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ED(1)                        BSD Reference Manual                        ED(1)

N\bNA\bAM\bME\bE
    e\bed\bd - text editor

S\bSY\bYN\bNO\bOP\bPS\bSI\bIS\bS
    e\bed\bd [-\b-] [_\bf_\bi_\bl_\be]

D\bDE\bES\bSC\bCR\bRI\bIP\bPT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN
    E\bEd\bd once was the standard text editor in the early days of UNIX. While its
    life as a line editor is dated, e\bed\bd still resides on systems produced by a
    variety of vendors for good reason.  Because of its small size and sim-
    plicity, e\bed\bd,\b, is found on the root partition (_\b/_\bb_\bi_\bn_\b/_\be_\bd) for emergency edit-
    ing when normal system reboots fail or single user tasks are performed
    and _\b/_\bu_\bs_\br is not mounted.  E\bEd\bd is also useful for script editing tasks, and
    although there is nothing which can be done by e\bed\bd that cannot be per-
    formed by sed(1),  ex(1) or _\bG_\bn_\bu _\bE_\bm_\ba_\bc_\bs, e\bed\bd remains the simplest and easi-
    est to use.

    If a _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be argument is given, e\bed\bd simulates an e\be command (see below) on the
    named file; that is to say, the file is read into e\bed\bd's buffer so that it
    can be edited.

    Available options:

    -\b-       Suppresses the printing of explanatory output and should be used
            when the standard input is an editor script.

    E\bEd\bd operates on a copy of any file it is editing; changes made in the copy
    have no effect on the file until a w\bw (write) command is given.  The copy
    of the text being edited resides in a temporary file called the _\bb_\bu_\bf_\bf_\be_\br.

    Commands to e\bed\bd have a simple and regular structure: zero or more
    _\ba_\bd_\bd_\br_\be_\bs_\bs_\be_\bs followed by a single character c\bco\bom\bmm\bma\ban\bnd\bd, possibly followed by
    parameters to the command.  These addresses specify one or more lines in
    the buffer.  Missing addresses are supplied by default.

    In general, only one command may appear on a line.  Certain commands al-
    low the addition of text to the buffer.  While e\bed\bd is accepting text, it
    is said to be in _\bi_\bn_\bp_\bu_\bt _\bm_\bo_\bd_\be. In this mode, no commands are recognized;
    all input is merely collected.  Input mode is left by typing a period `_\b.'
    alone at the beginning of a line.

    E\bEd\bd supports a limited form of _\br_\be_\bg_\bu_\bl_\ba_\br _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\be_\bs_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn notation.  A regular ex-
    pression specifies a set of strings of characters.  A member of this set
    of strings is said to be _\bm_\ba_\bt_\bc_\bh_\be_\bd by the regular expression.  In the fol-
    lowing specification for regular expressions the word `character' means
    any character but newline.

    1.   Any character except a special character matches itself.  Special
         characters are the regular expression delimiter plus `\[.' and some-
         times `^*$'.

    2.   A ``.'' matches any character.

    3.   A `\' followed by any character except a digit or ( matches that
         character.

    4.   A nonempty string _\bs bracketed [_\bs] (or [_\b^_\bs]) matches any character in
         (or not in) _\bs_\b. In _\bs_\b, `\' has no special meaning, and may only appear
         as the first letter.  A substring _\ba_\b-_\bb, with _\ba and _\bb in ascending
         ASCII order, stands for the inclusive range of ASCII characters.

    5.   A regular expression of form 1-4 followed by `*' matches a sequence

         of 0 or more matches of the regular expression.

    6.   A regular expression, _\bx, of form 1-8, bracketed \( _\bx\) matches what
         _\bx matches.

    7.   A \ followed by a digit _\bn matches a copy of the string that the
         bracketed regular expression beginning with the _\bnth \( matched.

    8.   A regular expression of form 1-8, _\bx, followed by a regular expres-
         sion of form 1-7, _\by matches a match for _\bx followed by a match for _\by,
         with the _\bx match being as long as possible while still permitting a
         _\by match.

    9.   A regular expression of form 1-8 preceded by `^' (or followed by
         `$'), is constrained to matches that begin at the left (or end at
         the right) end of a line.

    10.  A regular expression of form 1-9 picks out the longest among the
         leftmost matches in a line.

    11.  An empty regular expression stands for a copy of the last regular
         expression encountered.

    Regular expressions are used in addresses to specify lines and in one
    command (see _\bs below) to specify a portion of a line which is to be re-
    placed.  If it is desired to use one of the regular expression metachar-
    acters as an ordinary character, that character may be preceded by `\'.
    This also applies to the character bounding the regular expression (often
    `/') and to `\' itself.

