vi
vi, pronounced “vee-eye,” is the standard text editor for UNIX. The command used to enter the vi editor and create a new file is vi. Normally, when we use the editor, we specify a filename as follows:
vi filename <cr> When you enter the command and do not specify a filename, you’ll be editing an unnamed file.
vi modes
Text editors with which you are probably already familiar will allow you to open a file and begin entering text. To delete text, you simply press the Delete key, and the copy and paste functions are usually handled through a pull-down menu. With vi however, it’s not quite that easy. For one, it does not have a toolbar, icons, or pull-down menus.
Because the vi editor grew out of the ed editor, you’ll recognize many similarities, ...
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