SYNOPSIS
ed [-] [-sx] [-p string] [file]
DESCRIPTION
ed is a line-oriented text editor. It is used to create, display, mod-
ify and otherwise manipulate text files.
If invoked with a file argument, 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
invoked, ed is in command mode. In this mode commands are read from
the standard input and executed to manipulate the contents of the edi-
tor 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 entering 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 possible 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, fol-
lowed 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 default addresses are supplied.
OPTIONS
-s Suppresses diagnostics. This should be used if ed's standard
input is from a script.
-x Prompts for an encryption key to be used in subsequent reads
and writes (see the `x' command).
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 address 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
combination of digits, operators (i.e., +, - and ^) and whitespace.
Addresses are read from left to right, and their values are computed
relative 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,$].
- or ^ The previous line. This is equivalent to -1 and may be
repeated with cumulative effect.
-n or ^n
The nth previous line, where n is a non-negative number.
; The current through last lines in the buffer. This is equiva-
lent to the address range .,$.
/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.
REGULAR EXPRESSIONS
Regular expressions are patterns used in selecting text. For example,
the ed command
g/string/
prints all lines containing string. Regular expressions are also used
by the `s' command for selecting old text to be replaced with new.
In addition to a specifying string literals, regular expressions can
represent classes of strings. Strings thus represented are said to be
matched by the corresponding regular expression. If it is possible for
a regular expression to match several strings in a line, then the left-
most longest match is the one selected.
The following symbols are used in constructing regular expressions:
c Any character c not listed below, including `{', '}', `(', `)',
`<' and `>', matches itself.
\c Any backslash-escaped character c, except for `{', '}', `(',
`)', `<' and `>', matches itself.
. Matches any single character.
[char-class]
Matches any single character in char-class. To include a `]'
in char-class, it must be the first character. A range of
characters may be specified by separating the end characters of
the range with a `-', e.g., `a-z' specifies the lower case
where col-elm is a collating element are interpreted according
to locale(5) (not currently supported). See regex(3) for an
explanation of these constructs.
[^char-class]
Matches any single character, other than newline, not in char-
class. char-class is defined as above.
^ If `^' is the first character of a regular expression, then it
anchors the regular expression to the beginning of a line.
Otherwise, it matches itself.
$ If `$' is the last character of a regular expression, it
anchors the regular expression to the end of a line. Other-
wise, it matches itself.
\< Anchors the single character regular expression or subexpres-
sion immediately following it to the beginning of a word.
(This may not be available)
\> Anchors the single character regular expression or subexpres-
sion immediately following it to the end of a word. (This may
not be available)
\(re\) Defines a subexpression re. Subexpressions may be nested. A
subsequent backreference of the form `\n', where n is a number
in the range [1,9], expands to the text matched by the nth
subexpression. For example, the regular expression `\(.*\)\1'
matches any string consisting of identical adjacent substrings.
Subexpressions are ordered relative to their left delimiter.
* Matches the single character regular expression or subexpres-
sion immediately preceding it zero or more times. If '*' is
the first character of a regular expression or subexpression,
then it matches itself. The `*' operator sometimes yields
unexpected results. For example, the regular expression `b*'
matches the beginning of the string `abbb' (as opposed to the
substring `bbb'), since a null match is the only left-most
match.
\{n,m\} or \{n,\} or \{n\}
Matches the single character regular expression or subexpres-
sion immediately preceding it at least n and at most m times.
If m is omitted, then it matches at least n times. If the
comma is also omitted, then it matches exactly n times.
Additional regular expression operators may be defined depending on the
particular regex(3) implementation.
COMMANDS
All ed commands are single characters, though some require additional
(.)a Appends text to the buffer after the addressed line. Text is
entered in input mode. The current address is set to last line
entered.
(.,.)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
specified, then the default filename is used. Any lines in
the buffer are deleted before the new file is read. The cur-
rent 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,
except 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
regular expression re. The current address is set to the line
currently 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.
