<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML ><HEAD ><TITLE >Editing Files </TITLE ><META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="Modular DocBook HTML Stylesheet Version 1.7"><LINK REL="HOME" TITLE="From VMS to Linux HOWTO" HREF="index.html"><LINK REL="PREVIOUS" TITLE="Short Intro " HREF="short-intro.html"><LINK REL="NEXT" TITLE="TeXing " HREF="texing.html"></HEAD ><BODY CLASS="SECT1" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#0000FF" VLINK="#840084" ALINK="#0000FF" ><DIV CLASS="NAVHEADER" ><TABLE SUMMARY="Header navigation table" WIDTH="100%" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" ><TR ><TH COLSPAN="3" ALIGN="center" >From VMS to Linux HOWTO</TH ></TR ><TR ><TD WIDTH="10%" ALIGN="left" VALIGN="bottom" ><A HREF="short-intro.html" ACCESSKEY="P" >Prev</A ></TD ><TD WIDTH="80%" ALIGN="center" VALIGN="bottom" ></TD ><TD WIDTH="10%" ALIGN="right" VALIGN="bottom" ><A HREF="texing.html" ACCESSKEY="N" >Next</A ></TD ></TR ></TABLE ><HR ALIGN="LEFT" WIDTH="100%"></DIV ><DIV CLASS="SECT1" ><H1 CLASS="SECT1" ><A NAME="EDITING-FILES" ></A >3. Editing Files</H1 ><P >Linux doesn't have <TT CLASS="LITERAL" >EDT</TT >, but there are scores of editors available. The only one that's guaranteed to be included in every UNIX version is <TT CLASS="LITERAL" >vi</TT >---forget it, your sysadm must have installed something better. Probably the most popular editor is <TT CLASS="LITERAL" >emacs</TT >, which can emulate <TT CLASS="LITERAL" >EDT</TT > to a certain degree; <TT CLASS="LITERAL" >jed</TT > is another editor that provides <TT CLASS="LITERAL" >EDT</TT > emulation.</P ><P >These two editors are particularly useful for editing program sources, since they have two features unknown to <TT CLASS="LITERAL" >EDT</TT >: syntax hilighting and automatic indentation. Moreover, you can compile your programs from within the editor (command <TT CLASS="LITERAL" >ESC-X compile</TT >); in case of a syntax error, the cursor will be positioned on the offending line. I bet that you'll never want to use the true blue <TT CLASS="LITERAL" >EDT</TT > again.</P ><P >If you have <TT CLASS="LITERAL" >emacs</TT >: start it, then type <TT CLASS="LITERAL" >ESC-X edt-emulation-on</TT >. Pressing ALT--X or ESC-X is <TT CLASS="LITERAL" >emacs</TT >' way of issuing commands, like <TT CLASS="LITERAL" >EDT</TT >'s CTRL--Z. From now on, <TT CLASS="LITERAL" >emacs</TT > acts like <TT CLASS="LITERAL" >EDT</TT > apart from a few commands. Differences:</P ><P > <P ></P ><UL ><LI ><P > <EM >don't</EM > press CTRL--Z to issue commands (if you did, you stopped <TT CLASS="LITERAL" >emacs</TT >. Type <TT CLASS="LITERAL" >fg</TT > to resume it); </P ></LI ><LI ><P > there's an extensive on-line help. Press CTRL-H ?, or CTRL-H T to start a tutorial; </P ></LI ><LI ><P > to save a file, press CTRL-X CTRL-S; </P ></LI ><LI ><P > to exit, press CTRL-X CTRL-C; </P ></LI ><LI ><P > to insert a new file in a buffer, press CTRL-X CTRL-F, then CTRL-X B to switch among buffers. </P ></LI ></UL > </P ><P >If you have <TT CLASS="LITERAL" >jed</TT >: ask your sysadm to configure <TT CLASS="LITERAL" >jed</TT > properly. Emulation is already on when you start it; use the normal keypad keys, and press CTRL--H CTRL--H or CTRL-? to get help. Commands are issued in the same way as <TT CLASS="LITERAL" >emacs</TT >'. In addition, there are some handy key bindings missing in the original <TT CLASS="LITERAL" >EDT</TT >; key bindings can also be tailored to your own taste. Ask your sysadm.</P ><P >In alternative, you may use another editor with a completely different interface. <TT CLASS="LITERAL" >emacs</TT > in native mode is an obvious choice; another popular editor is <TT CLASS="LITERAL" >joe</TT >, which can emulate other editors like <TT CLASS="LITERAL" >emacs</TT > itself (being even easier to use) or the DOS editor. Invoke the editor as <TT CLASS="LITERAL" >jmacs</TT > or <TT CLASS="LITERAL" >jstar</TT > and press, respectively, CTRL-X H or CTRL-J to get online help. <TT CLASS="LITERAL" >emacs</TT > and <TT CLASS="LITERAL" >jed</TT > are <EM >much</EM > more powerful than good ol' <TT CLASS="LITERAL" >EDT</TT >.</P ></DIV ><DIV CLASS="NAVFOOTER" ><HR ALIGN="LEFT" WIDTH="100%"><TABLE SUMMARY="Footer navigation table" WIDTH="100%" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" ><TR ><TD WIDTH="33%" ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" ><A HREF="short-intro.html" ACCESSKEY="P" >Prev</A ></TD ><TD WIDTH="34%" ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" ><A HREF="index.html" ACCESSKEY="H" >Home</A ></TD ><TD WIDTH="33%" ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" ><A HREF="texing.html" ACCESSKEY="N" >Next</A ></TD ></TR ><TR ><TD WIDTH="33%" ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" >Short Intro</TD ><TD WIDTH="34%" ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" > </TD ><TD WIDTH="33%" ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" >TeXing</TD ></TR ></TABLE ></DIV ></BODY ></HTML >