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I would like an easy way to edit named.conf instead of using VI or rndc. The reason why I would like this is because it would be nice to sort, see what is primary or secondary zones, etc., and also I hope mistakes will not be made if I use this utility. I plan on administering about 5000 domain names. I do not have access to a GUI on my Linux box so this must preferably be a text based utility. Is there such a thing?
Most servers don't have a GUI, but what you are trying to do is no problem at all. There are probably close to or more than 100 different editors for text. I love VIM my self, and many people also like emacs. I did my early editing on pico, as it is a super easy interface. Just google for linux text editor and you'll find plenty. You can't screw up a file by the editor you chose to use on it.
Perhaps I haven't clearly stated what I am in search of. I want to edit domain names, primary and secondary zones. I want to easily see and scroll through them. I'm not just looking for another text editing utility. Zone files are sensitive and I want the ability to easily add, edit and remove 5000 records. Perhaps you could say I'm looking for a domain name aware text based utility for the named.conf file. Does this make sense?
Yes, but it doesn't change my answer any. I run BIND on 3 servers at work, and you're free to use any editor you want on it, even for big files. I use VIM, and strings of piped commands making liberal use of things like sort, and dumping the results into temp files and then concatenating things back together. One of the really great things about linux is the ability to do things any way you see fit, it sounds more like you not being comfortable with the editor and CLI interface than there actually being a problem with any editor.
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I run BIND on 3 servers at work, and you're free to use any editor you want on it, even for big files. I use VIM, and strings of piped commands making liberal use of things like sort, and dumping the results into temp files and then concatenating things back together. One of the really great things about linux is the ability to do things any way you see fit, it sounds more like you not being comfortable with the editor and CLI interface than there actually being a problem with any editor. 
