CHAPTER 5Text Editing

Most computer users spend more time creating and modifying text than anything else. Writing memoranda, letters, books, and programs, and creating text files of many kinds, takes a lot of effort. All of the popular UNIX variants (e.g., Linux, Solaris, HP-UX, AIX, Mac OS) separate this effort into two activities. Creating and modifying text is done by editors, while formatting the text for display and final presentation is done by formatters. The rationale behind this is one of having flexible programs that focus on doing one thing well. When you are creating text, it’s helpful to focus on getting the substance of what you want to say into a computer file. Once you have some material, then you can concentrate on how that material ...

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