I use VIM for all of my editing when I can.  I don’t much care for Emacs, but since bash uses the bindings, it’s good to know a few of the commands.  Like Ctrl+k, Ctrl+u, Ctrl+e, Ctrl+a (try them out with text on the bash command if you don’t know what they do…).  The thing is, the default editor in many of my CentOS systems at work is Emacs.  I clearly didn’t want that, so I had to change two variables in my ~/.bashrc file.  It now looks better:

$ cat ~/.bashrc
.. snip ..
EDITOR=/usr/bin/vim
VISUAL=/usr/bin/vim
export EDITOR VISUAL
.. snip ..

After setting these variables up, it’s very easy to edit the command line with vim.  First, source the ~/.bashrc file.

$ source ~/.bashrc

Then bring up the command to edit:

$ yum remove -y NetworkManager.i?86 NetworkManager-glib.i?86 alsa-lib.i?86 apr.i?86 aspell.i?86 audit-libs.i?86 coolkey.i?86 cracklib.i?86 cryptsetup-luks.i?86 cyrus-sasl-lib.i?86 cyrus-sasl-plain.i?86 db4.i?86 dbus-glib.i?86 dbus-libs.i?86 device-mapper.i?86 e2fsprogs-libs.i?86 ecryptfs-utils.i?86 expat.i?86 fipscheck.i?86 freetype.i?86 giflib.i?86 glib2.i?86 gpm.i?86 hal.i?86 java-1.6.0-openjdk.i?86 keyutils-libs.i?86 krb5-libs.i?86 libICE.i?86 libSM.i?86 libX11.i?86 libXau.i?86 libXdmcp.i?86 libXext.i?86 libXi.i?86 libXt.i?86 libXtst.i?86 libXxf86vm.i?86 libaio.i?86 libcap.i?86 libdaemon.i?86 libdrm.i?86 libgcc.i?86 libgcrypt.i?86 libgpg-error.i?86 libhugetlbfs.i?86 libjpeg.i?86 libpng.i?86 libselinux.i?86 libsepol.i?86 libstdc++.i?86 libtermcap.i?86 libusb.i?86 libutempter.i?86 libvolume_id.i?86 mesa-libGL.i?86 mkinitrd.i?86 ncurses.i?86 neon.i?86 nspr.i?86 nss.i?86 nss_db.i?86 nss_ldap.i?86 numactl.i?86 openldap.i?86 openssl.i?86 openssl-devel.i?86 pam.i?86 pam_ccreds.i?86 pam_krb5.i?86 pam_passwdqc.i?86 pam_pkcs11.i?86 pam_smb.i?86 parted.i?86 readline.i?86 redhat-lsb.i?86 sqlite.i?86 tcp_wrappers.i?86 wireless-tools.i?86 zlib.i?86

As can be seen, this is pretty long and cumbersome.  It’d be nice to be able to edit the line without having to use bash, plus, if I accidentally mistype and hit ‘Enter’, it could be executed before the command is ready.  To edit the command, hit the following:

Ctrl+x, Ctrl+e

The command will then be opened in your $EDITOR (probably /usr/bin/vim if you followed the instructions above).  Edit away, when you save and quit (:wq in VIM), the command will be executed.  If you don’t want to execute the command after all, just quit without saving (:q in VIM).

Enjoy,

Herlo

Vim 101 and Beyond

Vim is the editor of choice for many developers and power users. It’s a “modal” text editor based on the vi editor written by Bill Joy in the 1970s for a version of UNIX. It inherits the key bindings of vi, but also adds a great deal of functionality and extensibility that are missing from the original vi. This session will cover the beginnings (101) and the first set of intermediate (201) modes and commands for vim.

If you would like to join us, just head on down via train, car (parking is free on the street for two hours just east and west of BetaLoftSLC), walk or bike to:

WHEN

Wednesday, February 10, 2010
11:30am-1:00pm

WHERE

Come learn some tips and tricks about Vim.  We hope to see you all there.

Cheers,

Clint