Re: [TCLUG:224] RE: LUG - bash error and fat32

[mikk0022@maroon.tc.umn.edu]

On Wed, 20 May 1998 16:12:18 -0500 (CDT) Christopher Reid Palmer wrote
>On Wed, 20 May 1998, Ben Kochie wrote:
>
>> hrm.. well "vi" to view files? no way.. "less"
>> my emacs/vi debate views
>> vi: system file editor.. /etc/*
>> emacs: code development system.. C coding
>> pico: system file editor for lazy asses.. like me :)
>
>I concur 100%, except to add that 'pico' is also great for essays and term
>papers. ;)

Depending on how much you care about the paper -- I've had a few classes
where I felt like using cat > file to write papers.

For the true masochist (and in-place script editing) it's hard to
beat ed, though.  And if you want a real trip, Rob Pike's sam editor
is a real find.

But, vi is still my absolute favorite editor.  I keep emacs around
for gnus.  To do line wrap in vi, go to the beginning of a paragraph
and type "!}fmt".  If you're trying to wrap a quoted portion of an
e-mail message, get the program par (an interesting hack) and do
the same, using par instead of fmt.  For indenting C code, do
":%!indent -st".  I know these capabilities exist in other editors,
but they seem to be most convenient in vi.

>He who is without /usr is indeed a sad man. 

Or a plan9 user.  Or a HURD beta tester.

/usr is a historical accident dating back to the early seventies.
It persists mainly on tradition.  I know I wouldn't miss it if it
were gone -- not to say it wouldn't feel odd for a week or two....

Plan9 is a really cool looking system.  It just has a couple
drawbacks for me.  First, it's proprietary.  Still, it's distributed
in source form for $350 or so.  Second, it requires two machines
to run at all, and three if you want decent performance.

My heart would leap a mile if there were a free plan9 clone in the
works.  I know of VSTa, but that doesn't seem to have some of the
good plan9 features.

If I get the time/ambition, I might even begin one myself .....

-- 
Chris Mikkelson         	mikk0022@maroon.tc.umn.edu
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
 safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." 
    -- Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759.