A Conversation for WYSIWYG

YAFIYGI (yaf-ee-yig-ee)

Post 1

Caveman, Evil Unix Sysadmin, betting shop operative, and SuDoku addict (Its an odd mix, but someone has to do it)

Another acronym that can be applied to text editors such as vi, ed, ex, EDT, EDLIN, and not forgetting the wonderful TECO editor, is YAFIYGI. Otherwise known as 'You Asked For It, You Got It'.

A favourite game among old DEC system users was to type their name into TECO as a command, and try and guess what it would do.

Most of these editors of course used single letter commands to insert, delete, or otherwise modify text. Of these, vi is probably the most widespread still in use today. To create this post, I've just cut some text into this edit box from a vi session.

I write code, documentation, and very dodgy HTML in vi. I manage systems with vi. I have a version of vi for Win32 that I use in preference to anything microsoft have to offer, but I still prefer a decent version of vi on Linux to anything else. The fact that we used to have a tea lady called vi is unrelated to this post.


YAFIYGI (yaf-ee-yig-ee)

Post 2

Irene

Another such editor is EMACS. I think it has a similarly sized following in the UNIX world to vi (or is it another editor?). What I've found is that there seem to be two groups - each loving one while hating the other.


YAFIYGI (yaf-ee-yig-ee)

Post 3

Caveman, Evil Unix Sysadmin, betting shop operative, and SuDoku addict (Its an odd mix, but someone has to do it)

Yep, you're probably right. Emacs / vi users are divided into two groups. Those who won't do anything unless you can do it with emacs, and loath vi, and those who won't do anything unless you can do it in vi, and won't touch emacs with a 50 foot barge pole.

Put me in the second group.

Besides, emacs seems to have this link to LISP, a mindbogglingly silly language, which seems to have a serious problem regarding it's attraction to the characters '(' and ')'. You can spot a LISP program because most of them start with (((((((((((((((((((((((((((((
I've never, ever, found any use for LISP. (And I don't plan to start looking for one either)


YAFIYGI (yaf-ee-yig-ee)

Post 4

Irene

Personally I don't know vi at all, and I've only dabbled with emacs. My husband (a UNIX guru) is an emacs user, but will use vi in a pinch (i.e. if emacs hasn't been installed for some reason which he cannot fathom!).


YAFIYGI (yaf-ee-yig-ee)

Post 5

Lupa Mirabilis, Serious Inquisitor

"LISP is a recursive language: first you curse and then you re-curse."


YAFIYGI (yaf-ee-yig-ee)

Post 6

alicat (Patron Saint of Good Taste)

smiley - smiley


Lisp

Post 7

Hydrogenoid

Lots of Inutile and Stupid Parentheses
It is sometimes easier to figure how to code some recursive structures using it... or at least it should.... if it weren't for the syntax...
And its... err... speed...
*grins*


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