[Sheflug] RE:vi, emacs, sharp sticks

["Paul Sims" <nospam [at] wulfric7.co.uk>]

First, apologies. The list is again refusing my malis via Linux, and has
done so for the past 10 days, so this is coming from Ohfook Excess.

Richard wrote :
>This is in contrast to Gedit and Kedit which are very easy to use

That's fine unless you have a GUI'less system (a server, low-spec pc, or
just prefer the console). Or need syntax highlighting, code indentation, or
any of the 1001 Emacs bells & whistles.

Emacs is a biggie, and probably way OTT for most simple config file hacking
purposes. And vi is not intuitive. But once you get your head around the
differences between command and edit mode, discover what dd and wq do,
you're away. One major benefit of vi is it's universal on Unix systems so if
you need to edit a config file you're almost bound to at least have vi in
one form or another to hand. And Emacs, of course, is much, much more than a
text editor.

Don't confuse ease of use with fitness for purpose. Personally I prefer
mcedit, (which unfortunately doesn't ship with the BSD version of mc) for
ease and speed of use, but others will say it's rubbish and I should be
using brand X editor instead. That's the beauty of GNU/Linux - you can
generally pick & choose you apps by personal preference, rather than having,
say, a choice of Notepad or Write.


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