Editing with vi
vi is ubiquitous: you will find it even in the smallest distributions. It is much easier to use than its original forms, ed and ex.
Modes
vi has two main modes: move and insert. A variety of commands in vi will put you into insert mode, but ESC is the way to get out!Spell checking
As mentioned in on page 168 of your text, spell (or ispell, an interactive version) are usually used outside of vi.
Summary of vi commands
A summary of vi commands is here.Editing with emacs
emacs is a far more ambitious program than vi.
emacs is derived from teco, an even more cryptic editor than ed; the history of emacs is far more detailed than that of ed.
emacs in action
emacs has a distinctive look:
