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From: rlw@fafner.Philips.Com (Richard L. Wexelblat)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Oh boy! I guess it's time for the VI REFERENCE again...
Message-ID: <47042@philabs.Philips.Com>
Date: 15 Mar 89 15:10:20 GMT
References: <12406@dartvax.Dartmouth.EDU> <958@starfish.Convergent.COM> <2386@iscuva.ISCS.COM> <415@corpane.UUCP> <37287@think.UUCP> <2145@solo4.cs.vu.nl> <223@ai.cs.utexas.edu>
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Reply-To: rlw@fafner.UUCP (Richard L. Wexelblat)
Organization: Philips Laboratories, Briarcliff Manor, NY
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>>X:wq			| write the file and quit vi
> Use of this ex command should be avoided (at least in Sun version 3.7).
> The problem is that it attempts to write the buffer and, *regardless
> of the success or failure* of that operation, simply quits.
> So if you get a "disk full" error, chances are you will find that your
> file has been truncated to length zero.
>
> Since ":x" and "ZZ" are functionally equivalent, but do not exit if
> there is a write error, they should be used instead.

Actually, there is an obscure bug/feature in at least some versions of
vi that can create problems with ZZ.  Any :w sets the "file has been
saved"  bitso the sequence

:1,2:w foofle
ZZ

Will exit vi _without_ saving the file.
--Dick Wexelblat  rlw@philabs.philips.com
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