spinix-hive/manpages/vi.txt

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VI(1) User Commands VI(1)
NAME
vi - visual text editor
SYNOPSIS
vi [file]
DESCRIPTION
vi is a visual-oriented text editor. It is used to create, display,
modify and otherwise manipulate text files. This version of vi
implements most of the commands in the standard vi utility. It does
not allow wildcard or escape characters in the search or replacement
strings, and it cannot execute shell commands. It also does not
implement the undo command.
vi can also run a in line-oriented mode, which is know as the ex mode.
The ex mode is entered by typing the 'Q' command. The ex mode can be
terminated, and visual-oriented editing can be resumed by typing the
'V' command. The 'V' command has been extended to include an optional
parameter that defines the number of lines used in the visual mode.
The ex mode can also be invoked for one command by typing a ':', '/",
or '?' character.
If invoked with a file argument, a copy of the file is read into the
editor's buffer. Changes are made to this copy and not directly to
file itself. Changes must be written back to the file before exiting
vi.
In both the vi and ex modes, editing is done in two distinct modes:
command and input. When first invoked, vi is in command mode. In this
mode commands are used to move the cursor, scroll up or down in the
file, or delete or copy text. In the input mode, lines of text can be
inserted before or after the current line, or even within the line
itself.
The vi commands are summarized below:
Q - Quit from vi mode, and go into ex mode.
Y - Yank "count" lines to the copy buffer. Default is 1 line.
p - Push the lines in the copy buffer to the edit buffer.
: - Exit to the ex mode for one command.
/ - Search forward for the follwing text string.
? - Search backward for the follwing text string.
n - Move to the next line matching the last search string.
N - Move to the previous line matching the last search string.
CR - Move down one line. Same as "j".
j - Move down one line.
k - Move up one line.
h - Move left one space.
l - Move right one space.
^F - Move forward one screen.
^B - Move back one screen.
^D - Move down one-half screen.
^U - Move up one-half screen.
G - Go to the line given by "count". The default is the last line.
J - Join "count" lines to current line. The default is one line.
dd - Delete "count" lines. The default is one line.
x - Delete "count" characters. The default is one.
r - Replace a character.
O - Open up a new line above the current line, and go into insert
mode.
A - Append characters after the end of the current line.
I - Insert characters at the beginning of the current line.
i - Insert characters before the current column.
a - Append characters after the current column.
$ - Move to the last character in the line.
0 - Move to the first character in the line.
1-9 - Set the count to a decimal number, including zero characters.
ESC - Escape from the insert mode, or ignore previous command characters.
In the ex mode, commands are executed on single lines, or a range of
lines. All ex commands are entered as a complete line of text,
terminated by the enter key. This version of ex only allows one
command per line.
As with the visual mode, editing is done in either the command or input
mode. When invoked, ex is in command mode. A typical ex command might
look like:
,s/old/new/g
which replaces all occurrences of the string old with new.
When an input command, such as 'a' (append), 'i' (insert) or 'c'
(change), is given, ex enters input mode. In this mode, no commands are
available; instead, the standard input is written directly to the editor
buffer. Lines consist of text up to and including a newline character.
The input mode is terminated by entering a single period (.) on a line.
All ex commands operate on whole lines or ranges of lines; e.g., the 'd'
command deletes lines; the 'm' command moves lines, and so on. It is
possible to modify only a portion of a line by means of replacement, as
in the example above. However even here, the 's' command is applied to
whole lines at a time.
In general, ex commands consist of zero or more line addresses, followed
by a single character command and possibly additional parameters; i.e.,
commands have the structure:
[address [,address]]command[parameters]
The address(es) indicate the line or range of lines to be affected by
the command. If fewer addresses are given than the command accepts,
then default addresses are supplied.
LINE ADDRESSING
An address represents the number of a line in the buffer. ex maintains
a current address which is typically supplied to commands as the default
address when none is specified. When a file is first read, the
current address is set to the last line of the file. In general, the
current address is set to the last line affected by a command.
A line address is constructed from one of the bases in the list below,
optionally followed by a numeric offset. The offset may include any
combination of digits, operators (i.e. + and -). Addresses are read
from left to right, and their values are computed relative to the
current address.
One exception to the rule that addresses represent line numbers is the
address 0 (zero). This means "before the first line," and is legal
wherever it makes sense.
An address range is two addresses separated either by a comma or
semicolon. The value of the first address in a range cannot exceed the
value of the second. If only one address is given in a range, then the
second address is set to the given address. If only one address is
expected, then the last address is used.
Each address in a comma-delimited range is interpreted relative to the
current address. In a semicolon-delimited range, the first address is
used to set the current address, and the second address is
interpreted relative to the first.
The following address symbols are recognized.
. The current line (address) in the buffer.
$ The last line in the buffer.
n The nth, line in the buffer where n is a number in the range
[0,$].
n,m Lines n through m, where n is less than or equal to m.
- The previous line. This is equivalent to -1.
-n The nth previous line, where n is a non-negative number.
+ The next line. This is equivalent to +1.
+n The nth next line, where n is a non-negative number.
% The first through last lines in the buffer. This is equivalent
to the address range 1,$.
; The current through last lines in the buffer. This is
equivalent to the address range .,$.
/re/ The next line containing the regular expression re. The search
wraps to the beginning of the buffer and continues down to the
current line, if necessary. // repeats the last search.
