How to Exit Vim • Hacker News Board

Re: How to Exit Vim

#141

Post by smichel17 » Wed, Jan 08, 2020, 12:29 PM UTC

jgtrosh wrote: post #112

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know some basic commands and know it well enough to edit git commit messages and interactive rebase (`ddkP` is probably the most advanced command I know). But I've never thought "I prefer this over my regular editor this is amazing". I just don't get the satisfaction. And of course I'd have to dive deep into the ecosystem in order to get the same benefits that my main editor provides out of the box, like idk, cmd+c…

> `ddkP` is probably the most advanced command I know Maybe I'm not thinking straight because of the sickness, but I think `ddp` from the line above does the same thing with one fewer keystroke.

`P` pastes to the line above.

Re: How to Exit Vim

#142

Post by buboard » Wed, Jan 08, 2020, 12:30 PM UTC

I just don't understand why anyone would want to exit vim.

Re: How to Exit Vim

#143

Post by kshacker » Wed, Jan 08, 2020, 12:30 PM UTC

kburman wrote: post #139

namelosw wrote: post #37

- So, how did you learn Vim? I heard there's quite a learning curve. - I just open it, but I couldn't figure out how to quit. Then I have been using it for three years already. (Same applies to Emacs.)

I have tried to start using vim so many times and failed. Even this year I thought to start using vim. Daily I open vim once try to do something new with it. Although I don't have much of hope that I will start using it an soon.

I first used vi / vim about 30 years back. There are other editors that provide fancy features and I do use them routinely but there is no day I have not started (and exited) vim. Get used to it.

Re: How to Exit Vim

#144

Post by petepete » Wed, Jan 08, 2020, 12:34 PM UTC

talles wrote: post #135

Jokes aside, shouldn't the page start with actually teaching how to quit vim? The page is considerably popular to show up on a Google search. I imagine the frustration of a beginner actually trying the first examples and not getting the joke immediately.

I'd bet that most people who get stuck don't start vim themselves though. I taught (the basics of) git to a bunch of students recently and the first time we did a commit I had to go around the room and show people how to operate vim. I bet the same happens when new people use visudo, etc

Re: How to Exit Vim

#145

Post by franze » Wed, Jan 08, 2020, 12:37 PM UTC

The Scrum manager way

1. Call in a meeting, early in the morning

2. Tell everybody what a good job they are doing.

3. Tell everybody that there is still a lot to do.

4. Tell everybody that "we" can do it.

5. Remind them of the importance of team work.

6. Go through the tickets.

7. Tell the project manager that a ticket for closing Vim is missing.

8. Write a ticket called "As a user I want to exit Vim!" on your own.

8.1. While reminding everybody that this is not the proper process.

9. Discuss new ticket in group.

10. Reword ticket as "As a user I want to be able to open other applications!"

11. Ask who of the team wants to do this.

12. Postpone decision until the next meeting.

Re: How to Exit Vim

#146

Post by kungtotte » Wed, Jan 08, 2020, 12:38 PM UTC

talles wrote: post #135

Jokes aside, shouldn't the page start with actually teaching how to quit vim? The page is considerably popular to show up on a Google search. I imagine the frustration of a beginner actually trying the first examples and not getting the joke immediately.

I don't know about vim, but in neovim you're greeted by the following when you launch it the first time:

type :help nvim if you are new!

type :checkhealth to optimize Nvim

type :q to exit

type :help for help

This joke is pretty outdated :P

(But still kind of funny)

Re: How to Exit Vim

#147

Post by Hitton » Wed, Jan 08, 2020, 12:38 PM UTC

Ctrl+z and then kill %1 has yet to fail me. And I'm not talking just vim.

Re: How to Exit Vim

#148

Post by Lio » Wed, Jan 08, 2020, 12:40 PM UTC

talles wrote: post #135

Jokes aside, shouldn't the page start with actually teaching how to quit vim? The page is considerably popular to show up on a Google search. I imagine the frustration of a beginner actually trying the first examples and not getting the joke immediately.

Yeah, I mean if you really wanted to help people exit Vim you'd trap Ctrl-c in command mode and print the instructions at the bottom of the screen.

Something along the lines of "Type :qa and press to exit Vim" would probably do it...

Re: How to Exit Vim

#149

Post by jmiskovic » Wed, Jan 08, 2020, 12:41 PM UTC

chvid wrote: post #107

Great jokes but bad user interface design comes at a real cost.

From perspective of ASCII-only application, vim interface isn't actually bad, it just lacks discoverability. There is also a real cost to making tool beginner-friendly and it often makes sense to optimize for advanced users instead.

Re: How to Exit Vim

#150

Post by shawnlower2 » Wed, Jan 08, 2020, 12:41 PM UTC

dan_hawkins wrote: post #130

yason wrote: post #95

In the opposing vein, as an Emacs user the best configuration I ever made was to rebind C-x C-c to execute-extended-command instead of kill-emacs. It was way too easy to (even accidentally!) kill emacs with a sweep of a finger. And I probably use a few hundred execute-extended-command calls for each kill-emacs (which I now have to type manually as 'C-x C-c kill-emacs' - no problemo). A similar optimisation was with t…

'screen' uses C-a as a prefix shortcut so developers of 'tmux' decided to use the next available key to avoid clash.

I don't understand the logic there. In what non-contrived scenario would you run both simultaneously, such that they would conflict?

C-a does annoyingly conflict with readline's "move to start of line", though.