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by xwdv 2222 days ago
I don’t open big files at all. There’s no point. Files exist as data made to be transformed from one form to another. It is only worth looking at a file in its final form unless you are making some kind of edit.

And even then, I make edits on large files through a series of commands, never opening the file.

By thinking of files in this way, it becomes easy to create programmable tool chains for manipulation.

2 comments

What's your typical strategy for parsing something like a large text file for some relevant data?

Suppose you could cat and grep, but what if you don't know what you're looking for?

not everybody uses a computer for the same exact thing you use a computer for
Of course, if they did there would be no point in making my comment, it would be redundant.
I think the issue with your original comment is with "there's no point," which is in effect invalidating the opinion of others.