Book description
There's nothing that hard-core Unix and Linux users are more fanatical about than their text editor. Editors are the subject of adoration and worship, or of scorn and ridicule, depending upon whether the topic of discussion is your editor or someone else's.
vi has been the standard editor for close to 30 years. Popular on Unix and Linux, it has a growing following on Windows systems, too. Most experienced system administrators cite vi as their tool of choice. And since 1986, this book has been the guide for vi.
However, Unix systems are not what they were 30 years ago, and neither is this book. While retaining all the valuable features of previous editions, the 7th edition of Learning the vi and vim Editors has been expanded to include detailed information on vim, the leading vi clone. vim is the default version of vi on most Linux systems and on Mac OS X, and is available for many other operating systems too.
With this guide, you learn text editing basics and advanced tools for both editors, such as multi-window editing, how to write both interactive macros and scripts to extend the editor, and power tools for programmers -- all in the easy-to-follow style that has made this book a classic.
Learning the vi and vim Editors includes:
A complete introduction to text editing with vi:
How to make full use of vim:
Coverage of three other popular vi clones -- nvi, elvis, and vile -- is also included. You'll find several valuable appendixes, including an alphabetical quick reference to both vi and ex mode commands for regular vi and for vim, plus an updated appendix on vi and the Internet.
Learning either vi or vim is required knowledge if you use Linux or Unix, and in either case, reading this book is essential. After reading this book, the choice of editor will be obvious for you too.
Publisher resources
Table of contents
- Dedication
- Preface
-
I. Basic and Advanced vi
- 1. The vi Text Editor
- 2. Simple Editing
- 3. Moving Around in a Hurry
- 4. Beyond the Basics
- 5. Introducing the ex Editor
- 6. Global Replacement
- 7. Advanced Editing
- 8. Introduction to the vi Clones
-
II. Vim
- 9. Vim (vi Improved): An Introduction
- 10. Major Vim Improvements over vi
- 11. Multiple Windows in Vim
- 12. Vim Scripts
- 13. Graphical Vim (gvim)
-
14. Vim Enhancements for Programmers
- Folding and Outlining (Outline Mode)
- Auto and Smart Indenting
-
Keyword and Dictionary Word Completion
-
Insertion Completion Commands
- Completing whole lines
- Completion by keyword in file
- Completion by dictionary
- Completion by thesaurus
- Completion by keyword in current file and included files
- Completion by tag
- Completion by filename
- Completion by macro and definition names
- Completion method with Vim commands
- Completion by user functions
- Completion by omni function
- Completion for spelling correction
- Completion with the complete option
- Some Final Comments on Vim Autocompletion
-
Insertion Completion Commands
- Tag Stacking
- Syntax Highlighting
- Compiling and Checking Errors with Vim
- Some Final Thoughts on Vim for Writing Programs
-
15. Other Cool Stuff in Vim
- Editing Binary Files
- Digraphs: Non-ASCII Characters
- Editing Files in Other Places
- Navigating and Changing Directories
- Backups with Vim
- HTML Your Text
- What’s the Difference?
- Undoing Undos
- Now, Where Was I?
- What’s My Line (Size)?
- Abbreviations of Vim Commands and Options
- A Few Quickies (Not Necessarily Vim-Specific)
- More Resources
-
III. Other vi Clones
- 16. nvi: New vi
- 17. Elvis
- 18. vile: vi Like Emacs
- IV. Appendixes
- Index
- About the Authors
- Colophon
- Copyright
Product information
- Title: Learning the vi and Vim Editors, 7th Edition
- Author(s):
- Release date: July 2008
- Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
- ISBN: 9780596529833
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