Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!rutgers!mtune!mtgzy!ecl
From: ecl@mtgzy.UUCP (Evelyn C. Leeper)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: Undocumented vi feature
Message-ID: <2628@mtgzy.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 22-Jun-87 15:00:46 EDT
Article-I.D.: mtgzy.2628
Posted: Mon Jun 22 15:00:46 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 23-Jun-87 04:53:00 EDT
References: <219@ausmelb.OZ> <756@custom.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T, Middletown NJ
Lines: 24
Keywords: vi/ex commands in a text file
Summary: WATCH OUT!

In article <756@custom.UUCP>, boykin@custom.UUCP (Joseph Boykin) writes:
> In article <219@ausmelb.OZ>, dak@ausmelb.OZ (David Kruger) writes:
> > [Regarding ex/vi commands in a text file]
>                      Essentially you put some magic anywhere
> within the first or last five lines of your file with
> EX commands in it.  The magic is either "ex:" or
> "vi:" followed by the command, followed by another colon.

The code is sloppy, so "ei:" or "vx:" will work also.

We added a user whose login ended in "ei" to our password file.  On one system,
we just got a weird error the next time we tried to edit the password file;
on the other, the encrypted password started with 'X', so vi dumped us into
encryption mode and encrypted the entire password file when we wrote it out!!!!
Argghh!!

My personal opinion is that since vi has no idea what the file it's editting
*should* look like, it not try to 'guess' (in effect) what are commands and
what is data.

					Evelyn C. Leeper
					(201) 957-2070
				UUCP:	ihnp4!mtgzy!ecl
				ARPA:	mtgzy!ecl@rutgers.rutgers.edu