ex - Edits lines in a file interactively, with screen display.
ex [-lRsv] [-c subcommand] [-w number] [-x] [+ [subcommand]]
[-v] [-] [file...]
ex [-lRsv] [-t tag] [-v] [-x] [file...]
ex [-r[file]] [-lRsv] [-v] [-x] [file]
Interfaces documented on this reference page conform to
industry standards as follows:
ex: XCU5.0
Refer to the standards(5) reference page for more information
about industry standards and associated tags.
Executes the specified ex subcommand (command) before
editing begins.
This subcommand may actually consist of several
commands separated by vertical line (|) characters.
Indents appropriately for LISP code, and accepts
the (, ), {, }, [, and ] characters (parentheses,
braces, and brackets) as text rather than interpreting
them as vi subcommands. The LISP modifier
is active in open or visual modes. Recovers file
after an editor or system crash. If you do not
specify file, a list of all saved files is displayed.
Sets the readonly option, preventing you
from altering the file. Does not display the file
name or the : prompt upon entering ex. (Silent
mode.) Loads the file that contains tag and positions
the editor at tag. To use this option, you
must first create a database of function names and
locations using the ctags command. Invokes the
visual editor. When the -v option is specified, an
enlarged set of subcommands is available, including
screen editing and cursor movement features. See
the vi(1) reference page. Sets the default window
size to number lines. [Tru64 UNIX] Prompts for an
encryption key, then unencrypts the file. If the
file specified is not encrypted or the incorrect
key is entered, garbled text is displayed. Suppresses
all interactive user feedback. If you use
this option, file input/output errors do not generate
an error message. Performs the ex subcommand
before editing begins. When subcommand is not
entered, a + (plus sign) sets the current line to
the bottom of the file. Normally ex sets the current
line to the last line of the file, or to some
specified tag or pattern.
This subcommand may actually consist of several
commands separated by vertical line (|) characters.
The file argument specifies the file or files to be
edited. If you supply more than one file, the ex editor
edits each file in the specified order.
The ex command is a line-oriented text editor that is a
subset of the vi screen editor.
[Tru64 UNIX] The ex editor is similar to ed, but is more
powerful, providing multiline displays and access to a
screen editing mode. You may prefer to call vi directly
to have environment variables set for screen editing.
Also edit, a limited subset of ex, is available for
novices or casual use.
[Tru64 UNIX] To determine how your terminal can perform
more efficiently, ex uses the terminal capability database
terminfo and the type of terminal you are using from the
TERM environment variable.
The ex editor has the following features: [Tru64
UNIX] The X subcommand encrypts a file. Ensure that you
remember the encryption key specified when using this subcommand
as there is no simple means of unencrypting the
file if the key is forgotten. Only the first six characters
of the key are significant. The z subcommand lets
you access windows of text, and you can scroll through
text by pressing <Ctrl-d> and <Ctrl-u> (visual (-v) mode
only). The undo subcommand allows you to reverse the last
subcommand, even if it is an undo subcommand. Thus, you
can switch back and forth between the latest change in the
edit file and the last prior file status and view the
effect of a subcommand without that effect being permanent.
Commands that affect the external environment cannot
be undone, however. The undo subcommand causes all
marks to be lost on lines changed and then restored if the
marked lines were changed. It does not clear the buffer
modified condition.
The ex command displays changed lines and indicates when
more than a few lines are affected by a subcommand. You
can: Retrieve your work (except changes that were in the
buffer) if the system or the editor crashes by reentering
the editor with the -r option and the file name. Edit a
sequence or group of files. You can use the next subcommand
to edit each file on the command line in turn, or to
specify a list of file names to edit (using the shell pattern
matching syntax). The wildcard character % (percent
sign) represents the name of the current edit file and can
be used to form file names. Copy and move text within a
file and between files (see the co, d, ya, and pu subcommands).
You use a group of buffers (that have the names
of the ASCII letter a to z) to move text. You can temporarily
place text in these buffers and copy or reinsert
it in a file, or you can carry it over to another file.
