Editing Files

Question 1

A text editor is not a…?

Answer 1

word processor.

Question 2

Linux ships with many…?

Answer 2

text editors.

Question 3

Nano is a…?

Answer 3

commonly used command line text editor.

Question 4

gedit is a commonly used….?

Answer 4

command graphical text editor.

Question 5

One of the ways Linux achieves its high degree of flexibility is …?

Answer 5

through the robustness of its configuration. (Configuration information typically is stored in plain ASCII text files. System administration often involves updating or correcting these configuration files. The tool for doing this work is a text editor)

Question 6

A text editor is not the same as a word processor. In addition to the words of a document, word processors allow the user to specify fonts, tab settings, margins, justification, and many other features designed to affect the way a document appears on paper. Documents generated by word processors contain embedded binary codes that specify the settings for these extra features. A plain text file such as a configuration file does not contain such codes, and is not designed for printing on paper. A text editor is designed just for…?

Answer 6

modifying the text content of a plain ASCII file, and does not contain any embedded binary codes.

Question 7

A word process would be an appropriate choice for…?

Answer 7

writing a letter, a memo, a bulletin, an advertising flier, or any document where the visual presentation is controlled by the editing software.

Question 8

A text editor is the appropriate choice for …?

Answer 8

creating or modifying configuration files, program source code, system documentation, or any document (such as an HTML document) where the visual presentation is controlled by the viewing software (such as a web browser) and not the editing software. Since this course focuses on Linux system administration, text editors will be our tool of choice for most situations.

Question 9

Linux comes complete with a full suite of text editors, each with specific strengths and weaknesses. Linux also includes…?

Answer 9

word processors for document creation as part of products such as OpenOffice.

Question 10

Since all text editors work on simple text files, you may choose any one you like - there are no problems of …?

Answer 10

compatibility between one product and another. (Normally, you make your choice on the basis of availability, ease of use, familiarity, and special features. Some editors , for example, make it easy to generate correctly-formatted program code, making programming easier and faster.

Question 11

Nano is a …?

Answer 11

simple, display-oriented (full screen) text editor. (Commands are displayed at the bottom of the screen, and context-sensitive help is provided. As characters are typed they are immediately inserted into the text.)

Question 12

nano [OPTIONS] [FILE] …?

Answer 12

Opens FILE in insert mode for editing.

Question 13

nano commands are displayed at the bottom of the screen throughout the edit session, making…?

Answer 13

recalling editor commands very easy. (the carat symbol followed by a letter is used to represent Ctrl-key combinations, so that ^K represents the CTRL+K key combination.)

Question 14

nano commands…? (the ^ represents ctrl+)

Answer 14

Command Function
^G Get Help - opens a small help screen
^X Exit - exits (and optionally saves file)
^O Write Out - saves file
^J Justify
^R Read File - and insert at cursor position
^W Where is - search for text
^Y Previous Page - move up one page
^V Next Page - move down one page
^K Cut Text - cuts one line at a time
^U UnCut Text - inserts last cut block of text
^C Cursor Position - identifies line and column number
^T To Spell - starts spell check

Question 15

Selected nano command line switches…?

Answer 15

Switch Function

• w disables word wrap
• v “view” file in read-only mode

Question 16

System configuration files can be damaged by inappropriate line breaks, so nano is frequently…?

Answer 16

started with the -w options when used to edit these files.

Question 17

gedit is a …?

Answer 17

graphical text editor available for the X-window environment.(It can be accessed by entering gedit at a command prompt in a terminal window, or by selecting Accessories -> Text Editor from the GNOME Menu. It provides a familiar document window interface for creating and editing text files, and toolbar icons for accessing such features as search and replace, cut-copy-paste, and printing. Its tabbed window format allows for more than one document to be open at a time. It also supports a standard click-to-browse interface interacting with the filesystem.)