[lfjokes] /bin/ed, the ultimate editor.

[Adam Shand]

warning hardcore geek humor.

* if you don't know unix this will make no sense.
* if you learned about unix as linux, this won't make sense.
* if you are an old school dos user then it'll make sense if
  you think "ed=edline".

From: "Patrick J. LoPresti" <patl at athena.mit.edu>
Via:  http://www.slashdot.org/

When I log into my Xenix system with my 110 baud teletype, both vi *and*
Emacs are just too damn slow.  They print useless messages like, 'C-h for
help' and '"foo" File is read only'.  So I use the editor that doesn't
waste my VALUABLE time.

Ed, man!  !man ed

ED(1)               UNIX Programmer's Manual                ED(1)

NAME
     ed - text editor

SYNOPSIS
     ed [ - ] [ -x ] [ name ]
DESCRIPTION
     Ed is the standard text editor.
---

Computer Scientists love ed, not just because it comes first
alphabetically, but because it's the standard.  Everyone else loves ed
because it's ED!

"Ed is the standard text editor."

And ed doesn't waste space on my Timex Sinclair.  Just look:

-rwxr-xr-x  1 root          24 Oct 29  1929 /bin/ed
-rwxr-xr-t  4 root     1310720 Jan  1  1970 /usr/ucb/vi
-rwxr-xr-x  1 root  5.89824e37 Oct 22  1990 /usr/bin/emacs

Of course, on the system *I* administrate, vi is symlinked to ed. Emacs
has been replaced by a shell script which:

 1) Generates a syslog message at level LOG_EMERG;
 2) reduces the user's disk quota by 100K;
 3) RUNS ED!!!!!!

"Ed is the standard text editor."

Let's look at a typical novice's session with the mighty ed:

golem> ed

?
help
?
?
?
quit
?
exit
?
bye
?
hello?
?
eat flaming death
?
^C
?
^C
?
^D
?

---

Note the consistent user interface and error reportage.  Ed is generous
enough to flag errors, yet prudent enough not to overwhelm the novice with
verbosity.

"Ed is the standard text editor."

Ed, the greatest WYGIWYG editor of all.

ED IS THE TRUE PATH TO NIRVANA!  ED HAS BEEN THE CHOICE OF EDUCATED AND
IGNORANT ALIKE FOR CENTURIES!  ED WILL NOT CORRUPT YOUR PRECIOUS BODILY
FLUIDS!!  ED IS THE STANDARD TEXT EDITOR!  ED MAKES THE SUN SHINE AND THE
BIRDS SING AND THE GRASS GREEN!!

When I use an editor, I don't want eight extra KILOBYTES of worthless help
screens and cursor positioning code!  I just want an EDitor!! Not a
"viitor".  Not a "emacsitor".  Those aren't even WORDS!!!! ED! ED! ED IS
THE STANDARD!!!

TEXT EDITOR.

When IBM, in its ever-present omnipotence, needed to base their "edlin" on
a UNIX standard, did they mimic vi?  No.  Emacs?  Surely you jest.  They
chose the most karmic editor of all.  The standard.

Ed is for those who can *remember* what they are working on.  If you are
an idiot, you should use Emacs.  If you are an Emacs, you should not be
vi.  If you use ED, you are on THE PATH TO REDEMPTION.  THE SO-CALLED
"VISUAL" EDITORS HAVE BEEN PLACED HERE BY ED TO TEMPT THE FAITHLESS.  DO
NOT GIVE IN!!!  THE MIGHTY ED HAS SPOKEN!!!