How do you use the vi editor in Linux?

Vi is one of the most commonly used text editors in Linux, here are the basic methods for using the vi editor:

1. Open a file: type vi filename in the terminal to open a file. If the file doesn’t exist, vi will create a new file.
2. Switch to edit mode: After opening the file, it will be in command mode by default. To enter edit mode, press the i key. Now, you can start editing the file.
3. Edit file: In edit mode, you can input text and perform various editing operations such as inserting, deleting, copying, pasting, and so on.
4. Save file: In command mode, press the Esc key to exit edit mode. Then type :w and press Enter to save the file. To save and exit vi, you can type :wq or :x.
5. To exit the editor: In command mode, type :q and press Enter to exit vi. If there are unsaved changes, vi will prompt you to save or discard them. If you want to force exit vi without saving changes, you can type :q!.
6. Search and replace: In command mode, type /keyword and press Enter to search for a keyword in a file. To replace the keyword, type :s/old keyword/new keyword and press Enter.
7. Other functions: vi has many other functions and shortcuts, such as moving the cursor, copying and pasting, undoing and redoing, and more. You can refer to vi’s help documentation to learn more about these operations. In command mode, type :help and press enter to open the help documentation.

These are just some basic uses of the vi editor, there are many more advanced features and settings. If you want to delve deeper into learning vi, you can refer to more resources or attend related training courses.