Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!raybed2!applicon!hdsvx1!hoffman From: hoffman@hdsvx1.UUCP Newsgroups: comp.text Subject: Re: edt or vi? Message-ID: <963@hdsvx1.UUCP> Date: Wed, 10-Dec-86 08:13:12 EST Article-I.D.: hdsvx1.963 Posted: Wed Dec 10 08:13:12 1986 Date-Received: Sun, 14-Dec-86 03:27:58 EST References: <241@tellab5.UUCP> Reply-To: hoffman@hdsvx1.UUCP (Richard hoffman) Organization: Schlumberger HDS, Houston Lines: 51 In article <241@tellab5.UUCP> etan@tellab3.UUCP (Nate Stelton) writes: >I am a UNIX/vi user who was recently told about EDT (under VMS), and I would >like to solicit some comments. What I'm wondering is: >1. Is EDT a superior text editor to vi? Ah, another round of UNIX vs. VMS! I have been asking this question of users of both systems for a long time, and have found that users who prefer UNIX generally prefer vi, while those who prefer VMS always prefer EDT. Both can be very powerful if you know how to use their macro facilities. Both are relatively easy for a novice to use (although I think that here EDT has a real edge, since there are no commands to be learnt, and since there is a comprehensive help facility). EDT does not have vi's ability to escape the shell, or to filter blocks of text through shell commands (though this is fairly easy to come by if you are using the TPU version of EDT). And the search and substitution facilities of EDT are truly limited (regular patterns? Ha! EDT doesn't even give you simple wild-card searches. Even IBM editors do that!). But the command structure in EDT is much simpler, and I think the *philosophy* is more straightforward. For example, there is no J command in EDT, because all you need to do to join two lines together is to delete the \n at the end of the first line. There are individual buffers for restoring the last line, word, character and paste block deleted, which I find much more helpful than the general purpose P command. And, best of all, ordinary letters are not used for commands! If you are in "keypad" mode, and type a character, it appears on the screen. No C or R or S commands are necessary, because you are always in insert mode: just move to the text you want to change, delete the old text and type in the new. What could be easier? You should try it for a while, and judge for yourself. >2. Is there a version of EDT that can run under UNIX 4.2(or3) BSD? Not to my knowledge. Of course, EDT (like everything else) can be simulated with EMACS, which does run under BSD. But if you have EMACS, there are more exciting things you can do. >3. Is VMS a better environment for electronic publishing than UNIX? (I.e., >fuller support, more powerful tools). Probably not. I've used both for this purpose, and can't see any difference except in EDT vs. vi. The filter/pipeline concept might give UNIX a slight edge if you really know what you're doing; the friendliness of VMS might win back that slight edge if you don't. -- Richard Hoffman | "They sought it with thimbles, they sought it with care, Schlumberger WS | They pursued it with forks and hope; hdsvx1!hoffman | They threatened its life with a railway share, 713-928-4750 | They charmed it with smiles and soap." (L. CARROLL)