In this section we will briefly cover two other common and popular text editors available for HPCs and used in Linux Command Line Interface

Nano

GNU nano is a small and easy to use command line text editor. Besides basic text editing, nano offers features like undo/redo, syntax coloring, interactive search-and-replace, auto-indentation, line numbers, word completion, file locking, backup files, and internationalization support.

• Nano is terminal based and for use in command line.

• There are add-ons which allow it to be used in a GUI

• More information for using Nano on ARCC HPCs may be found here.

Nano - Try it:

In an HPC terminal window, launch nano with the nano command.

• To open a specific file in nano, use command nano </path/to/file/filename> to open that file.

• You can insert text simply by typing it in.

• Use the arrow keys to navigate through the document.

• The Ctrl key is a key for “special” or common file-handling and administrative keystrokes.

• Hit Ctrl+x to exit the file.

• Nano has many “cheat sheets” available online.

  • nano-editor.org Cheatsheet: https://www.nano-editor.org/dist/latest/cheatsheet.html

Emacs

Emacs is a portable platform for creating applications with a text user interface. It serves as a fully programmable text editor. Many users use Emacs in a variety of different ways.

• Emacs may be run in a command prompt (command line environment) or in a GUI.

• It can also be used as an IDE (Integrated Development Environment).

• More information for using Emacs on ARCC HPCs may be found here.

Emacs - Try it (GUI):

To open it in a Graphical User Interface: Open OnDemand Launch a OnDemand XFCE Desktop Session Open Emacs by opening a terminal within your OnDemand desktop, and typing: emacs , then hit enter/return key You should see a GUI version of emacs. Click on the Emacs Guided Tour Type ctrl + x, followed by ctrl + c to exit out of emacs.

Emacs - Try it (Command Line):

To open it in a GUI:

• Open OnDemand

• Launch shell terminal window

• Run emac with emacs command.

• Type ctrl + h to get to the help screen.

• Type ctrl + x, followed by ctrl + c to exit out of emacs.

08.01 Next Steps

• vimtutor: We’ll be walking through this

• Google: Many online tutorials:

  • LinuxFoundation: Vim 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Vim

  • OpenSource: Getting started with Vim: The basics

  • FreeCodeCamp: How to Use Vim – Tutorial for Beginners

  • OpenVim: Interactive Vim tutorial 

• Cheat Sheets: (find what works for you)

08.02 Further Trainings: UWYO LinkedIn

08.03 Summary

In this workshop we have:

• Introduced users, using the Linux command line environment, to text editors: Specifically vim.

• Demonstrated how to:

  • Open, edit, update, save and quit a text editor.

  • Use the keyboard and shortcuts to navigate around the text file.

  • Use the command line to search for terms within the text file.