The buffers are cleared when you quit the editor. The
editor does not notify you if text is placed in a buffer
and not used before exiting the editor. Use patterns that
match words. A pattern can be a fixed character string or
a regular expression.
A regular expression is a string constructed of
special pattern-matching characters. Using a regular
expression to locate text in a file gives you
more flexibility than trying to locate a fixed
character string. For more information about regular
expressions, see grep.
Editing Modes [Toc] [Back]
When you start the ex editor, it is in command mode.
Enter ex subcommands at the : (colon) prompt. Pressing
<Esc> cancels a partial subcommand. Entered by a, i, and
c. In this state, you can enter text. Entry state ends
normally with a line that has only a (period) on it or
ends abruptly if you press the Interrupt key sequence.
Entered by vi, vi., vi-, or o. Each of the first three
commands gives you a full screen vi editor, but puts the
current line in a different place on entry. Enter vi to
put the current line at the top of the screen; enter vi.
to put the current line in the middle of the screen; and
enter vi- to put the current line at the bottom of the
screen.
The o command opens a one-line window. All three
commands share the input state of the vi editor.
Press <Esc> to exit text entry mode. To return to
the ex command state at the current line, enter Q
while in command mode.
Limits of ex [Toc] [Back]
The ex editor has the following maximum limits: [Tru64
UNIX] 2048 bytes per line [Tru64 UNIX] 256 bytes per
global command list [Tru64 UNIX] 128 bytes in the previous
inserted and deleted text [Tru64 UNIX] 128 bytes in a
shell escape command [Tru64 UNIX] 128 bytes in a stringvalued
option [Tru64 UNIX] 100 bytes in a tag name [Tru64
UNIX] 128 map macros with 2048 bytes total
Subcommands [Toc] [Back]
The ex subcommands affect the current line unless you
specify otherwise. For information about how to address
lines in a file, see edit and vi. For a complete description
of edit options, see Setting Options on the vi(1)
reference page.
You can use optional modifiers with some of the subcommands
specified in this section. Any or all modifiers
specified by each subcommand can be used or omitted. Following
is a description of the optional modifiers: Specifies
a single address; the default is the current line.
Specifies a line or pair of line addresses separated by a
comma (,) or semicolon (;). The default for range is the
current line only (.,.). A percent sign (%) denotes the
range (1,$). If the starting address of the range specified
exceeds the ending address, the range is invalid and
the command is not performed. If more than the expected
number of addresses are provided in a range, the greatest
valid number of the last ones provided are used. For
example, 1, 3, 5p prints lines 3 to 5 inclusive (because
two is the greatest valid number in the range accepted by
print. Specifies a positive integer that determines the
number of lines affected by the command. The default is
1. Adds numbers to the list-format output where flag is
character #, p, or l. The use of flags applies to all
lines written by the list, number, open, print, substitute,
visual, &, and z commands. For all other commands,
it applies to the current line at the completion of the
command. Also, any number or + or - characters cannot be
specified after flags. This causes the line written not
to be affected by the command, but rather affects the line
addressed by the offset as described above. The default
is null. Specifies one of a number of named areas for
saved text. The named buffers are specified by the lowercase
letters of the POSIX locale. Specifying the buffer
optional modifier causes the area of text affected by the
command to be stored into the buffer as it was before the
command took effect. This argument is also used with the
put command and the visual mode put commands (p and P) to
specify the buffer that provides the text to insert.
If the buffer name is specified in uppercase, and
the buffer is to be modified (using a deletion or
yanking command), the buffer is appended to rather
than being overwritten. If the buffer is not to be
modified (as in a visual mode put command), the
buffer name can be specified in lowercase or uppercase
with the same results. There is also one
unnamed buffer which is the repository for all text
deleted (with the delete or visual mode d command),
or yanked (with the yank or visual mode y command)
when a buffer is not specified.
Following is the list of valid subcommands: Adds the specified
abbreviation to the current abbreviation list.
