ED(1)                      OpenBSD Reference Manual                      ED(1)

NAME
     ed - text editor

SYNOPSIS
     ed [-] [-sx] [-p string] [file]

DESCRIPTION
     ed is a line-oriented text editor.  It is used to create, display, modi-
     fy, and otherwise manipulate text files.  If invoked with a file argu-
     ment, then a copy of file is read into the editor's buffer.  Changes are
     made to this copy and not directly to file itself.  Upon quitting ed, any
     changes not explicitly saved with a w command are lost.

     Editing is done in two distinct modes: command and input.  When first in-
     voked, ed is in command mode.  In this mode, commands are read from the
     standard input and executed to manipulate the contents of the editor
     buffer.

     A typical command might look like:

           ,s/old/new/g

     which replaces all occurrences of the string "old" with "new".

     When an input command, such as a (append), i (insert), or c (change) is
     given, ed enters input mode.  This is the primary means of adding text to
     a file.  In this mode, no commands are available; instead, the standard
     input is written directly to the editor buffer.  Lines consist of text up
     to and including a newline character.  Input mode is terminated by enter-
     ing a single period (`.') on a line.

     All ed commands operate on whole lines or ranges of lines; e.g., the d
     command deletes lines; the m command moves lines, and so on.  It is pos-
     sible to modify only a portion of a line by means of replacement, as in
     the example above.  However, even here, the s command is applied to whole
     lines at a time.

     In general, ed commands consist of zero or more line addresses, followed
     by a single character command and possibly additional parameters; i.e.,
     commands have the structure:

           [address [,address]]command[parameters]

     The address(es) indicate the line or range of lines to be affected by the
     command.  If fewer addresses are given than the command accepts, then de-
     fault addresses are supplied.

     Many ed commands and line addresses support basic regular expressions
     (BREs).  See re_format(7) for more information on regular expressions.

     The options are as follows:

     -          Same as the -s option (deprecated).

     -p string  Specifies a command prompt.  This may be toggled on and off
                with the P command.

     -s         Suppress diagnostics.  This should be used if ed standard in-
                put is from a script.

     -x         Prompt for an encryption key to be used in subsequent reads
                and writes (see the x command).

     file       Specifies the name of a file to read.  If file is prefixed
                with a bang (`!'), then it is interpreted as a shell command.
                In this case, what is read is the standard output of file exe-
                cuted via sh(1).  To read a file whose name begins with a
                bang, prefix the name with a backslash (`\').  The default
                filename is set to file only if it is not prefixed with a
                bang.

   LINE ADDRESSING
     An address represents the number of a line in the buffer.  ed maintains a
     current address which is typically supplied to commands as the default
     address when none is specified.  When a file is first read, the current
     address is set to the last line of the file.  In general, the current ad-
     dress is set to the last line affected by a command.

     A line address is constructed from one of the bases in the list below,
     optionally followed by a numeric offset.  The offset may include any com-
     bination of digits, operators (e.g., `+', `-', and `^'), and whitespace.
     Addresses are read from left to right, and their values are computed rel-
     ative to the current address.

     One exception to the rule that addresses represent line numbers is the
     address 0 (zero).  This means ``before the first line'', and is legal
     wherever it makes sense.

     An address range is two addresses separated either by a comma or semi-
     colon.  The value of the first address in a range cannot exceed the value
     of the second.  If only one address is given in a range, then the second
     address is set to the given address.  If an n-tuple of addresses is given
     where n > 2, then the corresponding range is determined by the last two
     addresses in the n-tuple.  If only one address is expected, then the last
     address is used.

     Each address in a comma-delimited range is interpreted relative to the
     current address.  In a semi-colon-delimited range, the first address is
     used to set the current address, and the second address is interpreted
     relative to the first.

     The following address symbols are recognized:

     .       The current line (address) in the buffer.

     $       The last line in the buffer.

     n       The nth line in the buffer, where n is a number in the range
             [0,$].

     - or ^  The previous line.  This is equivalent to -1 and may be repeated
             with cumulative effect.

     -n or ^n
             The nth previous line, where n is a non-negative number.

     +       The next line.  This is equivalent to +1 and may be repeated with
             cumulative effect.

     +n      The nth next line, where n is a non-negative number.

     , or %  The first through last lines in the buffer.  This is equivalent
             to the address range 1,$.

     ;       The current through last lines in the buffer.  This is equivalent
             to the address range .,$.

     /re/    The next line containing the regular expression re.  The search
             wraps to the beginning of the buffer and continues down to the
             current line, if necessary.  "//" repeats the last search.

     ?re?    The previous line containing the regular expression re.  The
             search wraps to the end of the buffer and continues up to the
             current line, if necessary.  "??" repeats the last search.

     'lc     The line previously marked by a k (mark) command, where lc is a
             lower case letter.

   COMMANDS
     All ed commands are single characters, though some require additional pa-
     rameters.  If a command's parameters extend over several lines, then each
     line except for the last must be terminated with a backslash (`\').

