Re: Review article for Amiga Unix Compendium

[Kolbjørn Barmen <kolla%nvg.ntnu.no@localhost>]

On 8 Jan 2000, Martin Steigerwald wrote:

> No, I will install Pico or something like this. There are so many other
> fine little editors. And putting at least one other small editor that
> behaves more like something people coming from other Operating System
> would expect would be of great benefit for NetBSD I guess.

No. Sorry, but there is no way around vi :)

Reason is that there are lots and lots of tools that use vi syntax and
vi methods, same with regexp, it is used all over, no way around it.

> Cause it will minimize the count of people giving up frustrated, cause
> they was not able to edit files like they are used to.

It was never meant to be simple and easy to use, it was meant to be 
efficient and powerfull.

> Okay, emacs might not be a good example?

Emacs are for emacs addicted, for most people emacs is overkill.

> Unix adventures? I already installed a dozen of Linux systems... but I
> never had to trouble around with "vi" of any of them... Debian has "ae",
> very simple, but works. RedHat don't need one cause it runs via X11 right
> after installing it.

Heh, dream on. It is abit like saying you dont need to know how to edit
user-startup or dont need to know what WBStartup is for to install AmigaOS.

> > If you can't move the cursor in 'vi' with the cursor keys then your terminal
> > is broken. The same if you can't type where the cursor is.
> 
> Then this is about edit mode. 

Download vim for AmigaOS, read the docs, learn it.

> Well but its important to get on that, cause I write an article for an
> Amiga magazine and I am quite sure there are some of such "lamers" lurking
> around wanting to try NetBSD... so if its not for them, I probably should
> clearly say so? 

Yes, IMHO.
No point in dozens of Joe Does trying to install something they would not
know how to use anyways, and when they do they start bugging lists like 
this for all sorts of trivial questions and malformed oppinions, such
as your "I dont want to learn vi" messages here :)

> > It is simple (and AFAIR stated in the docs/faqs) you should explicitly mount
> > it with '-oro' as it is still not writable.
> 
> Ok, sorry. Probably I should have read this. I was used to the habit on
> Linux that it seen just seems to mount read-only and thats it... no need
> to give an extra option as the computer itself can find out what option to
> use.

Linux and netbsd do not differ here, linux also comlains.

> Before that I will download pico, emacs or something and I will get some
> of them to work. No, I am a die hard "I will not use vi"-user. ;-)

Your loss.  :)


 Kolbjørn Barmen |    a3k/o6o/6o4e/AmigaOS/MacOS/LinuxPPC   |    // T e a m
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