?re? The previous line containing the regular expression re. The
search wraps to the end of the buffer and continues up to the
current line, if necessary. ?? repeats the last search.
REGULAR EXPRESSIONS
Regular expressions are patterns used in selecting text. For example,
the ex command
g/string/
prints all lines containing string. Regular expressions are also used
by the 's' command for selecting old text to be replaced with new. This
version of ex does not use any wildcard or escape characters.
COMMANDS
All ex commands are single characters, though some require additional
parameters. ex commands must fit in a single line, and cannot be
continued to another line.
In general, only one command is allowed per line. The only exceptions
are the 'g' and 'v' commands, which can be followed by an 's', 'p', 'l'
or 'n' command.
ex recognizes the following commands. The commands are shown together
with the default address or address range supplied if none is specified
(in parenthesis).
(.)a Appends text to the buffer after the addressed line, which may
be the address 0 (zero). Text is entered in input mode. The
current address is set to last line entered.
(.,.)c Changes lines in the buffer. The addressed lines are deleted
from the buffer, and text is appended in their place. Text is
entered in input mode. The current address is set to last line
entered.
(.,.)d Deletes the addressed lines from the buffer. If there is a line
after the deleted range, then the current address is set to this
line. Otherwise the current address is set to the line before
the deleted range.
e file Edits file, and sets the default filename. If file is not
specified, then the default filename is used. Any lines in the
buffer are deleted before the new file is read. The current
address is set to the last line read.
e! file Edits file unconditionally. This is similar to the e command,
except that unwritten changes are discarded without warning.
The current address is set to the last line read.
(1,$)g/re/command
Applies command to each of the addressed lines matching a
regular expression re. The current address is set to the line
currently matched before command is executed. At the end of the
'g' command, the current address is set to the last line
affected by command. The allowable commands are 's', 'p', 'l'
and 'n'. The 'p' command is used if command is not specified.
(.)i Inserts text in the buffer before the current line. Text is
entered in input mode. The current address is set to the last
line entered.
(.,.+1)j
Joins the addressed lines. The addressed lines are deleted from
the buffer and replaced by a single line containing their joined
text. The current address is set to the resultant line.
(.,.)l Prints the addressed lines unambiguously. The current address
is set to the last line printed.
(.,.)m(.)
Moves lines in the buffer. The addressed lines are moved to
after the right-hand destination address, which may be the
address 0 (zero). The current address is set to the new address
of the last line moved.
(.,.)# Prints the addressed lines along with their line numbers. The
current address is set to the last line printed.
(.,.)p Prints the addressed lines. The current address is set to the
last line printed.
q Quits the editor.
q! Quits the editor unconditionally. This is similar to the q
command, except that unwritten changes are discarded without
warning.
($)r file
Reads file to after the addressed line. If file is not
specified, then the default filename is used. If there was no
default filename prior to the command, then the default filename
is set to file. Otherwise, the default filename is unchanged.
The current address is set to the last line read.
(.,.)s/re/replacement/
(.,.)s/re/replacement/g
Replaces text in the addressed lines matching a regular
expression re with replacement. By default, only the first
match in each line is replaced. If the 'g' (global) suffix is
given, then every match to be replaced. It is an error if no
substitutions are performed on any of the addressed lines. The
current address is set to the last line affected.
(.,.)t(.)
Copies (i.e., transfers) the addressed lines to after the right-
hand destination address, which may be the address 0 (zero).
The current address is set to the last line copied.
Tn Change to the terminal mode specified by "n", or toggle the
terminal mode if "n" is not specified. A value of 0 species the
dumb terminal mode, and 1 specifies the PST terminal.
(1,$)v/re/command-list
Applies command-list to each of the addressed lines not matching
a regular expression re. This is similar to the 'g' command.
Vn Enter the visualization mode, and set the number of display lines
to 'n' if specified.
(1,$)w file
Writes the addressed lines to file. Any previous contents of
file is lost without warning. If there is no default filename,
then the default filename is set to file, otherwise it is
unchanged. If no filename is specified, then the default
filename is used. The current address is unchanged.
(.)P Copies (puts) the contents of the cut buffer to after the
addressed line. The current address is set to the last line
copied.
(1,$)x file
Writes the addressed lines to file and exits. Any previous
contents of file is lost without warning. If no filename is
specified, then the default filename is used.
(.,.)y Copies (yanks) the addressed lines to the cut buffer. The cut
buffer is overwritten by subsequent 'y', 'j', 'd', or 'c'
commands. The current address is unchanged.
(.+1)zn Scrolls n lines at a time starting at addressed line. If n is
not specified, then the current window size is used. The
current address is set to the last line printed.
($)= Prints the line number of the addressed line.
(.+1)newline
Prints the addressed line, and sets the current address to that
line.
OPTIONS
file Specifies the name of a file to read. The default filename is
set to the specified file.
SEE ALSO
B. W. Kernighan and P. J. Plauger, Software Tools in Pascal , Addison-
Wesley, 1981.
LIMITATIONS
vi is limited to 200 characters per line. If an input line is greater
than 200 characters it will be broken up into multiple lines. The input
file must terminate lines with a newline (LF) character. Files will be
written using the UNIX LF line termination. The size of the file is
limited by the amount of buffer memory available to vi.
AUTHOR
Dave Hein
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (c) 2011, 2012, Dave Hein
MIT License (See license.txt in the root directory)
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.
There is no warranty, to the extent permitted by law.
SPINIX utility March 2012 VI(1)