     In general, at most one command is allowed per line.  However, most com-
     mands accept a print suffix, which is any of p (print), l (list), or n
     (enumerate), to print the last line affected by the command.

     An interrupt (typically ^C) has the effect of aborting the current com-
     mand and returning the editor to command mode.

     ed recognizes the following commands.  The commands are shown together
     with the default address or address range supplied if none is specified
     (in parentheses), and other possible arguments on the right.

     (.)a  Appends text to the buffer after the addressed line.  Text is en-
           tered in input mode.  The current address is set to last line en-
           tered.

     (.,.)c
           Changes lines in the buffer.  The addressed lines are deleted from
           the buffer, and text is appended in their place.  Text is entered
           in input mode.  The current address is set to last line entered.

     (.,.)d
           Deletes the addressed lines from the buffer.  If there is a line
           after the deleted range, then the current address is set to this
           line.  Otherwise the current address is set to the line before the
           deleted range.

     e file
           Edits file, and sets the default filename.  If file is not speci-
           fied, then the default filename is used.  Any lines in the buffer
           are deleted before the new file is read.  The current address is
           set to the last line read.

     e !command
           Edits the standard output of !command, (see !command below).  The
           default filename is unchanged.  Any lines in the buffer are deleted
           before the output of command is read.  The current address is set
           to the last line read.

     E file
           Edits file unconditionally.  This is similar to the e command, ex-
           cept that unwritten changes are discarded without warning.  The
           current address is set to the last line read.

     f file
           Sets the default filename to file.  If file is not specified, then
           the default unescaped filename is printed.

     (1,$)g/re/command-list
           Applies command-list to each of the addressed lines matching a reg-
           ular expression re.  The current address is set to the line cur-
           rently matched before command-list is executed.  At the end of the
           g command, the current address is set to the last line affected by
           command-list.  If no lines were matched, the current line number
           remains unchanged.

           Each command in command-list must be on a separate line, and every
           line except for the last must be terminated by a backslash (`\').
           Any commands are allowed, except for g, G, v, and V.  A newline
           alone in command-list is equivalent to a p command.

     (1,$)G/re/
           Interactively edits the addressed lines matching a regular expres-
           sion re.  For each matching line, the line is printed, the current
           address is set, and the user is prompted to enter a command-list.
           At the end of the G command, the current address is set to the last
           line affected by (the last) command-list.  If no lines were
           matched, the current line number remains unchanged.

           The format of command-list is the same as that of the g command.  A
           newline alone acts as a null command list.  A single `&' repeats
           the last non-null command list.

     H     Toggles the printing of error explanations.  By default, explana-
           tions are not printed.  It is recommended that ed scripts begin
           with this command to aid in debugging.

     h     Prints an explanation of the last error.

     (.)i  Inserts text in the buffer before the current line.  Text is en-
           tered in input mode.  The current address is set to the last line
           entered.

     (.,.+1)j
           Joins the addressed lines.  The addressed lines are deleted from
           the buffer and replaced by a single line containing their joined
           text.  The current address is set to the resultant line.

     (.)klc
           Marks a line with a lower case letter lc.  The line can then be ad-
           dressed as 'lc (i.e., a single quote followed by lc) in subsequent
           commands.  The mark is not cleared until the line is deleted or
           otherwise modified.

     (.,.)l
           Prints the addressed lines unambiguously.  If a single line fills
           more than one screen (as might be the case when viewing a binary
           file, for instance), a ``--More--'' prompt is printed on the last
           line.  ed waits until the RETURN key is pressed before displaying
           the next screen.  The current address is set to the last line
           printed.

     (.,.)m(.)
           Moves lines in the buffer.  The addressed lines are moved to after
           the right-hand destination address, which may be the address 0
           (zero).  The current address is set to the last line moved.

     (.,.)n
           Prints the addressed lines along with their line numbers.  The cur-
           rent address is set to the last line printed.

     (.,.)p
           Prints the addressed lines.  The current address is set to the last
           line printed.

     P     Toggles the command prompt on and off.  Unless a prompt was speci-
           fied with the command-line option -p string, the command prompt is
           by default turned off.

     q     Quits ed.

     Q     Quits ed unconditionally.  This is similar to the q command, except
           that unwritten changes are discarded without warning.

     ($)r file
           Reads file to after the addressed line.  If file is not specified,
           then the default filename is used.  If there was no default file-
           name prior to the command, then the default filename is set to
           file.  Otherwise, the default filename is unchanged.  The current
           address is set to the last line read.

     ($)r !command
           Reads to after the addressed line the standard output of !command,
           (see !command below).  The default filename is unchanged.  The cur-
           rent address is set to the last line read.