    To understand addressing in e\bed\bd it is necessary to know that at any time
    there is a _\bc_\bu_\br_\br_\be_\bn_\bt _\bl_\bi_\bn_\be_\b. Generally speaking, the current line is the last
    line affected by a command; however, the exact effect on the current line
    is discussed under the description of the command.  Addresses are con-
    structed as follows.

    1.   The character `_\b.' addresses the current line.

    2.   The character `_\b$' addresses the last line of the buffer.

    3.   A decimal number _\bn addresses the _\bnth line of the buffer.

    4.   `'_\bx' addresses the line marked with the name _\bx, which must be a low-
         er-case letter.  Lines are marked with the _\bk command described be-
         low.

    5.   A regular expression enclosed in slashes `/' addresses the line
         found by searching forward from the current line and stopping at the
         first line containing a string that matches the regular expression.
         If necessary the search wraps around to the beginning of the buffer.

    6.   A regular expression enclosed in queries `?' addresses the line
         found by searching backward from the current line and stopping at
         the first line containing a string that matches the regular expres-
         sion.  If necessary the search wraps around to the end of the
         buffer.

    7.   An address followed by a plus sign `+' or a minus sign `-' followed
         by a decimal number specifies that address plus (resp. minus) the
         indicated number of lines.  The plus sign may be omitted.

    8.   If an address begins with `+' or `-' the addition or subtraction is
         taken with respect to the current line; e.g.  `-5' is understood to
         mean `.-5'.

    9.   If an address ends with `+' or `-' then 1 is added (resp. subtract-
         ed).  As a consequence of this rule and rule 8, the address `-'
         refers to the line before the current line.  Moreover, trailing `+'
         and `-' characters have cumulative effect, so `--' refers to the
         current line less 2.

    10.  To maintain compatibility with earlier versions of the editor, the
         character `^' in addresses is equivalent to `-'

    Commands may require zero, one, or two addresses.  Commands which require
    no addresses regard the presence of an address as an error.  Commands
    which accept one or two addresses assume default addresses when insuffi-
    cient are given.  If more addresses are given than such a command re-
    quires, the last one or two (depending on what is accepted) are used.

    Addresses are separated from each other typically by a comma `,' They may
    also be separated by a semicolon `;' In this case the current line `.' is
    set to the previous address before the next address is interpreted.  This
    feature can be used to determine the starting line for forward and back-
    ward searches (`/', `?') The second address of any two-address sequence
    must correspond to a line following the line corresponding to the first
    address.  The special form `%' is an abbreviation for the address pair
    `1,$'.

    In the following list of e\bed\bd commands, the default addresses are shown in
    parentheses.  The parentheses are not part of the address, but are used
    to show that the given addresses are the default.

    As mentioned, it is generally illegal for more than one command to appear
    on a line.  However, most commands may be suffixed by `p' or by `l', in
    which case the current line is either printed or listed respectively in
    the way discussed below.  Commands may also be suffixed by `n', meaning
    the output of the command is to be line numbered.  These suffixes may be
    combined in any order.

    (_\b.)a\ba
    <text>
    .\b.
          The append command reads the given text and appends it after the
          addressed line.  `_\b.' is left on the last line input, if there were
          any, otherwise at the addressed line.  Address `0' is legal for
          this command; text is placed at the beginning of the buffer.

    (_\b.,_\b.)c\bc
    <text>
    .\b.
          The change command deletes the addressed lines, then accepts input
          text which replaces these lines.  `_\b.' is left at the last line in-
          put; if there were none, it is left at the line preceding the
          deleted lines.

    (_\b.,_\b.)d\bd
    <text>
    .\b.
          The delete command deletes the addressed lines from the buffer.
          The line originally after the last line deleted becomes the current
          line; if the lines deleted were originally at the end, the new last
          line becomes the current line.

    e\be _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be
          The edit command causes the entire contents of the buffer to be
          deleted, and then the named file to be read in.  `_\b.' is set to the
          last line of the buffer.  The number of characters read is typed.
          _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is remembered for possible use as a default file name in a
          subsequent r\br or w\bw command.  If _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is missing, the remembered
          name is used.


    E\bE _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be
          This command is the same as e\be, except that no diagnostic results
          when no w\bw has been given since the last buffer alteration.

    f\bf _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be
          The filename command prints the currently remembered file name.  If
          _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is given, the currently remembered file name is changed to
          _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be.

    (_\b1,_\b$)g\bg_\b/_\br_\be_\bg_\bu_\bl_\ba_\br _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\be_\bs_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn_\b/c\bco\bom\bmm\bma\ban\bnd\bd l\bli\bis\bst\bt
          In the global command, the first step is to mark every line which
          matches the given regular expression.  Then for every such line,
          the given command list is executed with In the global command, the
          first step is to mark every line which matches the given regular
          expression.  Then for every such line, the given command list is
          executed with `_\b.' initially set to that line.  A single command or
          the first of multiple commands appears on the same line with the
          global command.  All lines of a multi-line list except the last
          line must be ended with `\\b\' A\bA, i\bi, and c\bc commands and associated in-
          put are permitted; the `_\b.' terminating input mode may be omitted if
          it would be on the last line of the command list.  The commands g\bg
          and v\bv are not permitted in the command list.

