A
line editor is a
text editor computer program in which each editing command applies to one or more complete lines of text designated by the user. Line editors precede screen-based text editors and originated in an era when a computer operator typically interacted with a
teleprinter (essentially a
printer with a
keyboard), with no video display, and no ability to navigate a cursor interactively in a document. Line editors were also a feature of many
home computers, avoiding the need for a more memory-intensive full-screen editor.