Linux works with files. All kinds of them. Configuration ones, scripts, data files, the list goes on and on. As one person (of many) once wrote, "In Linux, everything is a file." Guess what? You need a file editor. And while you might plan to spend a lot of time in X Windows, you will likely find the command line your friend after a while.
As a non-programmer/Linux-neophyte/once-GUI-oriented sort of fellow, I thought it would be nice to write up a short piece for Debian newbies (or Linux ones in general) about some apps which with almost anyone from outside Linux would quickly feel comfortable. I have used joe at the command line ever since I began with Linux. (I haven't wanted to go through the learning curve associated with emacs or vi. There are too many other things to learn...)