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I'm curious, do you really need a text editor for log files? It seems like the wrong tool, after all, you're not editing your logs. I have never found a case wh

by adrusi 12y ago

I'm curious, do you really need a text editor for log files? It seems like the wrong tool, after all, you're not editing your logs. I have never found a case where `cat example.log | grep Error | less` is insufficient. Granted, I think a good editor should be able to handle files of any size, but if atom sacrifices that for the ability to let an extension display anything it wants inline with the text, it doesn't seem like a catastrophic loss.

nilkn 12y ago
Moreover, if you really need a text editor for a log file, you can just launch vim or something for that task. I've never really understood why people get in this mindset of "X is my editor, and I will only use X." I guess, though, this is harder to do if you insist on a completely GUI-based interface.
- snotrockets 12y ago
  > I've never really understood why people get in this mindset of "X is my editor, and I will only use X." If you use certain software a lot, you'd find it behaviour and shortcuts ingrained into your subconscious mind. Like driving: an experienced driver doesn't consciously think of how to control the car, she just does. This is what makes Emacs or vi users so efficient: they had years to get the operation of those editors ingrained into their brains. Which takes quite an effort, that is not worth repeating with another editor (unless yours is broken).
  - nilkn 12y ago
    There's no reason to downvote me because you have a different opinion. I thought this place was supposed to be better for discussion but evidently not. I'm a vim user who can easily use something else if it's better for a certain purpose. I guess not everybody feels the same way and some are even offended by the suggestion.
    - reitanqild 12y ago
      The offense is not about not agreeing with you it seems but about the way you present it. (Disclaimer: not a downvoter, just an observer. )
      - deleted 12y ago
        [deleted]
xienze 12y ago
> I'm curious, do you really need a text editor for log files? Well, it doesn't always boil down to "grep for one specific thing." Usually you find one thing, then you have to locate the next couple instances of it (I use vim, so I'm used to just doing nnnnnnnn... to keep finding the next occurrence). Or perhaps you grep for one specific thing, find out something is related, need to search for some other thing, etc. Maybe you need a little bit of context around the thing you grepped for. Text editors work pretty well for combing through log files...
hollerith 12y ago
I use grep every day, but never from a terminal emulator or from an interactive Unix shell. (I use Emacs's grep mode.) And almost never without visiting (opening in the editor) at least one of the files being grepped.

by adrusi 12y ago

nilkn 12y ago

Moreover, if you really need a text editor for a log file, you can just launch vim or something for that task. I've never really understood why people get in this mindset of "X is my editor, and I will only use X." I guess, though, this is harder to do if you insist on a completely GUI-based interface.

snotrockets 12y ago
> I've never really understood why people get in this mindset of "X is my editor, and I will only use X." If you use certain software a lot, you'd find it behaviour and shortcuts ingrained into your subconscious mind. Like driving: an experienced driver doesn't consciously think of how to control the car, she just does. This is what makes Emacs or vi users so efficient: they had years to get the operation of those editors ingrained into their brains. Which takes quite an effort, that is not worth repeating with another editor (unless yours is broken).
- nilkn 12y ago
  There's no reason to downvote me because you have a different opinion. I thought this place was supposed to be better for discussion but evidently not. I'm a vim user who can easily use something else if it's better for a certain purpose. I guess not everybody feels the same way and some are even offended by the suggestion.
  - reitanqild 12y ago
    The offense is not about not agreeing with you it seems but about the way you present it. (Disclaimer: not a downvoter, just an observer. )
    - deleted 12y ago
      [deleted]

xienze 12y ago

> I'm curious, do you really need a text editor for log files? Well, it doesn't always boil down to "grep for one specific thing." Usually you find one thing, then you have to locate the next couple instances of it (I use vim, so I'm used to just doing nnnnnnnn... to keep finding the next occurrence). Or perhaps you grep for one specific thing, find out something is related, need to search for some other thing, etc. Maybe you need a little bit of context around the thing you grepped for. Text editors work pretty well for combing through log files...

hollerith 12y ago

I use grep every day, but never from a terminal emulator or from an interactive Unix shell. (I use Emacs's grep mode.) And almost never without visiting (opening in the editor) at least one of the files being grepped.