
`\fB.\fR' is left at the last line read in from the file.
.s3
.lp +5 5
( \fB. \fR, \fB. \fR)\|s/regular expression/replacement/ or,
.lp +5 5
( \fB. \fR, \fB. \fR)\|s/regular expression/replacement/g
.br
The substitute command searches each addressed
line for an occurrence of the specified regular expression.
On each line in which a match is found,
all matched strings are replaced by the replacement specified,
if the global replacement indicator `g' appears after the command.
If the global indicator does not appear, only the first occurrence
of the matched string is replaced.
It is an error for the substitution to fail on all addressed lines.
Any character other than space or new-line
may be used instead of `/' to delimit the regular expression
and the replacement.
`\fB.\fR' is left at the last line substituted.
.s2
An ampersand `&' appearing in the replacement
is replaced by the string matching the regular expression.
The special meaning of `&' in this context may be
suppressed by preceding it by `\\'.
As a more general feature,
the characters
`\\\fIn\fR',
where
.it n
is a digit,
are replaced by the text matched by the
\fIn\fR-th
regular subexpression
enclosed between `\\(' and `\\)'.
When
nested, parenthesized subexpressions
are present,
.it n
is determined by counting occurrences of `\\(' starting from the left.
.s2
Lines may be split by substituting new-line characters into them.
The new-line in the
replacement string
must be escaped by preceding it by `\\'.
.s3
.lp +5 5
( \fB.\fR , \fB.\fR ) t \fIa\fR
.br
This command acts just like the
.it m
command, except that a copy of the addressed lines is placed
after address
.it a
(which may be 0).
`\fB.\fR' is left on the last line of the copy.
.s3
.lp +5 5
(1,$)\|v/regular expression/command list
.br
This command is the same as the global command
except that the command list is executed
with `\fB.\fR' initially set to every line
.it except
those
matching the regular expression.
.s3
.lp +5 5
(1,$)\|w filename
.br
The write command writes the addressed lines onto
the given file.
If the file does not exist,
it is created mode 666 (readable and writeable by everyone)\|.
The remembered file name is
.it not
changed unless
`filename' is the very first file name mentioned.
If no file name is given,
the remembered file name, if any, is used
(see
.it e
and
.it f
commands)\|.
`\fB.\fR' is unchanged.
If the command is successful, the number of characters written is
typed.
.s3
.lp +5 5
($)\|=
.br
The line number of the addressed line is typed.
`\fB.\fR' is unchanged by this command.
.s3
.lp +5 5
!UNIX command
.br
The remainder of the line after the `!' is sent
to UNIX to be interpreted as a command.
`\fB.\fR' is unchanged.
.s3
.lp +5 5
( \fB.\fR+1 )\|<newline>
.br
An address alone on a line causes the addressed line to be printed.
A blank line alone is equivalent to `.+1p'; it is useful
for stepping through text.
.s3
.i0
If an interrupt signal (ASCII DEL)\| is sent,
.it ed
prints a `?' and returns to its command level.
.s3
Some size limitations:
512 characters per line,
256 characters per global command list,
64 characters per file name,
and 128K characters in the temporary file.
The limit on the number of lines depends on the amount of core:
each line takes 1 word.
.sh FILES
/tmp/#, temporary;
`#' is the process number (in octal).
.sh DIAGNOSTICS
`?' for
errors in commands;
`TMP' for temporary file overflow.
.sh "SEE ALSO"
A Tutorial Introduction to the ED Text Editor
(B. W. Kernighan)
.sh BUGS
The
.it s
command causes all marks
to be lost on lines changed.