     (.,.)s/re/replacement/ (.,.)s/re/replacement/g (.,.)s/re/replacement/n
           Replaces text in the addressed lines matching a regular expression
           re with replacement.  By default, only the first match in each line
           is replaced.  If the g (global) suffix is given, then every match
           is replaced.  The n suffix, where n is a positive number, causes
           only the nth match to be replaced.  It is an error if no substitu-
           tions are performed on any of the addressed lines.  The current ad-
           dress is set the last line affected.

           re and replacement may be delimited by any character other than
           space and newline (see the s command below).  If one or two of the
           last delimiters is omitted, then the last line affected is printed
           as though the print suffix p were specified.

           An unescaped `&' in replacement is replaced by the currently
           matched text.  The character sequence \m, where m is a number in
           the range [1,9], is replaced by the mth backreference expression of
           the matched text.  If replacement consists of a single `%', then
           replacement from the last substitution is used.  Newlines may be
           embedded in replacement if they are escaped with a backslash (`\').

     (.,.)s
           Repeats the last substitution.  This form of the s command accepts
           a count suffix n, or any combination of the characters r, g, and p.
           If a count suffix n is given, then only the nth match is replaced.
           The r suffix causes the regular expression of the last search to be
           used instead of that of the last substitution.  The g suffix tog-
           gles the global suffix of the last substitution.  The p suffix tog-
           gles the print suffix of the last substitution.  The current ad-
           dress is set to the last line affected.

     (.,.)t(.)
           Copies (i.e., transfers) the addressed lines to after the right-
           hand destination address, which may be the address 0 (zero).  The
           current address is set to the last line copied.

     u     Undoes the last command and restores the current address to what it
           was before the command.  The global commands g, G, v, and V are
           treated as a single command by undo.  u is its own inverse.

     (1,$)v/re/command-list
           Applies command-list to each of the addressed lines not matching a
           regular expression re.  This is similar to the g command.

     (1,$)V/re/
           Interactively edits the addressed lines not matching a regular ex-
           pression re.  This is similar to the G command.

     (1,$)w file
           Writes the addressed lines to file.  Any previous contents of file
           are lost without warning.  If there is no default filename, then
           the default filename is set to file, otherwise it is unchanged.  If
           no filename is specified, then the default filename is used.  The
           current address is unchanged.

     (1,$)wq file
           Writes the addressed lines to file, and then executes a q command.

     (1,$)w !command
           Writes the addressed lines to the standard input of !command, (see
           !command below).  The default filename and current address are un-
           changed.

     (1,$)W file
           Appends the addressed lines to the end of file.  This is similar to
           the w command, except that the previous contents of file are not
           clobbered.  The current address is unchanged.

     x     Prompts for an encryption key which is used in subsequent reads and
           writes.  If a newline alone is entered as the key, then encryption
           is turned off.  Otherwise, echoing is disabled while a key is read.
           Encryption/decryption is done using the bdes(1) algorithm.

     (.+1)zn
           Scrolls n lines at a time starting at addressed line.  If n is not
           specified, then the current window size is used.  The current ad-
           dress is set to the last line printed.

     ($)=  Prints the line number of the addressed line.

     (.+1)newline
           Prints the addressed line, and sets the current address to that
           line.

     !command
           Executes command via sh(1).  If the first character of command is
           `!', then it is replaced by text of the previous !command.  ed does
           not process command for `\' (backslash) escapes.  However, an un-
           escaped `%' is replaced by the default filename.  When the shell
           returns from execution, a `!' is printed to the standard output.
           The current line is unchanged.

FILES
     /tmp/ed.*  buffer file
     ed.hup     where ed attempts to write the buffer if the terminal hangs up

DIAGNOSTICS
     When an error occurs, ed prints a `?' and either returns to command mode
     or exits if its input is from a script.  An explanation of the last error
     can be printed with the h (help) command.

     Since the g (global) command masks any errors from failed searches and
     substitutions, it can be used to perform conditional operations in
     scripts; e.g.,

           g/old/s//new/

     replaces any occurrences of "old" with "new".

     If the u (undo) command occurs in a global command list, then the command
     list is executed only once.

     If diagnostics are not disabled, attempting to quit ed or edit another
     file before writing a modified buffer results in an error.  If the com-
     mand is entered a second time, it succeeds, but any changes to the buffer
     are lost.

SEE ALSO
     bdes(1), sed(1), sh(1), vi(1), re_format(7)

     B. W. Kernighan and P. J. Plauger, Software Tools in Pascal, 1981,
     Addison-Wesley.

STANDARDS
     The ed utility is compliant with the IEEE Std 1003.1-2008 (``POSIX'')
     specification.

     The flag [-x] as well as the commands W, x, and z are extensions to that
     specification.

HISTORY
     An ed command appeared in Version 1 AT&T UNIX.

CAVEATS
     ed processes file arguments for backslash escapes, i.e., in a filename,
     any characters preceded by a backslash (`\') are interpreted literally.

     If a text (non-binary) file is not terminated by a newline character,
     then ed appends one on reading/writing it.  In the case of a binary file,
     ed does not append a newline on reading/writing.

OpenBSD 4.7                    January 10, 2010                              7
