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Learning Outcomes
By the end of this lab, you will be able to:
- Create, save, and close a file using vi
- Insert, delete, and change text in vi
Lab Instructions
Practice using Link: https://vim-adventures.com/ or vimtutor, the tutorial that comes with vim (run vimtutor at the command line), or Link: https://www.openvim.com/
VI is a modal editor, and as such it doesn't work the same as other text editing programs you might have used. Make sure you have gone through the learning module before attempting this lab if you've never used VI or VIM before.
What to Include
- Using vi, create a file named Introduction that contains the following text (don’t worry about indenting just type the text or learn to paste in the terminal):
- vi (pronounce: “vee eye”, not “six”, not “vye”) is an editor. An editor is a program to edit files. Goodbye. Although other stories exist, the true one tells that vi was originally written by Bill Joy in 1976. Bill took the sources of ed and ex, two horrendous programs for Unix that try to enable a human being to edit files, and created Vi. A truly remarkable, and somewhat paradoxical, event. Read the interview with Bill Joy for a more accurate history of Vi. People got attached to Vi, and eventually it got included in System V. From there on history has covered its traces and now Vi has evolved in many different versions for many, many platforms. The basic concept of Vi, however, has not changed over the years.
- Close and save the file.
- Re-open the file and add your name and the date at the top.
- Append to the bottom of the file the following text:
- "It's a vi thing - you wouldn't understand." Yes, vi is a religion. More than that, it's a cult religion. It started out as a UNIX editor and has now become a Ubiquitous editor. Unlike, say, Microsoft Word, it can also give the illusion of magic. Watching a vi guru doing some heavy editing on a file, as her fingers fly over the keys and textual transformations sweep across the screen, one could believe that one is in the presence of supernatural powers. "Awesome", the audience murmur to themselves. Maybe.
- "It's a vi thing - you wouldn't understand." Yes, vi is a religion. More than that, it's a cult religion. It started out as a UNIX editor and has now become a Ubiquitous editor. Unlike, say, Microsoft Word, it can also give the illusion of magic. Watching a vi guru doing some heavy editing on a file, as her fingers fly over the keys and textual transformations sweep across the screen, one could believe that one is in the presence of supernatural powers. "Awesome", the audience murmur to themselves. Maybe.
Be sure you know how to: edit files, insert text, delete text, save and exit
Deliverables
- A clearly labeled screenshot of your file open in vi. Your screenshots must show your prompt with your username, or a note with your name and the term.
- The actual Introduction file you created.
Resources
References, a video, a PowerPoint and some notes are available at my website Link: https://www.aholdengouveia.name/IntroLinux/envvar.html
My FAQ Linux playlist on YouTube, with demos of many of the commands and scripts in this class Link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQOmuLC45eoQlIMH7oCNL6yFP7kWQubBo