ed(1) conference @[email protected]

give you UP
and will never let you DOWN

@tux0r

@0x4d6165 there is a case to be made for writing a first draft in ed (seriously!) I accidentally figured this out while using ed in part of a project of mine as an experiment.

Ed's insert mode is actually pretty ideal for getting into a flow state. You commit things one line at a time. The line can be as long as you want. (I think) you can use emacs/vi key bindings with rlwrap to edit the line. But once you hit enter, the line is in, and you're onto the next thought.

For whomever needs to hear this: you are not alone. I am not vibecoding any of the software I write. I write it all by hand. I have leveled up to using ed(1) on a glass TTY rather than a hardcopy-output device. I am modernizing my stacks and using languages with excellent compilers like C89. I think about how to do more with less. I am trying to combine the best human-written libraries and modules and assemble them with minimal boilerplate. I enjoy reading manuals and references. I believe in robust, secure, human-written software.

@mntmn

for whoever needs to hear this: you're not alone. i'm not vibecoding any of the software i write. i'm writing it by hand, but i've leveled up my emacs with eglot/lsp. i'm modernizing my stacks and use languages with excellent compilers. i think about how to do more with less. i'm trying to combine the best human-written libraries and modules and assemble them with minimal boilerplate. i enjoy reading your manuals and references. i believe in robust, secure, human-written software.

Was talking with someone about my 67 hour Rust+ed(1) coding adventure over the holidays and they said I should have deleted the whole thing at the end. In retrospect, that would have been epic--a missed opportunity to make the whole thing like a sand painting.

@ed1conf I used to use EDITOR=ed on a Pinephone with swmo, so my messages were written in an ed(1) session inside a foot(1) pty.

3
,
-3
i
omw over. stopping to get weed
.
w
34
q

However I read messages in my pager which was less(1).

Did this ever happen to you? You edit a system configuration file, only to get an error ? from ed(1) because you forgot to open the file as root.

Good news: You can finish your change after all. Simply enter the following ed(1) command:

w !doas tee %

(or use sudo(8) instead of doas(1) if you prefer)

@monospace

@thorstenzoeller @Dendrobatus_Azureus @mwl @ed1conf I rember having to resort to ed a few times to fix the vfstab/fstab when /tmp wouldn't mount for Sun boxes. Really ed-ucational.

@gumnos @nixCraft

For distraction-free editing, ed(1) makes a great tool for writing:

• support for text, markdown, email, rst, TeX/LaTeX, Textile, asciidoc, as well as raw HTML, and many others

• agnostic on hard line breaks vs soft wraps (though I recommend using semantic line breaks in general for prose/markup)

• support for display-of-mode indicator when in normal mode via the -p option

• it's POSIX and works out of the box

• no complex configuration options to faff about with, that might distract you from actually writing

• doesn't require plugins

• hands can remain on the home-row

• minimal chording

• sophisticated capabilities for navigating and manipulating text

• no proprietary format lock-in

• Improved memory allocation calculation (uses sizeof on actual array element instead of explicit type)
• Better error message: filenames ending in '/' now report "Invalid filename" instead of "Is a directory"

@dabeaz

Age verification challenge: edit C code with ed(1)

I got tired of hacking ad-hoc text selection functions, so I wrote edtext: line selection and manipulation using ed address ranges.
https://nedbatchelder.com/blog/202602/edtext

@ed1conf @dallo Kerouac would have used ed(1).

@dallo

You could always use ed(1) for writing your novel instead:

• pure text editing of your .md or .tex files

• no need (or really even much ability) to tinker with its configuration

• the modal-editing lauded in the post

• no elisp or lua to read/modify

• no dreaded Emacs pinky-finger, or even remapping required

@elrohir

Maybe if you want to date Vi, you have to date Ed & Em first?

(just don't date your Ex)