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Ex line editing mode

The name vi comes from the "visual interface" for the ex line editor. That is the reason vi's configuration file is called ~/.exrc. When vi is launched via an ex symlinked or hard-linked name, it runs in ex mode.

The ex editor is the Berkeley Unix replacement for the AT&T System V ed editor. It is a line editor geared to teletype and DECwriter paper terminals.

Vi/Vim command mode was based on ex mode commands.

Why use ex mode?

  • Your console, terminal, ssh, or tmux session is all messed up,
    • and you are trying to fix this,
    • or you want to do a quick edit on some server & be done with it.
  • You want to script multiple bulk edits on multiple files and either
    • your Sed and AWK skills are a bit rusty, or
    • you need something more "stateful" between edits and/or files.
  • You accidentally enter ex mode and you want to get out of it.

Entering ex mode

Just giving a useful, but incomplete, subset of the possibilities.

Vi

  • From vi normal mode Q
    • switch back to visual mode via vi command
  • From terminal ex fileToEdit1 fileToEdit2 fileToEdit3
    • switch to visual mode via vi command
  • From terminal vi -e fileToEdit1 fileToEdit2 fileToEdit3
    • switch to visual mode via vi command
  • From terminal enter vi -es filename or ex -s filename
    • command mode commands taken from stdin
      • interactively edit
      • pipe in command mode commands from stdin
      • heredocs
    • $EXINIT and .exrc files are not processed
    • does not start a UI
    • cannot switch to visual mode

Neovim

  • From nvim normal mode gQ
    • switch back to visual mode via vi command
  • From terminal nvim -e fileToEdit1 fileToEdit2 fileToEdit3
    • command mode commands taken from stdin
      • interactively edit
      • pipe in command mode commands from stdin
      • heredocs
    • does not play nice with some plugins
      • Launch nvim --clean -e fileToEdit1 fileToEdit2 fileToEdit3
    • switch to visual mode via vi command
  • From terminal non-interactively
    • from terminal cat myScript | nvim -es fileToEdit
    • does not start a UI
    • cannot switch to visual mode
    • session ends at end of script, q not necessary

Neovim Examples

Piping commands in thru stdin

    $ echo '10,20p
    n
    10,15p
    q' | nvim -es .bashrc .bash_profile

Using a heredoc, note: real tabs

    $ nvim -es .bashrc <<-EOF
    >	10,20p
    >	1,5p
    >	q
    > EOF

Create a non-interactive script interactively, then run the script non-interactively.

    $ nvim --clean -w myscript -e .bashrc
    $ cat myscript | nvim -es .bashrc

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