Re: [kwlug-disc] Weird but handy shell tricks (fwd)
I wrote this to the KW LUG mailing list:
From: CrankyOldBugger <crankyoldbugger@gmail.com>
Not sure who could benefit from this, but here's a site with some useful shell tricks:
https://blog.hofstede.it/shell-tricks-that-actually-make-life-easier-and-sav...
Yes, they are useful. Most are natural to an EMACS user (like me). Apparently "set -o vi" adjusts readline to respond to key sequences more familiar to vi users.
On Fri, Apr 17, 2026 at 11:22:14AM -0400, D. Hugh Redelmeier via Talk wrote:
Yes, they are useful.
Most are natural to an EMACS user (like me).
Apparently "set -o vi" adjusts readline to respond to key sequences more familiar to vi users.
I am a vim user, but I sure don't want my command line to work like vi. vim works great, is very powerful, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone that doesn't already know how to use vi. Why go through learning that? Of course I wouldn't recommend emacs to anyone either. -- Len Sorensen
From: Lennart Sorensen via Talk <talk@lists.gtalug.org>
I am a vim user, but I sure don't want my command line to work like vi. vim works great, is very powerful, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone that doesn't already know how to use vi. Why go through learning that? Of course I wouldn't recommend emacs to anyone either.
The main editor wars candidates (decades ago) were EMACS and vi. Many people opt for the simplicity of Nano (simple, with EMACS-style keystrokes). But those are for running on a terminal (including through SSH). What do you recommend these days? For running on a terminal? For running on a Linux desktop?
On Fri, Apr 17, 2026 at 03:05:17PM -0400, D. Hugh Redelmeier via Talk wrote:
The main editor wars candidates (decades ago) were EMACS and vi. Many people opt for the simplicity of Nano (simple, with EMACS-style keystrokes). But those are for running on a terminal (including through SSH).
What do you recommend these days? For running on a terminal? For running on a Linux desktop?
No idea. I use vim, but I can't imagine anyone would want to learn to use that. I can't imagine why anyone would want to put up with learning emacs either. I don't want to use nano because I know how to use vim features, but I can understand why it appeals to many people. -- Len Sorensen
On Fri, Apr 17, 2026 at 10:17:18PM -0400, William Park via Talk wrote:
Try it for a week. You'd be surprised. I use Vi-mode command line.
Like other things, I don't want to run non standard settings on common tools because it won't be set that way when I login to another system which I do all the time. No weird shell settings, no wierd editor settings. Leave everything stock. -- Len Sorensen
Yes, I also want standard, consistent, familiar environment when I login. So, first thing I do, is "set -o vi". Unless it's running barebone BusyBox or Ash variants, all shells that I encountered will honour "set -o vi". To revert, "set -o emacs". If I control the remote account, then I put "set -o vi" in ~/.profile, or copy over ~/.inputrc. On 2026-04-18 22:32, Lennart Sorensen wrote:
On Fri, Apr 17, 2026 at 10:17:18PM -0400, William Park via Talk wrote:
Try it for a week. You'd be surprised. I use Vi-mode command line.
Like other things, I don't want to run non standard settings on common tools because it won't be set that way when I login to another system which I do all the time.
No weird shell settings, no wierd editor settings. Leave everything stock.
participants (3)
-
D. Hugh Redelmeier -
Lennart Sorensen -
William Park