Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!lll-lcc!mordor!styx!ames!ucbcad!ucbvax!cbatt!ihnp4!alberta!bjorn From: bjorn@alberta.UUCP (Bjorn R. Bjornsson) Newsgroups: comp.text Subject: Re: edt or vi? Message-ID: <172@pembina.alberta.UUCP> Date: Tue, 6-Jan-87 05:58:28 EST Article-I.D.: pembina.172 Posted: Tue Jan 6 05:58:28 1987 Date-Received: Tue, 6-Jan-87 22:45:43 EST References: <241@tellab5.UUCP> <397@jimi.cs.unlv.edu> Organization: U. of Alberta, Edmonton, AB Lines: 44 Summary: EDT sucks vi through a straw!! In article <397@jimi.cs.unlv.edu>, robert@jimi.cs.unlv.edu (Robert Cray) writes: > 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? Yes, for 95% of editing tasks. Use vi/ex, sed, awk or Gnumacs for heavy duty manipulations. > No. VI has many things EDT does not, regular expressions, > the g & v commands, conditional replacement, the undo command, > and lots more. EDT does not really do anything. True vi has many things that edt does not. Regular expressions are sorely missed, etc.. Much as I hate to paraphrase John Kenneth Galbraith, I still think he has the definitive comment on the matter (no the original was not about text editors): Where text editors are concerned there are few standards. No one can say what is good and what is bad, although you can be sure that everyone will. I know you won't believe me but I know a person who first learned vi and was subsequently more or less forced to use edt (for lack of vi on VMS). You had better believe that to begin with there was no love lost on edt. But now many years after VMS and several Unix systems later he still prefers edt. Me, I saw edt before I saw vi and you know by now which one I prefer. It's fairly easy to modify just about any of the microEmacs editors that have been posted to the net to emulate edt keypad mode + use regular expressions. It helps to have a reasonably sized keyboard or an Atari ST. Oh and by the way, on of the premier features in edt is reverse video on "select ranges" (regions to you Emacs hackers). This has not been duplicated (for obvious reasons) in any Emacs package written to emulate edt. Don't let YOU keep ME awake, Bjorn R. Bjornsson alberta!bjorn