    (_\b.)i\bi
    <text>
    .\b.
          This command inserts the given text before the addressed line.  `_\b.'
          is left at the last line input, or, if there were none, at the line
          before the addressed line.  This command differs from the a\ba command
          only in the placement of the text.

    (_\b.,_\b._\b+_\b1)j\bj
          This command joins the addressed lines into a single line; interme-
          diate newlines simply disappear.  `_\b.' is left at the resulting
          line.

    (_\b.)k\bk_\bx
          The mark command marks the addressed line with name _\bx, which must
          be a lower-case letter.  The address form _\b'_\bx then addresses this
          line.

    (_\b.,_\b.)l\bl
          The list command prints the addressed lines in an unambiguous way:
          non-graphic characters are printed in two-digit octal, and long
          lines are folded.  The _\bl command may be placed on the same line af-
          ter any non-i/o command.

    (_\b.,_\b.)m\bm_\ba
          The move command repositions the addressed lines after the line ad-
          dressed by `_\ba'. The last of the moved lines becomes the current
          line.

    (_\b.,_\b.)p\bp
          The print command prints the addressed lines.  `_\b.' is left at the
          last line printed.  The p\bp command may be placed on the same line
          after any non-i/o command.

    (_\b.,_\b.)P\bP
          This command is a synonym for p\bp.

    q\bq     The quit command causes e\bed\bd to exit.  No automatic write of a file
          is done.



    Q\bQ     This command is the same as q\bq, except that no diagnostic results
          when no w\bw has been given since the last buffer alteration.

    (_\b$,_\b.)r\br _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be
          The read command reads in the given file after the addressed line.
          If no file name is given, the remembered file name, if any, is used
          (see e\be and f\bf commands).  The file name is remembered if there was
          no remembered file name already.  Address `0' is legal for r\br and
          causes the file to be read at the beginning of the buffer.  If the
          read is successful, the number of characters read is typed.  `_\b.' is
          left at the last line read in from the file.

    (_\b1,_\b$)g\bg_\b/_\br_\be_\bg_\bu_\bl_\ba_\br _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\be_\bs_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn_\b/r\bre\bep\bpl\bla\bac\bce\bem\bme\ben\bnt\bt l\bli\bis\bst\bt   or,
    (_\b1,_\b$)g\bg_\b/_\br_\be_\bg_\bu_\bl_\ba_\br _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\be_\bs_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn_\b/r\bre\bep\bpl\bla\bac\bce\bem\bme\ben\bnt\bt l\bli\bis\bst\bt/\b/g\bg
          The substitute command searches each addressed line for an occur-
          rence of the specified regular expression.  On each line in which a
          match is found, all matched strings are replaced by the replacement
          specified, if the global replacement indicator g\bg appears after the
          command.  If the global indicator does not appear, only the first
          occurrence of the matched string is replaced.  It is an error for
          the substitution to fail on all addressed lines.  Any punctuation
          character may be used instead of `/\b/' to delimit the regular expres-
          sion and the replacement.  `_\b.' is left at the last line substitut-
          ed.  An ampersand `&\b&' appearing in the replacement is replaced by
          the string matching the regular expression.  The special meaning of
          `&\b&' in this context may be suppressed by preceding it by `\\b\' The
          characters `\\b\_\bn' where _\bn is a digit, are replaced by the text
          matched by the regular subexpression enclosed between _\bn`' and `\\b\)\b)'
          When nested, parenthesized subexpressions are present, _\bn is deter-
          mined by counting occurrences of `\\b\(\b(' starting from the left.
          Lines may be split by substituting new-line characters into them.
          The new-line in the replacement string must be escaped by preceding
          it by `\\b\' One or two trailing delimiters may be omitted, implying
          the p\bp suffix.  The special form s\bs followed by _\bn_\bo delimiters repeats
          the most recent substitute command on the addressed lines.  The s\bs
          may be followed by the letters r\br (use the most recent regular ex-
          pression for the left hand side, instead of the most recent left
          hand side of a substitute command), p\bp (complement the setting of
          the p\bp suffix from the previous substitution), or g\bg (complement the
          setting of the g\bg suffix).  These letters may be combined in any or-
          der.

    (_\b.,_\b.)t\bt_\ba
          This command acts just like the m\bm command, except that a copy of
          the addressed lines is placed after address _\ba (which may be 0).
          `_\b.' is left on the last line of the copy.

