Quick Start Guide

NOTE: Using Wildcards in rm Commands
Wildcards in a rm command can be very useful but also dangerous: you might
delete more les from your directory than intended. To see which les would be
aected by the rm, run your wildcard string with ls instead of rm rst.
7.7 Editing Texts
In order to edit les from the command line, you will need to know the vi editor. vi
is a default editor which can be found on nearly every UNIX/Linux system. It can run
several operating modes in which the keys you press have dierent functions. This
does not make it very easy for beginners, but you should know at least the most
basic operations with vi. There may be situations where no other editor than vi is
available.
Basically, vi makes use of three operating modes:
command mode
In this mode, vi accepts certain key combinations as commands. Simple tasks
such as searching words or deleting a line can be executed.
insert mode
In this mode, you can write normal text.
extended mode
In this mode, also known as colon mode (as you have to enter a colon to switch
to this mode), vi can execute also more complex tasks such as searching and
replacing text.
In the following (very simple) example, you will learn how to open and edit a le with
vi, how to save your changes and quit vi.
7.7.1 Example: Editing with vi
NOTE: Display of Keys
In the following, nd several commands that you can enter in vi by just pressing
keys. These appear in uppercase as on a keyboard. If you need to enter a key
in uppercase, this is stated explicitly by showing a key combination including
the [Shift] key.
1 To create and open a new le with vi, enter
vi textfile.txt
By default, vi opens in command mode in which you cannot enter text.
2 Press [I] to switch to insert mode. The bottom line changes and indicates that
you now can insert text.
100 Start-Up