Enters input mode and places text after the specified
line. To place the text at the beginning of the buffer,
specify line 0. The ! (exclamation point) toggles the
autoindent editor option setting for the execution of this
subcommand. Writes the argument list (the list of arguments
on startup) with the current argument inside [ and ]
(left and right brackets). The argument list can later be
replaced by the arguments of the next subcommand. Enters
input mode and replaces the lines in range with the input
text. The current line is the last line input. The !
(exclamation point), toggles the autoindent editor option
setting for the execution of this subcommand. Changes the
current working directory to directory. If the current
buffer has been modified since the last write, the subcommand
issues a warning and fails. You can override this
warning by appending an ! (exclamation point) to the subcommand
name. Places a copy of the lines in range after
the specified line. Line 0 causes the lines to be placed
at the beginning of the buffer. Deletes the specified
lines from the buffer. If you specify a named buffer, the
deleted text is placed there; otherwise, the deleted text
is placed in the unnamed buffer. The current line is the
line following the deleted lines, or the last line if the
deleted lines were at the end. Edits file. If the current
buffer has been modified since the last write, the
subcommand writes a warning and terminates. You can override
this action by appending an ! (exclamation point)
character to the subcommand (for example, e!file).
If the +line argument is specified, the current
line is the specified position, where line can be a
number (or $) or can be specified as /pattern or
?pattern. Preceding the pattern with a / (slash)
starts a search from the beginning of the file.
Preceding the pattern with a ? (question mark)
starts a search from the end of the file. This
subcommand is affected by the autowrite and
writeany editor options. Writes the current path
name, the number of lines, and the current position
(if no file argument was specified). If file is
specified, ex changes the current file name to file
without changing the contents of the buffer or the
previous current file. Marks the lines within the
given range that match (g) or do not match (v) the
given pattern. Then executes the ex subcommands
with the current line set to each marked line.
You can specify multiple subcommands, one per line,
by escaping each newline character with a \ (backslash).
If the subcommands argument is not specified,
each line is written. For the append,
change, and insert subcommands, the input text is
included as part of the global subcommand; in this
case, you can omit the terminating period if it
ends subcommands. The visual subcommand can be
specified as part of subcommands. In this mode,
input is taken from the terminal. Entering a Q
from visual mode selects the next line matching the
pattern and reenters visual mode, until the list is
exhausted.
You cannot use the global subcommand and the undo
subcommand in the subcommands argument. The autoprint,
autoindent, and report editor options are
inhibited for the duration of the g or v subcommand.
Enters input mode and places the input text
before the specified line. The ! (exclamation
point) toggles the autoindent editor option setting
for the execution of this subcommand. Joins the
text from the specified lines together into one
line. In the POSIX locale, when the last character
on the first line of a pair of lines to be joined
is a (period), two spaces are added following the
period; when the last character of the first line
is a space or when the first character on the second
line of the pair is a ) (right parenthesis), no
spaces are added; otherwise, one space is added
following the last character of the first line.
Extra spaces at the start of a line are discarded.
Appending an ! (exclamation point) character to
the join subcommand causes a simpler join with no
whitespace processing, independent of the current
locale. Writes the addressed lines; nonprintable
characters are written as multicharacter sequences.
The end of the line is marked with a $ (dollar
sign).
Long lines are folded. The current line is the
last line written. Defines macros for use in
visual mode. The first argument must be a single
character or the sequence #digit (one of the terminal's
numbered function keys). When this character
or function key is entered in visual mode, the
action is as if the corresponding rhs had been
entered. If the ! (exclamation point) character
is appended to the subcommand name map, the mapping
is effective during input mode rather than command
mode. This allows x to have two different macro
definitions at the same time: one for command mode
and one for input mode. Nonprintable characters,
except for the Tab character, require escaping with
<Ctrl-V> (or <Ctrl-Q>) to be entered in the arguments.
On certain block mode terminals, the mapping
need not occur immediately (for example, it
might occur after the terminal transmits a group of
characters to the system), but it modifies the file
as if it occurred immediately.