    (_\b.,_\b.)u\bu
          The undo command restores the buffer to it's state before the most
          recent buffer modifying command.  The current line is also re-
          stored.  Buffer modifying commands are a\ba, c\bc, d\bd, g\bg, i\bi, k\bk, m\bm, r\br, s\bs,
          t\bt, and v\bv. For purposes of undo, g\bg and v\bv are considered to be a sin-
          gle buffer modifying command.  Undo is its own inverse.  When e\bed\bd
          runs out of memory (at about 8000 lines on any 16 bit mini-computer
          such as the PDP-11) This full undo is not possible, and u\bu can only
          undo the effect of the most recent substitute on the current line.
          This restricted undo also applies to editor scripts when e\bed\bd is in-
          voked with the -\b- option.

    (_\b1,_\b$)v\bv_\b/_\br_\be_\bg_\bu_\bl_\ba_\br _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\be_\bs_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn_\b/c\bco\bom\bmm\bma\ban\bnd\bd l\bli\bis\bst\bt
          This command is the same as the global command g\bg except that the
          command list is executed g\bg with `_\b.' initially set to every line
          _\be_\bx_\bc_\be_\bp_\bt those matching the regular expression.



    (_\b1,_\b$)w\bw _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be
          The write command writes the addressed lines onto the given file.
          If the file does not exist, it is created.  The file name is remem-
          bered if there was no remembered file name already.  If no file
          name is given, the remembered file name, if any, is used (see e\be and
          f\bf commands).  `_\b.' is unchanged.  If the command is successful, the
          number of characters written is printed.

    (_\b1,_\b$)W\bW _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be
          This command is the same as w\bw, except that the addressed lines are
          appended to the file.

    (_\b1,_\b$)w\bwq\bq _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be
          This command is the same as w\bw except that afterwards a q\bq command is
          done, exiting the editor after the file is written.

    (_\b._\b+_\b1)z\bz    or,
    (_\b._\b+_\b1)z\bz_\bn
          This command scrolls through the buffer starting at the addressed
          line.  22 (or _\bn, if given) lines are printed.  The last line print-
          ed becomes the current line.  The value _\bn is sticky, in that it be-
          comes the default for future z\bz commands.

    (_\b$)=\b=  The line number of the addressed line is typed.  `_\b.' is unchanged
          by this command.

    _\b!<shell command>
          The remainder of the line after the `!\b!' is sent to sh(1) to be in-
          terpreted as a command.  `_\b.' is unchanged.

    (_\b._\b+_\b1,_\b._\b+_\b1)<newline>
          An address alone on a line causes the addressed line to be printed.
          A blank line alone is equivalent to _\b._\b+_\b1 it is useful for stepping
          through text.  If two addresses are present with no intervening
          semicolon, e\bed\bd prints the range of lines.  If they are separated by
          a semicolon, the second line is printed.

    If an interrupt signal (ASCII DEL) is sent, e\bed\bd prints `?interrupted' and
    returns to its command level.

    Some size limitations: 512 characters per line, 256 characters per global
    command list, 64 characters per file name, and, on mini computers, 128K
    characters in the temporary file.  The limit on the number of lines de-
    pends on the amount of core: each line takes 2 words.

    When reading a file, e\bed\bd discards ASCII NUL characters and all characters
    after the last newline.  It refuses to read files containing non- ASCII
    characters.

F\bFI\bIL\bLE\bES\bS
    /tmp/e*
    edhup     work is saved here if terminal hangs up

S\bSE\bEE\bE A\bAL\bLS\bSO\bO
    ex(1),  sed(1),  crypt(1)
    B. W. Kernighan, _\bA _\bT_\bu_\bt_\bo_\br_\bi_\ba_\bl _\bI_\bn_\bt_\br_\bo_\bd_\bu_\bc_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn _\bt_\bo _\bt_\bh_\be _\bE_\bD _\bT_\be_\bx_\bt _\bE_\bd_\bi_\bt_\bo_\br
    B. W. Kernighan, _\bA_\bd_\bv_\ba_\bn_\bc_\be_\bd _\be_\bd_\bi_\bt_\bi_\bn_\bg _\bo_\bn _\bU_\bN_\bI_\bX

H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTO\bOR\bRY\bY
    The e\bed\bd command appeared in

D\bDI\bIA\bAG\bGN\bNO\bOS\bST\bTI\bIC\bCS\bS
    `name' for inaccessible file; `?self-explanatory message' for other er-
    rors.


    To protect against throwing away valuable work, a q\bq or e\be command is con-
    sidered to be in error, unless a w\bw has occurred since the last buffer
    change.  A second q\bq or e\be will be obeyed regardless.

B\bBU\bUG\bGS\bS
    The l\bl command mishandles DEL.
    The u\bun\bnd\bdo\bo command causes marks to be lost on affected lines.
    The special treatment of hangups only works on UNIX.

AT&T 7th Edition                August 19, 1993                              7