ex(1)

ex -- text editor

Synopsis

ex [-s] [-v] [-t tag] [-r file] [-L] [-R] [-x] [-C] [-c command] file ...

Description

ex is the root of a family of editors: ex and vi. ex is a superset of ed, with the most notable extension being a display editing facility. If you have a CRT terminal, you may wish to use a display based editor; in this case see vi(1). ex processes supplementary code set characters according to the locale specified in the LC_CTYPE environment variable (see LANG on environ(5)). In regular expressions, pattern searches are performed on characters, not bytes, as described on ed(1).

For ed users

If you have used ed you will find that, in addition to having all of the ed commands available, ex has a number of additional features useful on CRT terminals. Intelligent terminals and high speed terminals are very pleasant to use with vi. Generally, the ex editor uses far more of the capabilities of terminals than ed does, and uses the terminal capability data base (see terminfo(4)) and the type of the terminal you are using from the environment variable TERM to determine how to drive your terminal efficiently. The editor makes use of features such as insert and delete character and line in its visual command (which can be abbreviated vi) and which is the central mode of editing when using the vi command.

ex contains a number of features for easily viewing the text of the file. The z command gives easy access to windows of text. Typing ^D (control-d) causes the editor to scroll a half-window of text and is more useful for quickly stepping through a file than just typing return. Of course, the screen-oriented visual mode gives constant access to editing context.

ex gives you help when you make mistakes. The undo (u) command allows you to reverse any single change which goes astray. ex gives you a lot of feedback, normally printing changed lines, and indicates when more than a few lines are affected by a command so that it is easy to detect when a command has affected more lines than it should have.

The editor also normally prevents overwriting existing files, unless you edited them, so that you do not accidentally overwrite a file other than the one you are editing. If the system (or editor) crashes, or you accidentally hang up the line, you can use the editor recover command (or -r file option) to retrieve your work. This will get you back to within a few lines of where you left off.

ex has several features for dealing with more than one file at a time. You can give it a list of files on the command line and use the next (n) command to deal with each in turn. The next command can also be given a list of file names, or a pattern as used by the shell to specify a new set of files to be dealt with. In general, file names in the editor may be formed with full shell metasyntax. The metacharacter `%' is also available in forming file names and is replaced by the name of the current file.

The editor has a group of buffers whose names are the ASCII lower-case letters (a-z). You can place text in these named buffers where it is available to be inserted elsewhere in the file. The contents of these buffers remain available when you begin editing a new file using the edit (e) command.

There is a command & in ex which repeats the last substitute command. In addition, there is a confirmed substitute command. You give a range of substitutions to be done and the editor interactively asks whether each substitution is desired.

It is possible to ignore the case of letters in searches and substitutions. ex also allows regular expressions which match words to be constructed. This is convenient, for example, in searching for the word ``edit'' if your document also contains the word ``editor.''

ex has a set of options which you can set to tailor it to your liking. One option which is very useful is the autoindent option that allows the editor to supply leading white space to align text automatically. You can then use ^D as a backtab and space or tab to move forward to align new code easily.

Miscellaneous useful features include an intelligent join (j) command that supplies white space between joined lines automatically, commands < and > which shift groups of lines, and the ability to filter portions of the buffer through commands such as sort.

Invocation options

The following invocation options are interpreted by ex (previously documented options are discussed in the ``Notices'' section at the end of this manual page):

-s: Suppress all interactive-user feedback. This is useful in processing editor scripts.
-v: Invoke vi.
-t tag: Edit the file containing the tag and position the editor at its definition. Note: tags in the tag file must be in ascending order.
-r file: Edit file after an editor or system crash. (Recovers the version of file that was in the buffer when the crash occurred.)
-L: List the names of all files saved as the result of an editor or system crash.
-R: Readonly mode; the readonly flag is set, preventing accidental overwriting of the file.
-x: Encryption option; when used, ex simulates an X command and prompts the user for a key. This key is used to encrypt and decrypt text using the algorithm of the crypt command. The X command makes an educated guess to determine whether text read in is encrypted or not. The temporary buffer file is encrypted also, using a transformed version of the key typed in for the -x option. See crypt(1). Also, see the ``Notices'' section at the end of this manual page.
-C: Encryption option; the same as the -x option, except that ex simulates a C command. The C command is like the X command, except that all text read in is assumed to have been encrypted.
-c command: Begin editing by executing the specified editor command (usually a search or positioning command).

The file argument indicates one or more files to be edited.

ex states

Command: Normal and initial state. Input prompted for by :. Your line kill character cancels a partial command.
Insert: Entered by a, i, or c. Arbitrary text may be entered. Insert state normally is terminated by a line having only "``.''" on it, or, abnormally, with an interrupt.
Visual: Entered by typing vi; terminated by typing Q or ^e (<Ctrl>-e).

ex command names and abbreviations

Command Abbreviation

abbrev ab

append a

args ar

change c

copy co

delete d

edit e

file f

global g

insert i

join j

list l

map

mark ma

move m

next n

number nu

preserve pre

print p

put pu

quit q

read r

recover rec

rewind rew

set se

shell sh

source so

substitute s

unabbrev unab

undo u

unmap unm

version ve

visual vi

write w

xit x

yank ya

Command	Abbreviation
abbrev	ab
append	a
args	ar
change	c
copy	co
delete	d
edit	e
file	f
global	g
insert	i
join	j
list	l
map
mark	ma
move	m
next	n
number	nu
preserve	pre
print	p
put	pu
quit	q
read	r
recover	rec
rewind	rew
set	se
shell	sh
source	so
substitute	s
unabbrev	unab
undo	u
unmap	unm
version	ve
visual	vi
write	w
xit	x
yank	ya

ex commands

Command Key

forced encryption C

heuristic encryption X

lshift <

print next CR

resubst &

rshift >

scroll ^D

shell escape !

