[nflug] You qualify as a Dinosaur if ...

[Ken Smith]

On Sun, 2007-04-15 at 22:36 -0700, Robert Meyer wrote:
> ... the following: :1,$s/^\([0-9]*\)\( \)/\2\1/   Now a *real*
> dinosaur can explain just exactly what that did.

Hmm, sounds like a challenge to me... :-)

If a line begins with a number (any number of digits) followed by a
space "tag" the number as the-first-thing-tagged and the space as
the-second-thing-tagged.  Substitute for that whole pattern
the-second-thing-tagged (space) followed by the-first-thing-tagged
(number) on lines numbered 1 through however-many-lines-are-in-file.

I don't usually demo tagging in vi(1) for the sys-admin class (I usually
use grep(1) for that) but I do demo line editing by asking them how long
it would take them to take a copy of /etc/passwd and then edit it so
that it only contained the usernames one per line in
<insert-your-favorite-PC-editor>.  Then I show them what vi(1) does when
you type in:

	:1,$ s/:.*//

while editing a copy of the passwd file.  :-)

-- 
                                                Ken Smith
- From there to here, from here to      |       kensmith at cse.buffalo.edu
  there, funny things are everywhere.   |
                      - Theodore Geisel |


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