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Why, oh WHY, do those #?@! nutheads use vi?

viemu.com

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Re: Why, oh WHY, do those #?@! nutheads use vi?

#11

Post by chrisbroadfoot »

tokipin wrote: post #7
chrisbroadfoot wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Man, I agree with the notion of power, but I simply cannot see how anyone could call it simple. The array of keystrokes and their combined meanings is not anywhere near simple, in my opinion. That said, I would really like to sit down and learn vi sometime.

about the longest 'combos' you make are action-move combos, which is 2 keys, and both the actions and move keys do things by themselves. 'w' for example moves to the beginning of the next word. it's a common travel key. 'dd' deletes the current line and is also commonly used. combine them into 'dw' and you delete everything up to the front of next word so you preface any motion command with an action and you get the…

As I say, I do love the power of it and I'm sure I'd find it somewhat intuitive once I start using it, but it's just a steep learning curve when you can't fall back to input with a mouse.

What I mean is: whenever I start learning a new program, I like to be able to use it like a n00b at first (i.e. click around, use native controls), and then learn the more powerful features.

A good example of this way of learning is the way I use TextMate... every day I learn new controls, and get more proficient and more effective, but I'm not rendered useless (as one would be with vi) if I don't know each and every key combination.

Granted, you can make do with just a few vi commands and be not effective at all, but it's not the same as using a GUI

Re: Why, oh WHY, do those #?@! nutheads use vi?

#13

Post by tokipin »

chrisbroadfoot wrote: post #11
tokipin wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

about the longest 'combos' you make are action-move combos, which is 2 keys, and both the actions and move keys do things by themselves. 'w' for example moves to the beginning of the next word. it's a common travel key. 'dd' deletes the current line and is also commonly used. combine them into 'dw' and you delete everything up to the front of next word so you preface any motion command with an action and you get the…

As I say, I do love the power of it and I'm sure I'd find it somewhat intuitive once I start using it, but it's just a steep learning curve when you can't fall back to input with a mouse. What I mean is: whenever I start learning a new program, I like to be able to use it like a n00b at first (i.e. click around, use native controls), and then learn the more powerful features. A good example of this way of learning is…

http://www.bemroses.net/images/curves.jpg

i've found the Cold Turkey method of learning very useful. there's a saying that goes something like, "the greatest catalyst for progress is necessity." when switching to dvorak i simply never touched quwerty again. likewise with Vim, i never used another editor. it's a bit odd at first, but if you keep yourself from using anything else, you will have to learn, or, as you say, you really will be useless. and due to that, you learn it faster than approaching it from a more reserved angle

is it worth it? absolutely. editing code is a fundamental part of programming. it's something you're going to be doing a lot of. the investments you put into that aspect will pay off greatly

the key to learning vi well is to be in command mode as much as possible

Re: Why, oh WHY, do those #?@! nutheads use vi?

#14

Post by derefr »

rumblerob wrote: post #3

Someone should tell them that their "VI Gang Sign" is a pretty close analogue of the Shocker. (Not that that couldn't be a convincing argument to learn vi...)

They already know (search for "the Shocker"): http://blog.ngedit.com/2007/11/19/the-vi-gang-sign/

Re: Why, oh WHY, do those #?@! nutheads use vi?

#15

Post by hernan7 »

An oldie but a goodie.

Back when I started working on Unix (early 90s), the only editor on the lab machines vi. The learning curve was horrible, but after that I never was able to use an editor for human beings again.

Nowadays, when I'm trapped in a Notepad derivative, it's all jjjjjjkkkkkkwwwww for the love of God Montesor, give me back my dot!!!

Re: Why, oh WHY, do those #?@! nutheads use vi?

#19

Post by icky »

tokipin wrote: post #7
chrisbroadfoot wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Man, I agree with the notion of power, but I simply cannot see how anyone could call it simple. The array of keystrokes and their combined meanings is not anywhere near simple, in my opinion. That said, I would really like to sit down and learn vi sometime.

about the longest 'combos' you make are action-move combos, which is 2 keys, and both the actions and move keys do things by themselves. 'w' for example moves to the beginning of the next word. it's a common travel key. 'dd' deletes the current line and is also commonly used. combine them into 'dw' and you delete everything up to the front of next word so you preface any motion command with an action and you get the…

> about the longest 'combos' you make are action-move combos,

And then you use :wq as your finishing move!

Re: Why, oh WHY, do those #?@! nutheads use vi?

#20

Post by god »

The only problem I see with vim is that today I write everything online. In textboxes like the one I use right now to type this text. Maybe we need a firefox extension, that blows up a textarea fullscreen and edits it with vim?
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