window z

Command	Key
forced encryption	C
heuristic encryption	X
lshift	<
print next	CR
resubst	&
rshift	>
scroll	^D
shell escape	!
window	z

ex command addresses

Command Description

n Line n

/pat Next with pat

. current

?pat Previous with pat

$ Last

x-n n before x

+ Next

x,y x through y

- Previous

´x Marked with x

+n n forward

´´ Previous context

% 1,$

Command	Description
n	Line n
/*pat*	Next with *pat*
.	current
?*pat*	Previous with *pat*
$	Last
x-n	n before x
+	Next
x,y	x through y
-	Previous
´x	Marked with x
+n	n forward
´´	Previous context
%	1,$

Initializing options

Initialization Description

EXINIT Place sets here in environment variable

$HOME/.exrc Editor initialization file

./.exrc Editor initialization file

set x Enable option x

set nox Disable option x

set x=val Give value val to option x

set Show changed options

set all Show all options

set x? Show value of option x

Initialization	Description
EXINIT	Place sets here in environment variable
$HOME/.exrc	Editor initialization file
./.exrc	Editor initialization file
set x	Enable option x
set nox	Disable option x
set x=val	Give value *val* to option x
set	Show changed options
set all	Show all options
set x?	Show value of option x

Most useful options and their abbreviations

Option Abbreviation Description

autoindent ai Supply indent

autowrite aw Write before changing files

directory Pathname of directory for temporary work files

exrc ex Allow vi/ex to read the .exrc in the current directory; the file must be owned by the invoking user and writable only by the invoking user, or it is ignored. This option is set in the EXINIT shell variable or in the .exrc file in the $HOME directory

ignorecase ic Ignore case of letters in scanning

list Print ``^I'' for tab, $ at end

magic Treat ``. [ *'' special in patterns

modelines First five lines and last five lines executed as vi/ex commands if they are of the form ex:command: or vi:command:

number nu Number lines

paragraphs para Macro names that start paragraphs

redraw Simulate smart terminal

report Informs you if the number of lines modified by the last command is greater than the value of the report variable

scroll Command mode lines

sections sect Macro names that start sections

shiftwidth sw For < >, and input ^D

showmatch sm To ) and } as typed

showmode smd Show insert mode in vi

slowopen slow Stop updates during insert

window Visual mode lines

wrapmargin wm Automatic line splitting

wrapscan ws Search around end (or beginning) of buffer

Option	Abbreviation	Description
autoindent	ai	Supply indent
autowrite	aw	Write before changing files
directory		Pathname of directory for temporary work files
exrc	ex	Allow vi/ex to read the .exrc in the current directory; the file must be owned by the invoking user and writable only by the invoking user, or it is ignored. This option is set in the EXINIT shell variable or in the .exrc file in the $HOME directory
ignorecase	ic	Ignore case of letters in scanning
list		Print ``^I'' for tab, $ at end
magic		Treat ``. [ *'' special in patterns
modelines		First five lines and last five lines executed as vi/ex commands if they are of the form *ex:command*: or vi:command**:
number	nu	Number lines
paragraphs	para	Macro names that start paragraphs
redraw		Simulate smart terminal
report		Informs you if the number of lines modified by the last command is greater than the value of the report variable
scroll		Command mode lines
sections	sect	Macro names that start sections
shiftwidth	sw	For < >, and input ^D
showmatch	sm	To ) and } as typed
showmode	smd	Show insert mode in vi
slowopen	slow	Stop updates during insert
window		Visual mode lines
wrapmargin	wm	Automatic line splitting
wrapscan	ws	Search around end (or beginning) of buffer

Scanning pattern formation

Pattern Description

^ Beginning of line

$ End of line

. Any character

\< Beginning of word

\> End of word

[str] Any character in str

[^str] Any character not in str

[x-y] Any character between x and y

* Any number of preceding characters

Pattern	Description
^	Beginning of line
$	End of line
.	Any character
\<	Beginning of word
\>	End of word
[str]	Any character in *str*
[^str]	Any character not in *str*
[*x-y*]	Any character between x and y
*	Any number of preceding characters

Files

/usr/lib/exstrings: error messages
/usr/lib/exrecover: recover command
/usr/lib/expreserve: preserve command
/usr/share/lib/terminfo/*: describes capabilities of terminals
$HOME/.exrc: editor startup file
./.exrc: editor startup file
/tmp/Exnnnnn: editor temporary
/tmp/Rxnnnnn: named buffer temporary
/var/preserve/login: preservation directory
/usr/lib/locale/locale/LC_MESSAGES/uxed.abi: language-specific message file (See LANG on environ(5).)

References

crypt(1), ctags(1), ed(1), edit(1), grep(1), sed(1), sort(1), term(4), terminfo(4), vi(1)

Notices

Several options, although they continue to be supported, have been replaced in the documentation by options that follow the Command Syntax Standard (see intro(1)). The - option has been replaced by -s, a -r option that is not followed with an option-argument has been replaced by -L, and + command has been replaced by -c command.

The encryption options and commands are provided with the Encryption Utilities package, which is available only in the United States.

The z command prints the number of logical rather than physical lines. More than a screen full of output may result if long lines are present.

File input/output errors do not print a name if the command line -s option is used.

There is no easy way to do a single scan ignoring case.

The editor does not warn if text is placed in named buffers and not used before exiting the editor.

Null characters are discarded in input files and cannot appear in resultant files.

Author

vi and ex are based on software developed by The University of California, Berkeley California, Computer Science Division, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.