Xref: utzoo comp.sys.att:4493 comp.unix.questions:9756
Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!decwrl!labrea!rutgers!att!whuts!homxb!hropus!jgy
From: jgy@hropus.UUCP (John Young)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.att,comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: Editing binaries
Keywords: sysV
Message-ID: <320@hropus.UUCP>
Date: 14 Oct 88 15:32:16 GMT
References: <286@mccc.UUCP> <390@westmark.UUCP> <305@mccc.UUCP> <1162@mrspoc.UUCP> <2965@ci.sei.cmu.edu> <4596@mtgzz.att.com>
Organization: Bell Labs, Holmdel, NJ
Lines: 23

Adam Reed writes>
>
>In article <2965@ci.sei.cmu.edu>, pdb@sei.cmu.edu (Patrick Barron) writes:
>> Or, you could always use my favorite solution - just crank up emacs
>> (or whatever your favorite editor is, but not ed or ex/edit/vi, 'cause
>> they can't do this), and change it in the binary.
>
>BULLSHIT. I edit binary files with vi all the time. Just read them in with
>:r !od -c file
>and write them out, after editing, with
>:w !rod -c >file
>which is a piece of cake. So please don't tell me I can't do something just
>because YOU don't know how. Some of us use tools, you know.
>
>					Adam Reed (avr@mtgzz.ATT.COM)

So pdb's statement is correct, vi cannot edit a binary file.
All you do (most helpfully) is point out that one can convert binary
to ascii (though not with vi) and back again (though not with vi).

Watch your language.

John Young