From: fisher@inls1.ucsd.edu (Yuval Fisher)
Newsgroups: comp.editors
Subject: Vi/Ex:  command line editor? - Yes!
Date: 16 Sep 92 17:14:48 GMT
Organization: Institute for Nonlinear Science
Lines: 54

Quite some time ago  ian@unipalm.uucp (Ian Phillipps) wrote
about a handy way to set up a csh command line editor using vi.
I have been using it faithfully, until my vi changed from 
"Version 3.7, 6/7/85." to "Version SVR3.1". Now, things are screwy
and it basically doesn't work. Does anyone know how to fix this 
problem (other than switch away from csh or change vi) ? Incidentally, 
I consider this command line editor thingy to be the best thing since, 
say, money subplanted bartering ? 

I include Ian's posting below, since it is short:

The following works with the C-shell. It was posted about two years ago
on Usenet, and the poster then said that its origin was lost in the
mists of time. Here goes:

You need an alias in your normal setup, thuswise:

    alias r source ~/cmd/redo

Type "r" and you'll be in "vi" open mode, editing the last command. You can
use any vi/ex commands (even go into visual mode): when you hit Return, the
current line will be executed by the C shell.

The "redo" file is as follows. **IMPORTANT NOTE** To avoid mangling in
the posting, I've replaced a Carriage Return with "^M" and an ESC with "^["
in ex's "map" command:

----cut here and replace control characters---
# Edit history list at line containing last command (open mode).
# Get up to 22 most recent commands.
# To work properly, put in .login:  alias r source /usr/local/bin/redo
# Author unknown.
history -h 22 >! /tmp/redo.$$

# Make CR map to :wq! and start ex quietly at 2nd to last line in open mode.
ex - '+map ^M :.wq\!^[|set redraw|$-1 open' /tmp/redo.$$

# Insert into history without executing.
source -h /tmp/redo.$$

# Clear out temporaries.
/bin/rm -f /tmp/redo.$$

# If thing chosen to redo is the redo alias itself then DON'T redo it.
if (!-2:0 != !!:0) !!
----cut here----


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Yuval Fisher                                 e-mail: yfisher@ucsd.edu
Institute for Non-Linear Science 0402                               
University of California, San Diego                                  
La Jolla, CA 92093                                                  
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