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From: gwyn@brl-smoke.ARPA (Doug Gwyn )
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: Undocumented vi feature
Message-ID: <6017@brl-smoke.ARPA>
Date: Tue, 23-Jun-87 14:53:56 EDT
Article-I.D.: brl-smok.6017
Posted: Tue Jun 23 14:53:56 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 26-Jun-87 05:47:53 EDT
References: <219@ausmelb.OZ> <756@custom.UUCP> <2628@mtgzy.UUCP>
Reply-To: gwyn@brl.arpa (Doug Gwyn (VLD/VMB) <gwyn>)
Organization: Ballistic Research Lab (BRL), APG, MD.
Lines: 10
Keywords: vi/ex commands in a text file

In article <2628@mtgzy.UUCP> ecl@mtgzy.UUCP (Evelyn C. Leeper) writes:
-We added a user whose login ended in "ei" to our password file.

This has happened at several sites.

-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.

Exactly right.  A general text editor should be able to edit GENERAL text.