Julia Evans blogs about technology, and today’s post Batch editing files with ed is an excellent example of her clear-headed style.
Like Julia, I’ve had a longtime aversion to the Unix ed editor, based purely on ignorance. The magic key that Julia’s blog post unlocked for me is that ed is just like vi, but without a visual interface.
As I have vi burned into my muscle memory, this was a powerful revelation.
Julia closes the deal with a pointer to the book Ed Mastery, which I’ve just purchased based solely on the strength of her recommendation.
I’m so looking forward to taking my new-found text-unmangling skills out for a ride.
If you find yourself in need of an even broader approach to Ed, may I humbly recommend the biography of my great-grandfather Big Ed Caswell. It won’t help you edit text files, but it will teach you something about steely determination.
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