The map subcommand with no arguments writes all of
the macros currently defined. If an ! (exclamation
point) is appended to the subcommand, only the
macros effective during input mode are written;
otherwise, only the macros effective during command
mode are written. Gives the specified line the
specified mark x, which must be a single lowercase
letter of the POSIX locale. The current line position
is not affected. The expression 'x can then
be used as an address in any subcommand requiring
one. For example, the following subcommand deletes
all of the lines from the current one to the marked
line: .,'xd
In addition, see the vi `` and '' subcommands for
uses of the mark in visual mode. If the 'x subcommand
is used in nonvisual mode, the character
marked is the first nonspace character of the current
line; otherwise, the character marked is the
character at the current column of the current
line. Moves the specified lines (range) after the
target line (line). The current line is the first
of the moved lines. Edits the next file from the
argument list. If the current buffer has been modified
since the last write, the subcommand writes a
warning and terminates. You can override this
action by appending the ! (exclamation point)
character to the subcommand name (n!). You can
replace the argument list by specifying a new one
as arguments to this subcommand. Editing then
starts with the first file on this new list. The
current line is reset as described for the edit
subcommand. This subcommand is affected by the
autowrite and writeany editor options. Writes the
selected lines, each preceded with its line number
in decimal. Nonprintable characters, except for
<Tab>, are expanded as specified by the print subcommand.
The only meaningful flag is l, which allows additional
expanded writing of tabs and End-of-Line
characters by the list subcommand. The current
line is the last line written. Enters open mode,
which is equivalent to visual mode with a one-line
window. All visual mode subcommands are available.
If a match is found for the optional regular
expression in line, the cursor is placed at the
start of the matching pattern. The visual mode
subcommand Q (see vi) exits open mode. Saves the
current buffer in a form that can later be recovered
by using ex -r or by using the recover subcommand.
After the file has been preserved, a mail
message is sent to the user. The message contains
the name of the file, the time of preservation, and
an ex subcommand for recovering the file. Additional
information can be included in the mail message.
Writes the addressed lines. Nonprintable
characters, except for the Tab character, are written
as multicharacter sequences. Long lines are
folded. The only meaningful flags are # and l.
The current line is the last line written. Puts
back deleted or yanked lines after the specified
line. A buffer can be specified; otherwise, the
text in the unnamed buffer (where deleted or yanked
text is placed by default) is restored. The
current line is the first line put back. Terminates
the editing session. If the current buffer
has been modified since the last write, the subcommand
writes a warning and terminates. You can
override this warning and force an exit, discarding
changes, by appending the character ! to the subcommand
name. Places a copy of the specified file
in the current buffer after the target line (line 0
places text at the beginning). If no file is
named, the current file is the default. If there
is no current file, the specified file becomes the
current file. If there is neither current file nor
file argument, the subcommand fails.
The current line is the last line read. In visual
mode, the current line is the first line read. If
file is preceded by !, file is taken to be an operating
system command and passed to the program
named in the SHELL environment variable. The
resulting output is read in to the buffer. You can
override the special meaning of ! by escaping it
with a \ (backslash) character. Attempts to
recover file if it was saved as the result of a
preserve subcommand, the receipt of a signal, or a
system or editor crash. The current line is reset
as described for the read subcommand. Rewinds the
argument list; that is, sets the current file to
the first file in the argument list. This is
equivalent to a next subcommand with the current
argument list as its argument. If the current
buffer has been modified since the last write, the
subcommand writes a warning and terminates. You
can override the action by appending the ! (exclamation
point) character to the subcommand name
(rew!). The current line is reset as described for
the read editor subcommand. This subcommand is
affected by the autowrite and writeany editor
options. When no arguments are specified, writes
those options whose values have been changed from
the default settings; when the argument all is
specified, writes all of the option values.
Specifying an option name followed by the ? character
causes the current value of that option to be
written. The ? can be separated from the option
name by zero or more spaces. The ? is necessary
only for Boolean valued options. Boolean options
can be given values by the form se option to turn
them on or se nooption to turn them off; string and
numeric options can be assigned by the form se
option=value. Spaces in strings can be included as
they are by preceding each such character with a \
(backslash). More than one option can be set or
listed by a single set subcommand by specifying
multiple arguments, each separated from the next by
one or more spaces. Invokes the program named in
the SHELL environment variable with the argument -i
(interactive mode). You can resume editing when the
program exits. Reads and executes subcommands from
the file specified by the mandatory file argument.
