elvis manpage

[lark@world.std.com (Lar Kaufman)]

     ELVIS(1)		       UNIX System V		      ELVIS(1)



     NAME
	  elvis, ex, vi, view, input - The editor

     SYNOPSIS
	  elvis	[flags]	[+cmd] [files...]

     DESCRIPTION
	  Elvis	is a text editor which emulates	vi/ex.

	  On systems which pass	the program name as an argument, such
	  as Unix and Minix, you may also install elvis	under the
	  names	"ex", "vi", "view", and	"input".  These	extra names
	  would	normally be links to elvis; see	the "ln" shell
	  command.

	  When elvis is	invoked	as "vi", it behaves exactly as though
	  it was invoked as "elvis".  However, if you invoke elvis as
	  "view", then the readonly option is set as though you	had
	  given	it the "-R" flag.  If you invoke elvis as "ex",	then
	  elvis	will start up in the colon command mode	instead	of the
	  visual command mode, as though you had given it the "-e"
	  flag.	 If you	invoke elvis as	"input"	or "edit", then	elvis
	  will start up	in input mode, as though the "-i" flag was
	  given.

     OPTIONS
	  -r   To the real vi, this flag means that a previous edit
	       should be recovered.  Elvis, though, has	a separate
	       program,	called elvrec(1), for recovering files.	 When
	       you invoke elvis	with -r, elvis will tell you to	run
	       elvrec.

	  -R   This sets the "readonly"	option,	so you won't
	       accidentally overwrite a	file.

	  -t tag
	       This causes elvis to start editing at the given tag.

	  -m [file]
	       Elvis will search through file for something that looks
	       like an error message from a compiler.  It will then
	       begin editing the source	file that caused the error,
	       with the	cursor sitting on the line where the error was
	       detected.  If you don't explicitly name a file, then
	       "errlist" is assumed.

	  -e   Elvis will start	up in colon command mode.

	  -v   Elvis will start	up in visual command mode.

	  -i   Elvis will start	up in input mode.




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     ELVIS(1)		       UNIX System V		      ELVIS(1)



	  -w winsize
	       Sets the	"window" option's value	to winsize.

	  +command or -c command
	       If you use the +command parameter, then after the first
	       file is loaded command is executed as an	EX command.  A
	       typical example would be	"elvis +237 foo", which	would
	       cause elvis to start editing foo	and then move directly
	       to line 237.  The "-c command" variant was added	for
	       UNIX SysV compatibility.

     FILES
	  /tmp/elv*
	       During editing, elvis stores text in a temporary	file.
	       For UNIX, this file will	usually	be stored in the /tmp
	       directory, and the first	three characters will be
	       "elv".  For other systems, the temporary	files may be
	       stored someplace	else; see the version-specific section
	       of the documentation.

	  tags This is the database used by the	:tags command and the
	       -t option.  It is usually created by the	ctags(1)
	       program.

	  .exrc	or elvis.rc
	       On UNIX-like systems, a file called ".exrc" in your
	       home directory is executed as a series of ex commands.
	       A file by the same name may be executed in the current
	       directory, too.	On non-UNIX systems, ".exrc" is
	       usually an invalid file name; there, the	initialization
	       file is called "elvis.rc" instead.

     ENVIRONMENT
	  TERM This is the name	of your	terminal's entry in the
	       termcap or terminfo database.  The list of legal	values
	       varies from one system to another.

	  TERMCAP
	       Optional.  If your system uses termcap, and the TERMCAP
	       variable	is unset, then
		will read your terminal's definition from
	       /etc/termcap.  If TERMCAP is set	to the full pathname
	       of a file (starting with	a '/') then  will look in the
	       named file instead of /etc/termcap.  If TERMCAP is set
	       to a value which	doesn't	start with a '/', then its
	       value is	assumed	to be the full termcap entry for your
	       terminal.

	  TERMINFO
	       Optional.  If your system uses terminfo,	and the
	       TERMINFO	variable is unset, then
		will read your terminal's definition from the database



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     ELVIS(1)		       UNIX System V		      ELVIS(1)



	       in the /usr/lib/terminfo	database.  If TERMINFO is set,
	       then its	value is used as the database name to use
	       instead of /usr/lib/terminfo.

	  LINES, COLUMNS
	       Optional.  These	variables, if set, will	override the
	       screen size values given	in the termcap/terminfo	for
	       your terminal.  On windowing systems such as X,	has
	       other ways of determining the screen size, so you
	       should probably leave these variables unset.

	  EXINIT
	       Optional.  This variable	can hold EX commands which
	       will be executed	before any .exrc files.

	  SHELL
	       Optional.  The SHELL variable sets the default value
	       for the "shell" option, which determines	which shell
	       program is used to perform wildcard expansion in	file
	       names, and also which is	used to	execute	filters	or
	       external	programs.  The default value on	UNIX systems
	       is "/bin/sh".

	       Note: Under MS-DOS, this	variable is called COMSPEC
	       instead of SHELL.

	  HOME This variable should be set to the name of your home
	       directory.
		looks for its initialization file there; if HOME is
	       unset then the initialization file will not be
	       executed.

	  TAGPATH
	       Optional.  This variable	is used	by the "ref" program,
	       which is	invoked	by the shift-K,	control-], and :tag
	       commands.  See "ref" for	more information.

	  TMP, TEMP
	       These optional environment variables are	only used in
	       non-UNIX	versions of .  They allow you to supply	a
	       directory name to be used for storing temporary files.

     SEE ALSO
	  ctags(1), ref(1), virec(1)

	  Elvis	- A Clone of Vi/Ex, the	complete elvis documentation.

     BUGS
	  There	is no LISP support.  Certain other features are
	  missing, too.

	  Auto-indent mode is not quite	compatible with	the real vi.



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     ELVIS(1)		       UNIX System V		      ELVIS(1)



	  Among	other things, 0^D and ^^D don't	do what	you might
	  expect.

	  Long lines are displayed differently.	 The real vi wraps
	  long lines onto multiple rows	of the screen, but elvis
	  scrolls sideways.

     AUTHOR
	  Steve	Kirkendall
	  kirkenda@cs.pdx.edu

	  Many other people have worked	to port	elvis to various
	  operating systems.  To see who deserves credit, run the
	  :version command from	within elvis, or look in the system-
	  specific section of the complete documentation.








































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"This ain't no party, this ain't no disco, this ain't no fooling around. No
time for dancing or lovey-dovey, I ain't got time for that now. I sent a
message through the receiver, hope to get an answer someday. Why stay in
college? Why go to night school? Thought I'd be different this time." -D. Byrne