Re: ae as default editor?
jimr@simons-rock.edu (James A. Robinson) wrote on 22.09.96 in <[🔎] m0v4tip-000AqSC@lestat.simons-rock.edu>:
> > Why is ae the default editor for vipw/vigr even on a completely
> > installed system?
> >
> > Doesn't VI-gr/pw suggest that a VI clone is executed? I can
> > understand to use ae as a fallback editor, but not as the main one
>
> Probably it is setup for the same reason ae is the default editor on
> the base disk. A new user, somebody who has only known DOS, WindowsX,
> or MacOS will probably be completely unable to deal with vi, but will
> probably be able to handle ae. Because these new users might be told
> to use vipw or vigr to edit the passwd or group file, it is better to
> stick them into a "friendly" editor. More experienced users will be
> able to set their EDITOR variable to call the correct editor (A more
> experienced user will also be able to get the job done in ae if need
> be).
Interesting idea.
However, I remember a discussion that, I believe, lead to this decision;
IIRC, it was the same idea that made ae (wrongly) essential - "all other
editors can be removed, so ae is a better fallback than vi".
MfG Kai
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