Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!caip!lll-crg!seismo!mcvax!ukc!stc!andrew From: andrew@stc.co.uk Newsgroups: net.text,net.unix Subject: Re: Use of ``vi'' for business office word-processing Message-ID: <1030@bute.tcom.stc.co.uk> Date: Sat, 27-Sep-86 08:16:27 EDT Article-I.D.: bute.1030 Posted: Sat Sep 27 08:16:27 1986 Date-Received: Wed, 1-Oct-86 05:48:56 EDT References: <1246@kitty.UUCP> <709@cbmvax.cbmvax.cbm.UUCP> <344@fai.UUCP> <7118@utzoo.UUCP> Reply-To: andrew@stc.UUCP (Andrew Macpherson) Organization: STC Telecoms, Harlow Technical Center, England CM20 2DE. Lines: 58 Xref: watmath net.text:1393 net.unix:9414 Summary: Who do you want to use it anyway? As someone else just said we all know what this is about anyway... A few years ago, when I was still subscribing to Byte rather than the net, there was an excellent editorial discussing the concept of "user friendly", the gist being that it was something that varies very much with time and experience. The start-up time with say LEX-11 is relatively low - the menu driven front end leads the new user by the hand into document composition, and there are those who use systems sufficiantly infrequently for this to be a good and acceptable approach to text generation. We have such users, and I will not attempt to "wean" them from it. On the other hand those users who will be on the system every day are introduced to vi immediatly, and LEX-111 only to look at the first group's documents "in the raw". For those who need to work every day with these things some sort of extremely high powered text editor is rather more what is required since, even if initially the hyperdrive features are not used or understood they will eventually be wanted. The user no matter how inexperienced initially will quickly come to recognise the result of the various operations, be they embedded formatter commands or editor built-ins. To start with everyone spends a lot of time consulting the quick reference card or pull down menus or whatever is appropriate for the system they are using, yes even *you* did --- remember the first time you used TECO or "ed"? As one gains in experience one no longer needs or wants the continual harrasment of the naive user's prompts, and so a system which supplies them must have a way of turning the darn things off. I used to think that Wordstar was GREAT, I could tell it to shut up unless it was obvious I was stuck, then I found out about nroff etc, and becam a fan of embedded command formatters. --- I think the point I'm trying to make is that if you know what you are doing, as any FULL TIME user very swiftly does, then the underlying system hardly matters, what is important is that it does not get in the way, nor require excessive effort to achieve one's required results To this degree I fully support the use of vi as a general editor --- the simple approach of explicitly laying out a one page memo is possible, yet in combination with a suitable post-processor (LaTeX, nroff -mm or simmilar relatively High level mark-up language which divorces the user from style decisions) it is suitable for preparing major documents. (as an aside I personally use qed for most purposes but do not recommend it to casual users. There are occasions when I need vi or emacs however, and I am happy to use all the tools at my disposal as and when there is need) In conclusion Nothing Is Ever Ideal for every user but if you were going to "bike" from SF to NY which would you prefer? a honda 50 or as big a harley davidson as you could pick up... The answer as always depends on your experience, and may well change on the journey --- as you are learning to ride the Honda 50 is a suitable machine, but in the end for long distance travel you want a bit more comfort. Just so with editors. -- Regards, Andrew Macpherson. {backbone}!ukc!stc!andrew