The text editor is probably the program most often required by any computer user. Thus, it is no surprise that when individuals discuss their favorite text editors, the discussions frequently take on the passion usually associated with conversations about religion or politics. In this section, three text editors will be discussed that are supported in the Math department, namely vi, sedt, and emacs.
In the interest of prolonging the controversy among the partisans of each editor, we summarize the advantages and disadvantages of each below.
Vi Emacs Available on all UNIX systems Usually available on UNIX systems Always the same Comes in different versions Takes up little memory Takes up a lot of memory Partially programmable Fully programmable Comes with no extra wingdings Comes with extra wingdings Less easy to insert text Easy to insert text Easy to move using keyboard, but Less easy to move using keyboard, has no mouse capability but does have mouse capability
Sedt is supported in order to make the transition from VMS easier. It is inferior in capabilities to either of the above editors, and is not found on as many platforms.
In the end, all three editors have the capability to do any editing
job. It is certainly true that emacs has more "bells and
whistles". If one has the time and desire to learn the extra
tricks, it is probably worth making emacs one's editor of choice.
On the other hand, some systems don't provide emacs, so even
emacs users have to know a little bit of vi. Thus, if one is
not interested in writing editing macros, or simply doesn't have
time to learn about all of the extra features of emacs, then one
should probably just learn vi.
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