Such source subcommands can be nested. Replaces
the first instance of pattern by the string repl on
each specified line. If the /pattern/repl/ argument
is not present, the /pattern/repl/ from the
previous substitute subcommand is used.
If options includes the letter g (global), all
nonoverlapping instances of the pattern in the line
are substituted. If the option letter c (confirm)
is included, then before each substitution the line
is written with ^ characters written on the following
line, adjacent to and identifying the pattern
to be replaced; an affirmative response causes the
substitution to be done, while any other input
causes it to abort. An affirmative response consists
of a line with the affirmative response (as
defined by the current locale) at the beginning of
the line. Such a line is subject to editing in the
same way as the command line (the / or : line at
the bottom of the screen).
The current line is the last line substituted.
When the c option is used, typing the Interrupt
character or receiving the SIGINT signal stops the
substitute operation, and ex returns to command
mode. All substitutions completed before the
interrupt occurred are retained and none are made
after that point. The current line is the last line
substituted.
This subcommand is affected by the LC_MESSAGES
environment variable and the wrapscan option.
Allows control to return to the invoking process;
ex suspends itself as if it had received the SIGTSTP
signal. The suspension occurs only if job control
is enabled in the invoking shell.
Following either suspend or stop with the character
! affects the operation of the autowrite editor
option for this subcommand only.
The current suspend character (see stty) also
causes the suspension. Searches for the tag
string, which can be in a different file. If the
tag is in a different file, the new file is opened
for editing. If the current buffer has been modified
since the last write, the subcommand writes a
warning and terminates. You can override the
action by appending the ! character to the subcommand
name. The current line is reset to the line
indicated by the tag. This subcommand is affected
by the autowrite, tags, and writeany editor
options.
The tag subcommand searches for tagstring in the
tag file referred to by the tags editor option
until a reference to tagstring is found. The file
pointed to by this reference is loaded into the
buffer, and the current line is set to the first
occurrence of the pattern specified in the tags
file associated with the supplied tagstring. If
the tags file contained a line number reference,
the current line is set to that line. If the pattern
or line number is not found, the subcommand
writes an error message. If a file referred to by
the tags editor option does not exist or is not
readable, the subcommand also writes an error message.
Deletes word from the list of abbreviations,
as described by the abbrev subcommand. Reverses
the changes made by the previous editing subcommand
(one that changes the contents of the buffer). For
this purpose, global and visual are considered
single subcommands. An undo can be reversed. Commands
that affect the external environment, such as
write, edit, and next cannot be undone. If no !
(exclamation point) is specified, removes the command-mode
macro definition for x; otherwise,
removes the input-mode macro definition for x. See
the map subcommand. Enters visual mode with the
current line set to line. The type argument is
optional, and can be a - (minus sign), (period), +
(plus sign), or ^ (circumflex), as in the z subcommand,
to specify the position of the specified line
on the screen window. (The default is to place the
line at the top of the screen window.) The count
argument specifies the number of lines that are
initially written; the default is the value of the
window editor option. The Q subcommand exits
visual mode. (For more information about the Q
subcommand, see the vi(1) reference page.) Writes
the specified lines (the whole buffer, if range is
not specified) out to the file represented by path
name file, writing to standard output the number of
lines and bytes written.
If file is specified and is not the current file,
and the file named by file exists, then the write
fails. If the current file has been changed by the
file subcommand and that file exists, the write
fails. In either case, you can force the write by
appending the ! (exclamation point) character to
the subcommand name. You can append to an existing
file by appending >> to the subcommand name.
If the file argument is preceded by an ! (exclamation
point) character, the program named in the
SHELL environment variable is invoked with file as
its second argument, and the specified lines are
passed as standard input to the subcommand. The !
in this usage must be separated from the write subcommand
by at least one space character. You can
override the special meaning of ! by escaping it
with a \ (backslash) character. This subcommand is
affected by the writeany and readonly editor
options.
The subcommand wq is equivalent to a w followed by
a q; wq! is equivalent to w! followed by q. If
the current buffer has no path name associated with
it, the write subcommand fails. Performs a write
subcommand if any changes have been made to the
current buffer since the last write to any file.
Unless the subcommand fails because an attempt to
write lines to a file did not succeed, the ex program
exits after an x subcommand. This subcommand
is affected by the writeany and readonly editor
options. [Tru64 UNIX] Prompts you to enter an
encryption key. Only the first six characters of
this key are significant. When the ex command
writes a file after the encryption key is specified,
the output is written in encrypted form.
Subsequent edits of the file require the use of the
-x option to display the file in its unencrypted
form. Places the specified lines in the named
buffer. If no buffer is specified, the unnamed
buffer is used (where the most recently deleted or
yanked text is placed by default). If type is
omitted, count lines following the specified line
are written. The default for count is the value of
the window editor option. The type argument
changes the position where line is written on the
screen by affecting the number of lines written
before and after line.
If type is specified, it is one of the following:
Places line at the bottom of the screen. Places
line at the top of the screen. Places line in the
middle. Writes out count lines starting count*2
lines before the addressed line; the net effect of
this is that a z^ subcommand following another z
subcommand writes the previous page. Centers the
addressed line on the screen with a line of -
(dash) characters written immediately before and
after it. The number of preceding and following
lines of text written are reduced to account for
these lines of hyphens.
In all cases, the current line is the last line
written, with the exception of the = type, which
causes the current line to be that addressed in the
subcommand. Passes the remainder of the line after
the ! (exclamation point) character to the program
named in the SHELL environment variable for execution.
A warning is issued if the buffer has been
changed since the last write. A single ! character
is written when the subcommand completes. The
current line position is not affected.
Within the text of subcommand, % (percent sign) and
# (number sign) are expanded as path names (the
current and alternative path names, respectively),
and ! is replaced with the text of the previous !
subcommand. (Thus, !! repeats the previous !
subcommand.) If any such expansion is performed,
the expanded line is echoed.
You can override the special meanings of %, #, and
! by escaping them with a \ (backslash) character.
This subcommand is affected by the autowrite and
writeany editor options.
In the second form of the ! subcommand, the
remainder of the line after the ! is passed to the
program named in the SHELL environment variable, as
described previously. The specified lines are provided
to the program as standard input; the resulting
output replaces the specified lines. Shifts
the specified lines to the left; the number of
character positions to be shifted is determined by
the shiftwidth editor option. Only leading spaces
are lost in shifting; other characters are not
affected. The current line is the last line
changed. Shifts the specified lines to the right,
by inserting spaces, using tabs where possible, as
determined by the shiftwidth editor option. Empty
lines are not changed. The current line is the
last line changed. Repeats the previous substitute
subcommand, as if (&) were replaced by the previous
s/pattern/repl/ subcommand. (The same effect can
be obtained by omitting the /pattern/repl/ string
in the substitute subcommand.) The version of the
subcommand using ~ (tilde) is the same as & and s,
but the pattern used is the last regular expression
used in any subcommand, not necessarily the one
used in the last substitute subcommand. For example,
in the following sequence, the ~ (tilde) is
equivalent to s/green/blue/:
s/red/blue/ /green ~ Writes the line number of the
specified line (the default is the last line). The
current line position is not affected. Writes the
next n lines, where n is the value of the editor
option scroll. The subcommand is invoked with the
End-of-File character. The current line is the
last line written. Executes each line of the named
buffer as an ex subcommand. If no buffer is specified,
or is specified as @ or *, the last buffer
executed is used. If there is no last buffer, an
error occurs. Displays addressed lines with line
numbers Starts comment Displays next line
Subcommand Addresses [Toc] [Back]
The last line The next line The previous line The nth line
forward The nth previous line The first through last lines
Line number The current line The numberth line before line
x Lines x through y The line marked with m The previous
context The next line with pattern at end of line The next
line with pattern at start of line The next line with pattern
The previous line with pattern
Scanning Pattern Formation [Toc] [Back]
The beginning of the line The end of the line Any character
The beginning of the word The end of the word Any
character in string Any character not in string Any character
between x and y, inclusive Any number of the preceding
character The replacement part of the last substitute
subcommand. A regular expression pattern can be enclosed
in escaped parentheses to identify them for substitution
actions.