Each command in command-list must be on a separate line, and
every line except for the last must be terminated by a back-
slash (\). Any commands are allowed, except for `g', `G', `v',
and `V'. A newline alone in command-list is equivalent to a
`p' command.
(1,$)G/re/
Interactively edits the addressed lines matching a regular
expression re. For each matching line, the line is printed,
the current address is set, and the user is prompted to enter a
command-list. At the end of the `G' command, the current
address is set to the last line affected by (the last) command-
list.
(.,.+1)j
Joins the addressed lines. The addressed lines are deleted
from the buffer and replaced by a single line containing their
joined text. The current address is set to the resultant line.
(.)klc Marks a line with a lower case letter lc. The line can then
be addressed as 'lc (i.e., a single quote followed by lc ) in
subsequent commands. The mark is not cleared until the line is
deleted or otherwise modified.
(.,.)l Prints the addressed lines unambiguously. If a single line
fills for than one screen (as might be the case when viewing a
binary file, for instance), a `--More--' prompt is printed on
the last line. ed waits until the RETURN key is pressed before
displaying the next screen. The current address is set to the
last line printed.
(.,.)m(.)
Moves lines in the buffer. The addressed lines are moved to
after the right-hand destination address, which may be the
address 0 (zero). The current address is set to the last line
moved.
(.,.)n Prints the addressed lines along with their line numbers. The
current address is set to the last line printed.
(.,.)p Prints the addressed lines. The current address is set to the
last line printed.
P Toggles the command prompt on and off. Unless a prompt was
specified by with command-line option -p string, the command
prompt is by default turned off.
q Quits ed.
Q Quits ed unconditionally. This is similar to the q command,
except that unwritten changes are discarded without warning.
($)r file
Reads file to after the addressed line. If file is not speci-
fied, then the default filename is used. If there was no
default filename prior to the command, then the default file-
name 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 `!com-
mand', (see the !command below). The default filename is
unchanged. The current address is set to the last line read.
(.,.)s/re/replacement/
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 charac-
ters `r', `g', and `p'. If a count suffix `n' is given, then
only the nth match is replaced. The `r' suffix causes the reg-
ular expression of the last search to be used instead of the
that of the last substitution. The `g' suffix toggles the
global suffix of the last substitution. The `p' suffix toggles
the print suffix of the last substitution The current address
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,$)v/pat/command-list
Applies command-list to each of the addressed lines not match-
ing a regular expression re. This is similar to the `g' com-
mand.
(1,$)V/re/
Interactively edits the addressed lines not matching a regular
expression re. This is similar to the `G' command.
(1,$)w file
Writes the addressed lines to file. Any previous contents of
file is lost without warning. If there is no default filename,
then the default filename is set to file, otherwise it is
unchanged. If no filename is specified, then the default file-
name is used. The current address is unchanged.
(1,$)wq file
Writes the addressed lines to file, and then executes a `q'
command.
(1,$)w !command
(.+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 cur-
rent address is set to the last line printed.
!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. How-
ever, an unescaped `%' is replaced by the default filename.
When the shell returns from execution, a `!' is printed to the
standard output. The current line is unchanged.
($)= Prints the line number of the addressed line.
(.+1)newline
Prints the addressed line, and sets the current address to that
line.
FILES
/tmp/ed.* Buffer file
ed.hup The file to which ed attempts to write the buffer
if the terminal hangs up.
SEE ALSO
vi(1), sed(1), regex(3), bdes(1), sh(1), compat(1).
USD:12-13
B. W. Kernighan and P. J. Plauger, Software Tools in Pascal , Addison-
Wesley, 1981.
LIMITATIONS
ed processes file arguments for backslash escapes, i.e., in a file-
name, any characters preceded by a backslash (\) are interpreted liter-
ally.
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.
per line overhead: 4 ints
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.,
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