CHAPTER 5 Getting Started with openSUSE 84
FIGURE 5.2 YaST works just as well from the shell as from a GUI environment.
Editing Text
Because Unix and Linux are rooted in the hacker/geek/programmer culture, where coding
was (and is) the most important function of any computer, having robust shells and
editors were essential parts of the experience. It is no accident that Bill Joy wrote both the
C shell and the vi editor, nor that Richard Stallman created the GNU Project and the
emacs editor (and that each has completely different views about how to create and
license software).
Of course, that was in the bygone early days of Unix. Why does it matter what text editor
you should use now? And why do you need one, anyway? Consider this: Word processors
are wonderful things, but often they are the very essence of overkill. One of the beauties
of Linux is that nearly all the configuration and customization options for applications
are contained in simple text files. This is true whether the program has a GUI or not. So
making changes in the way a program works doesn??™t necessarily have to require opening
the program; just open the config file in a text editor!
There??™s one other reason to be at least somewhat comfortable with at least one nongraphical
editor.
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