Startup Files [Toc] [Back]
When you customize ex from the ex command line, the customized
editor is in effect until you exit the editor. If
you want to reuse such things as option settings and key
mappings, you must put them in the file in your home
directory or define the EXINIT environment variable. The
ex editor processes the commands given in the EXINIT variable
or reads the file each time you invoke it. Here is an
example of an file:
set ai aw set wm=5
Users with both an file and an EXINIT environment variable
will find that the ex editor no longer reads the file.
This change was made to meet the specifications of XPG4.
The standard provides for an approximation of the old
behavior. A new variable, named exrc, is defined. When
this variable is set by the commands in the EXINIT environment
variable, the editor reads in the current directory
for additional startup commands. For example:
setenv EXINIT 'set ai terse magic bf wm=1 exrc'
Additionally, the editor refuses to read the file if its
mode grants write permission to anyone other than the
owner; this restriction prevents certain security
breaches. No overt indication is given when such a refusal
occurs.
The following exit values are returned: Successful completion.
An error occurred.
The following actions are taken upon receipt of signals:
When an interrupt occurs, ex alerts the terminal and
writes a message. The current editor command is aborted
and ex returns to the command level and prompts for
another command. If the standard input is not a terminal
device, ex exits at the interrupt and returns a non-zero
exit status. (The alerting action can be modified by the
use of the errorbells editor option.) The screen is
refreshed if in visual mode. If the current buffer has
changed since the last e or w command, ex attempts to save
the current file in a state such that it can be recovered
later by an ex -r or vi -r command.
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES [Toc] [Back] The following environment variables affect the execution
of ex: Overrides the system-selected horizontal screen
size. Determines a list of ex commands to be executed at
startup before the first file is read. The list can
include multiple commands separated by a vertical line (|)
character. Determines the path name of a directory
searched at startup for a file named Provides a default
value for the internationalization variables that are
unset or null. If LANG is unset or null, the corresponding
value from the default locale is used. If any of the
internationalization variables contain an invalid setting,
the utility behaves as if none of the variables had been
defined. If set to a non-empty string value, overrides
the values of all the other internationalization variables.
Determines the locale for the behavior of ranges,
equivalence classes, and multicharacter collating elements
within regular expressions. Determines the locale for the
interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data as characters
(for example, single-byte as opposed to multibyte
characters in arguments and input files), the behavior of
character classes within regular expressions, the classification
of characters as upper- or lower-case letters,
the case conversion of letters, and the detection of word
boundaries. Overrides the system-selected vertical screen
size, used as the number of lines in a screenful and the
vertical screen size in visual mode. Determines the
locale for the format and contents of diagnostic messages
written to standard error. Determines the location of
message catalogues for the processing of LC_MESSAGES.
Determines the search path for the shell command specified
in the editor commands shell, read and write and the
visual-mode command !. Determines the preferred command
line interpreter for use in !, shell, read and other commands
with an operand of the form !string. For the shell
command the program will be invoked with the single argument
-i, for all others it will be invoked with the two
arguments -c and string. If this variable is null or not
set, the sh command will be used. Determines the name of
the terminal type. If this variable is unset or null, a
default terminal type that provides most capabilities is
used.
recover subcommand preserve subcommand Terminal information
database Editor startup file Editor temporary file
Names buffer temporary file Preservation directory
Commands: ctags(1), edit(1), ed(1), grep(1), sed(1),
stty(1), vi(1)
Files: terminfo(4)
Environment: environ(5)
Standards: standards(5)
ex(1)
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