MAKING FRIENDS WITH ED(1)
For the past two weeks I have been using ed(1) as my primary text
editor at work. Previously, I used a very nearly plainly configured
Emacs. The switch is owed to a few of my favorite characters on an IRC
server I visit. They often post ed(1) commands alongside commands to
use ed(1). For a long time I thought they were joking. Finally after
they said "use ed(1)" for the bah-zillionth time I obeyed...
I build WordPress websites. Code I write is in PHP or JavaScript,
markup in JSX or HTML, package definitions in JSON, and stylesheets in
SCSS. To my surprise, ed(1) performs well within each of these
contexts and its related workflows. Although ed(1) takes very few
commands they can each be very powerful. I have quickly learned how to
adapt commands to the given syntax. It is nice being able to do this
without learning a new "mode" or set of keystrokes...
ed(1) is a line editor. A given file is modified through the
accumulation of many commands. If I were very good at programming I
might be able to use just one ed(1) command, `a', which appends all
subsequent lines to the given file. But I make mistakes, generate new
ideas, and refactor code over time. So I also make use of "c"
(change), "i" (insert), "p" (print line), and "s" (search and replace)
quite a bit. Initially I used these commands in a rather
straightforward manner, like rewriting an entire lines with "c" to fix
a single typo. Now I am more nimble. I get ed(1) to surgically target
text using "s". I perform sequences of commands using "g".
Incidentally, an efficient ed(1) programming experience is aided by
other tools. In keeping with the spirit of UNIX (do one thing well),
ed(1) does its one thing well without eclipsing the purpose of other
programs. Happily, I have become a frequent user of:
- less to view files
- sed to search and replace
- grep to find files containing certain strings
- find to run many commands over many files
- git to take risks without consequence
When I used Emacs to code it was my only friend. I did everything
inside Emacs. With ed(1), I have widened the social circle and I am
glad for it for two reasons: my knowledge of the standard tools has
improved; and, my workflow has become modular (I can easily swap one
program for another (bat for cat, say)).
Another new perspective brought by ed(1) is: there's a cost to every
keystroke--either when it is first made or when it is future
changed. ed(1) helped me tangibly grasp that cost, so now I challenge
myself to keep it cheap. (Sometimes cheap means sloppy, poorly indent
text that gets prettified by a linting program). Editing with ed(1) is
efficient. I feel more oriented towards following logically sequential
programming operations. I'm no longer gallivanting around buffers,
wobbling my way over to some line or character I need to add or
edit. ed(1) keeps me on task. The line editing style of ed(1)
encourages me towards an economy of keystrokes and operations---I only
run commands when I can anticipate the result. Further, my brain is
uncluttered by configurations, complicated keystrokes, or a plethora
of commands.
Like a good friend, ed(1) is growing alongside me. I feel our
conversations reaching greater depths and eloquence. And I know still
more interesting chats lie ahead!
Favorite commands so far
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`!less -N %' to view the current file in less.
`s/some pattern/\' to split a line.
`/some pattern/s/some pattern/a replacement' to replace all matches in
a file.
`G/some pattern/' to interactively replace.
`10z20' to print the 20 (or some other number) of lines from 10 on.
`.t.' to copy the current line.