.Dd 2016-12-27
.Dt ED 1
.Os sbase
.Sh NAME
.Nm ed
.Nd text editor
.Sh SYNOPSIS
.Nm
.Op Fl s
.Op Fl p Ar string
.Op Ar file
.Sh DESCRIPTION
.Nm
is the standard text editor. It performs line-oriented operations on a buffer;
The buffer's contents are manipulated in command mode and text is written to the
buffer in input mode. Command mode is the default. To exit input mode enter a
dot ('.') on a line of its own.
.Pp
If
.Nm
is invoked with a file as an argument, it will simulate an edit command and read
the file's contents into a buffer. Changes to this buffer are local to
.Nm
until a write command is given.
.Pp
.Nm
uses the basic regular expression syntax and allows any character but space and
newline to be used as a delimiter in regular expressions.
.Sh OPTIONS
.Bl -tag -width Ds
.It Fl s
Suppress diagnostic messages
.It Fl p Ar string
Use
.Ar string
as a prompt when in command mode
.El
.Sh EXTENDED DESCRIPTION
.Ss Addresses
Commands operate on addresses. Addresses are used to refer to lines
within the buffer. Address ranges may have spaces before and after the separator.
Unless otherwise specified, 0 is an invalid address. The following symbols are
valid addresses:
.Bl -tag -width Ds
.It n
The nth line.
.It .
The current line, or "dot".
.It $
The last line.
.It +
The next line.
.It +n
The nth next line.
.It ^ or -
The previous line.
.It ^n or -n
The nth previous line.
.It x,y
The range of lines from x to y. The default value of x is 1, and the default
value of y is $.
.It x;y
As above, except that the current line is set to x. Omitting x in this case uses
the current line as the default value.
.It /re/
The next line matching re.
.It ?re?
The last line matching re.
.It 'c
The line marked by c. See k below.
.El
.Ss Commands.
.Nm
expects to see one command per line, with the following exception: commands may
be suffixed with either a list, number, or print command. These suffixed
commands are run after the command they're suffixed to has executed.
.Pp
The following is the list of commands that
.Nm
knows about. The parentheses contain the default addresses that a command uses.
.Bl -tag -width Ds
.It (.)a
Append text after the addressed line. The dot is set to the last line
entered. If no text was entered, the dot is set to the addressed line. An
address of 0 appends to the start of the buffer.
.It (.,.)c
Delete the addressed lines and then accept input to replace them. The dot
is set to the last line entered. If no text was entered, the dot is set to
the line before the deleted lines.
.It (.,.)d
Delete the addressed lines. If there is a line after the deleted range, the
dot is set to it. Otherwise, the dot is set to the line before the deleted range.
.It e Ar file
Delete the contents of the buffer and load in
.Ar file
for editing, printing the bytes read to standard output. If no filename is
given,
.Nm
uses the currently remembered filename. The remembered filename is set to
.Ar file
for later use.
.It E Ar file
As above, but without warning if the current buffer has unsaved changes.
.It f Ar file
Set the currently remembered filename to
.Ar
file
, or print the currently remembered filename if
.Ar
file is omitted.
.It (1,$)g/re/command
Apply command to lines matching re. The dot is set to the matching line before
command is executed. When each matching line has been operated on, the dot is
set to the last line operated on. If no lines match then the dot remains
unchanged. The command used may not be g, G, v, or V.
.It (1,$)G/re/
Interactively edit the range of line addresses that match re. The dot is set to
the matching line and printed before a command is input. When each matching line
has been operated on, the dot is set to the last line operated on. If no lines
match then the dot remains unchanged. The command used may not be a, c, i, g,
G, v, or V.
.It h
Print the reason for the most recent error.
.It H
Toggle error explanations. If on, the above behaviour is produced on all
subsequent errors.
.It (.)i
Insert text into the buffer before the addressed line. The dot is set to the
last line entered. If no text was entered, the dot is set to the addressed line
.It (.,.+1)j
Join two lines together. If only one address is given, nothing happens. The dot
is set to the newly joined line.
.It (.)kc
Mark the line with the lower case character c. The dot is unchanged.
.It (.,.)l
Unambiguously print the addressed lines. The dot is set to the last line written.
.It (.,.)m(.)
Move lines in the buffer to the line address on the right hand side. An address
of 0 on the right hand side moves to the start of the buffer. The dot is set to
the last line moved.
.It (.,.)n
Print the addressed lines and their numbers. The dot is set to the last line
printed.
.It (.,.)p
Print the addressed lines. The dot is set to the last line printed.
.It P
Toggle the prompt. Defaults to off, but is switched on if the -p flag is used.
.It q
Quit
.Nm
, warning if there are unsaved changes.
.It Q
As above, but without warning if the current buffer has unsaved changes.
.It ($)r Ar file
Read in
.Ar file
and append it to the current buffer, printing the bytes read to standard output.
The currently remembered filename isn't changed unless it's empty. An address of
0 reads the file into the start of the buffer.
.It (.,.)s/re/replacement/flags
Substitute re for replacement in lines matching re. An & within replacement is
replaced with the whole string matched by re. Backrefs can be used with the form
\\n, where n is a positive non-zero integer. When % is the only character in
replacement, it is substituted for the replacement string from the last
substitute command. If a newline is part of replacement then the matched string
is split into two lines; this cannot be done as part of a g or v command. If
flags contains an integer n, then the nth match is replaced. If flags contains
g, all matches are replaced. The dot is set to the last line matched.
.It (.,.)t(.)
As m, but copying instead of moving. The dot is set to the last line added.
.It u
Undo the last change. The dot is set to whatever it was before the undone
command was performed.
.It (1.$)v/re/command
As with g, but operating on lines that don't match re.
.It (1.$)V/re/
As with G, but operating on lines that don't match re.
.It (1,$)w Ar file
Write the addressed lines to
.Ar file
, overwriting its previous contents if the file exists, and print the number of
bytes written. If no filename is given the currently remembered filename will be
used instead. The dot is unchanged.
.It (1,$)W Ar file
As above, but instead of overwriting the contents of
.Ar file
the addressed lines are appended to
.Ar file
instead.
.It (.+1)\\n
Print the addressed line. Sets the dot to that line.
.It ($)=
Print the line number of the addressed line. The dot is unchanged.
.It &
Repeat the last command.
.It ! Ar command
Execute
.Ar command
using sh. If the first character of
.Ar command
is '!' then it is replaced with the text of the previous command. An unescaped %
is replaced with the currently remembered filename. ! does not process escape
characters. When
.Ar command
returns a '!' is printed. The dot is unchanged.
.El
.Sh SEE ALSO
.Xr sed 1 ,
.Xr regexp 3
.Sh STANDARDS
The
.Nm
utility is compliant with the
.St -p1003.1-2013
specification, except where noted here:
g and v operate on single commands rather than lists delimited with '\\'.
e, E, r, w, and W commands cannot accept shell escapes.