Less vs More

podollb · 10-15-2003, 09:17 PM

What is better the less program or the more program and why?

Greyweather · 10-15-2003, 09:40 PM

I prefer less as it has more functions (i.e. backwards scrolling) as compared with more.

jediknight · 10-15-2003, 09:59 PM

Less is very much a clone of more, with a few subtle differences. 'less' will allow you to scroll backwards through a file, in case you overshoot. Also, according to the 'man' page on less,

"Also, less does not have to read the entire input file before starting, so with large input files it starts up faster than text editors like vi."

I'd have to go with 'less', even though the differences are subtle.

jonr · 10-15-2003, 10:04 PM

I like to pipe output of such commands as "ps aux" through less, so that I can scroll back and forth through ALL the output, while I try to figure things out. I also use less instead of cat so that I can scroll around to my heart's content. That's why I prefer less to more, and also to cat. I would feel more lost than I already do, without less...

speter · 10-15-2003, 11:23 PM

Well as they say, less is more, only more of it, more or less.

Seriously, though, less wins, just because of the scrolling.

Steve

Shade · 10-16-2003, 02:50 AM

It's a common misconception that you can't scroll backwards with more.

You can.

Just hit the b key and it'll take it back one screen.

-Shade
:-D

wuck · 10-16-2003, 03:55 AM

I like less the best, I use it most often.

UltimaGuy · 10-16-2003, 05:48 AM

The advantage less offers is that it is more newbie friendly, and also it has the option of moving back one line at a time. So, I use less more than more.

yapp · 10-16-2003, 08:32 AM

less has another cool feature, try "less some.tar.gz", or "less program.rpm". It works!

If you want to know how this works: inspect the LESSPIPE variable.

kwiksand · 10-16-2003, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by UltimaGuy
So, I use less more than more.

That is gold!

In any other topic of conversation, that would have me wondering for hours, however it makes perfect sense in this respect.

camelrider · 10-16-2003, 08:12 PM

Once, long ago, I accidentally hit the "v" key while viewing a file in less. It opened the file in vim! Then when you exit vim, you're back in the less view of the edited file.

jonr · 10-16-2003, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by camelrider
Once, long ago, I accidentally hit the "v" key while viewing a file in less. It opened the file in vim! Then when you exit vim, you're back in the less view of the edited file.

Thanks for the warning! The times I've ended up in vim, either by accident or out of an insane desire to experiment, I've ended up cancelling my X session and starting a new one to get out of it. I know I'm a wimp and everybody's supposed to learn how to use vim, but I never learned to swim, either.

misophist · 10-16-2003, 10:10 PM

Vim is easy. If you want to suffer, try vi or emacs.

jonr · 10-16-2003, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by misophist
Vim is easy. If you want to suffer, try vi or emacs.

Tried both! Suffered plenty! Guess I'm just an oddball who prefers to enjoy time spent at the computer...

speter · 10-16-2003, 10:26 PM

I'm sorry, you've got the wrong holy war. This is more vs. less. Vi vs. emacs is down the hall.

Steve