Preferred editor and pager

[Ian Jackson <ian@chiark.greenend.org.uk>]

This is not a suggestion for 1.3.

We keep having problems where programs invoke a less-powerful or
less-desired-by-the-user pager or editor.

I suggest the following solution:

Programs should be compiled to run `pager' as their default pager and
`edit' or perhaps `editor' as their default editor.

Editors and pagers should use update-alternatives to provide these
names.

Then, for example, man would automatically use less if were available
without reconfiguring; likewise programs like vipw and the `v' key in
pagers would run the sysadmin's favourite editor (unless the user
overrides it with an environment variable).

I'll leave the flamewar about which editors should have which priority
values to someone else :-).

Ian.