Why nano?

aut0maticdan · n00b Joined: 12 Oct 2003 Posts: 24 Location: Jersey City

Since we are using a serious GNU/Linux distro for serious Linux people, why is it packaged with a text editor which most serious admin/programmers cringe at? I would find it quite hard to believe that the gentoo developers use nano for much. Am I wrong?

I was very upset to find that the AMD64 2004.0 live disc didn't even offer vi at all. It is annoying enough that bootstrapping doesn't contain vi and even worse that vi installs by default in /usr/bin.

Since the entire distro is a learning experience for new linux users anyway, why can't the text editor be as well? Would it make such a difference to include vim-lite with the bootstrap and live cd? You could even keep nano.

I'm sorry, I am sure I'm not the first to ask this question.

hensan · l33t Joined: 26 Jun 2003 Posts: 868 Location: Sweden

Bah! ed should be the only editor on the livecd. Anything else is just waste of diskspace

charlieg · Posted: Fri May 07, 2004 5:50 pm Post subject:

Malakai · Apprentice Joined: 24 Dec 2002 Posts: 299

vim4life

I emerge it right after emerge system, it's all I will use to edit text at the cmd line.

solatis · Posted: Fri May 07, 2004 6:04 pm Post subject:

I'm very upset about multiple things of the livecd's... for instance, it would really help if they would deliver a basic compiler/automake package with it, just to be able to compile drivers (for my ethernet adapter, for example) . Or perhaps telnet wouldn't be such an extreme luxioury (sp?) either.

But to put my personal frustrations aside, i think nano's chosen because of the more natural approach than for example vi(m). The Gentoo developers most likely didn't want to deliver several different editors, and decided to go with one. Now, it is a common fact that MANY people don't know how to use vi (they should), and nano basically gives a, like i previously stated, more natural approach and this must be the reason of the decision.

Bottom line: nano can be used by people who master vi, and not vice versa.
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ewan.paton · Posted: Fri May 07, 2004 6:19 pm Post subject:

whats actually wrong with nano, i only use it for editing config files so what functunality would vi offer me as i would use kwrite and openoffice for real writing tasks
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solatis · Posted: Fri May 07, 2004 6:39 pm Post subject:

aut0maticdan · n00b Joined: 12 Oct 2003 Posts: 24 Location: Jersey City

Stormy Eyes · Posted: Fri May 07, 2004 7:13 pm Post subject:

I prefer vim myself, but I can see why nano's on the liveCD: it's so simple that even a drunken Republican could figure it out.

Unne · l33t Joined: 21 Jul 2003 Posts: 616

If the LiveCD had everything you need for your final system, you'd boot off the LiveCD forever and not bother installing anything. So long as it has SOME text editor, I don't think it's a huge deal. Including the least-complex text editor by default isn't a bad idea; everyone who can use vim can almost certainly use nano, but everyone who can use nano likely can't use vim. A new user has enough to worry about setting up fstabs and USE flags, without needing to battle a text editor. (I use vim for everything too, just saying.)

Ian · Posted: Fri May 07, 2004 8:07 pm Post subject:

I like Nano, personally. MP is nice as well, but it has some quirks occasionally, probably because I mucked around with some configuration though.

VI is probably a better solution, but for the amount of work I do in CLI and such, it's not worth it to me to learn it. Sure, maybe I'll eventually learn it, but right now, it's not worth it.

You always go with the least common denominator, and for us, that's Nano.

aut0maticdan · n00b Joined: 12 Oct 2003 Posts: 24 Location: Jersey City

G-Style · Posted: Fri May 07, 2004 8:41 pm Post subject:

Nothing is wrong with Nano, it gets the job done that's all that matters.
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aut0maticdan · n00b Joined: 12 Oct 2003 Posts: 24 Location: Jersey City

TWM gets the job done too. Is that the window manager you use?

Kihaji · Apprentice Joined: 12 Sep 2002 Posts: 230

fernandotcl · Posted: Fri May 07, 2004 9:46 pm Post subject:

PowerFactor · Posted: Fri May 07, 2004 9:49 pm Post subject:

Take a look around the forums aut0maticdan. Most of us are not *nix "old hands" or sysadmins. We're just ordinary geeks who got pissed off at ms and/or windows and wanted another choice. I know how to do basic stuff in vim now, but two years ago when I was first trying gentoo I didn't. I'm glad nano was the default editor. There was enough to learn with gentoo without having to learn vi as well. You may think it's simple but vi was one of the most intimidating programs around for me coming from windows.

It's not like there is that much editing to do in the install anyway. But I wouldn't have a problem with vi being on the livecd. If you start calling for it to be the default I'll be making some noise though.

wdreinhart · Guru Joined: 11 Jun 2003 Posts: 569 Location: 4QFJ12345678

I think the real point here is that Gentoo doesn't want to be seen taking a side in The One True Flamewar. (...and the wrong side, at that!

)

If they include vi on the livecd, they would have to either include emacs as well (and risk turning the livecd into a liveboxedset) or endure a kajillion angry forum threads about text editors.

aut0maticdan · n00b Joined: 12 Oct 2003 Posts: 24 Location: Jersey City

aut0maticdan · n00b Joined: 12 Oct 2003 Posts: 24 Location: Jersey City

screwloose · Posted: Fri May 07, 2004 10:32 pm Post subject:

Using nano is fine, it keeps the newbies from making 1000 forum posts asking how to edit a file.

I think we can suck it up and use nano for the five minutes it takes to get ---insert favorite editor-- working. Personally I use vim but I say leave it off the LiveCD if it saves space to have more important things like hardware drivers.

Of course I must admit I have had a few installs that needed to be tweaked after I found ":wq" in the middle of a config file after I originally edited it with nano.
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aut0maticdan · n00b Joined: 12 Oct 2003 Posts: 24 Location: Jersey City

I've said what I have to say... if it can't happen, I still love gentoo. I had no intension of starting the vi vs pico vs emacs thing. I was just wondering the reason.

peez

myuser · Apprentice Joined: 31 Jan 2004 Posts: 218

Whatever is the smallest and easiest to use.

I think nano fits the bill.

I prefer vim, but hey an editor has to be chosen and nano does appear to be the right one for the majority.

papal_authority · Veteran Joined: 31 Mar 2004 Posts: 1823 Location: Canada

Even to just include vi(m) so those of us that like it could make use of it even if it means specifying the full path or setting the EDITOR variable. Everytime I've installed Gentoo I've had to watch out for the "o" and ":wq!" lines if I'm going to fast in Nano ... it's do-able but slows me down. It would be such a small include and would make a huge difference. Just my $0.02.

Stormy Eyes · Posted: Fri May 07, 2004 10:48 pm Post subject:

All right. I've frigging had it...

Stop complaining!

If you're elite enough to grok vi, you're elite enough to put up with nano until you're done bootstrapping. Will it kill you to bootstrap, and then install vim once you've gotten GCC and glibc installed? Come on. I'm a vim fan myself; I learned C using vi on a SunOS rig, but I know better than to be petty about starting with nano on a new install.