[CLUE-Tech] vi form of command history editor in bash?

[Dave Anselmi]

Dave Price wrote:

> hi gang,
>
> I am trying to use the 'vi' version of history/command editing in bash.
> It seems really powerful, and I really like vi in general.
>
> Question: can anyone offfer  a quick tips note, or point me to an
> online source for same that illustrates the (correct use of) major
> features of this configuration?

Do you need vi help?  Search on Yahoo for vi and you'll get a fair number
of reference pages and other docs.

As for command history/editing, here are the things I usually use:

The command prompt is in insert mode when it appears.  Use the escape key
to get to command mode.  From there:

k (and probably up arrow) moves you up through the command history, most
recent command first.  j or down arrow goes back down if you go too far.
This is good for pulling up your last command or two.

If you have to go back a ways, you can use /<regex> to search back through
the history for a command matching <regex>.  After that, n goes to the next
match and N goes to the previous match.

Once you have a command line up that you want to edit, you can use the
usual motion and editing commands to change it.  For example, if I type 'ls
/' and realize I wanted 'ls -l /' I do this:

esc k w i - l space enter.  This does:

command mode, last command, jump to next word (the / character), insert
mode, insert '-l ', run the command.  Obviously a waste of typing, unless
the path is longer than one character.

Clear as mud?  The better you know vi, the fancier you can get with this,
though I don't do much beyond this sort of thing.

Dave