Where vi Came From
UNIX editors have gone through an evolutionary process. The first UNIX editor was the ed editor. It was strictly a line-oriented editor (as opposed to a screen-oriented editor like vi). It still exists in most UNIX variants, but it has been relegated to special-case use. As an example, if your UNIX runs in single-user mode, the editor that tends to be used by a utility with an edit subfunction, at that time, is the ed editor. Single-user mode is usually entered to accomplish some specialized system admin task. While in single-user mode, the only file system that is mounted is the root file system (unless the administrator specifically mounts other file systems).
The vi editor program has been linked against shared libraries, ...
Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.
Read now
Unlock full access