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Vim Creep

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Re: Vim Creep

#31

Post by bhamrick »

crazygringo wrote: post #13

This feels like an article about a religion or cult, not a software program. I just don't get it. Ever since newer editors got block editing or multiple insertion cursors, and RegEx find & replace across multiple files, and searching filenames to open... I feel like I've already got everything I need! What am I missing out on? I don't feel like my text editor holds back my productivity. Using something like Sublime,…

I switched to vim after years of IDE use, and I find it painful to go back to the IDE when I'm working on projects that require it.

The biggest advantage I find in using something like vim or emacs is that you never have to switch between the mouse and the keyboard — in fact its awkward to use the mouse and that makes it difficult to get accustomed to. It allows you to seamlessly transition between code navigation and code writing, and you develop a kind of rythme that I never felt like I achieved with a graphical text editor.

Other nice features are the ability to write custom scripts and repeat actions, but these can generally also be done in other editors. One huge reason I made the switch is I end up writing code on remote machines on occasion, and I can almost always do so in my everyday editor: vim. All my personalization can be transferred over to the remote machine in a single scp command and the experience remains the same no matter where the files live that I'm working on.

Re: Vim Creep

#32

Post by dpeck »

pfraze wrote: post #22
heretohelp wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand vimmers, but I use Emacs and I can say that having your work environment be 100% programmable is pretty damned nice.

I used emacs for about 6 months, and just recently switched to vim to see what I think. It's been pretty subtle so far; close enough that I don't know how much the choice matters.

I don't think you were using the features of emacs/vim that make them awesome in their respective ways if you think the differences are subtle.

Re: Vim Creep

#33

Post by RegEx »

StavrosK wrote: post #14
karmajunkie wrote: post #9

Can we all stop patting ourselves on the back for being vim badasses now? Yes, its a fantastic editor. Yes, its probably going to make you more productive. Yes, its every bit as capable as any other IDE or editor out there. No, it will not make you a better person. No, mastery of vim does not make you fart sunshine. No, it won't make you an enlightened buddha.

Also, it doesn't even make you that much more productive. I love it to bits and use it exclusively, but it's just a bit faster, it's not going to reduce the time it takes you to actually think about the things you have to write.

I agree. The most utility I get out of VIM is quick formatting. I'm very particular on how my code looks, (I want to make things as painless as possible for the next guy), and navigating code in normal mode is much faster than anything I could do with a mouse. As far as writing code goes, typing 120wpm makes me fast, not VIM. As far as thinking goes, Jarnal and a Wacom tablet help me do that, not VIM.

Re: Vim Creep

#34

Post by xutopia »

crazygringo wrote: post #13

This feels like an article about a religion or cult, not a software program. I just don't get it. Ever since newer editors got block editing or multiple insertion cursors, and RegEx find & replace across multiple files, and searching filenames to open... I feel like I've already got everything I need! What am I missing out on? I don't feel like my text editor holds back my productivity. Using something like Sublime,…

You really have to sit down and see a vim user work to start to understand.

In vim you don't just move around with arrows, then delete and then replace the text you want. What happens is you can use noun-verb associations to do things.

For example on a line like this:

    var foo = "bar";
I could be at the beginning of the line and type the following keys to change the inside of the quotation marks:

    ci"baz
In sublime I would do the following:

    →←←⌫⌫⌫baz
The difference between the two was an epiphany for me. In vim I could actually use verbs and nouns to determine how I will edit the text in front of me. I now have a language that I can use to edit text rather than editing the text using the most manual of tools and the verbs and nouns combination are only limited by my imagination and the plugins I install.

Re: Vim Creep

#35

Post by VMG »

Nope. Don't get me wrong, I love vim, but I don't need to have it everywhere. It makes no sense in the browser. It's lacking some features Eclipse has (although if Eclipse had a proper Vim mode, I'd use it in a heartbeat).

Re: Vim Creep

#36

Post by greyfade »

jdludlow wrote: post #28
crazygringo wrote: post #13

This feels like an article about a religion or cult, not a software program. I just don't get it. Ever since newer editors got block editing or multiple insertion cursors, and RegEx find & replace across multiple files, and searching filenames to open... I feel like I've already got everything I need! What am I missing out on? I don't feel like my text editor holds back my productivity. Using something like Sublime,…

It's mainly about muscle memory. If you're using Sublime, emacs, TextMate, or any other "real" text editor then you're fine. I don't have to think about how to perform most tasks in vim. My fingers just execute what my brain wants to see happen. That doesn't mean that vim is the greatest thing ever, just that I'm used to it and it's fast enough to get the job done. One concrete benefit to vim is that it works very we…

Or, if Vim isn't present, at least some version of `vi` will be. (Whether it be busybox-vi, nvi, or Ritter's Traditional Vi.)

Re: Vim Creep

#38

Post by xutopia »

jdludlow wrote: post #21

My first week in college a distant relative of mine at the same school pulled me into the Sun lab. The sum-total of his instructions were: * This is how you log in. * This is ls. * This is cd. * This is man. * This is apropos. * Learn vi. * Have fun. What came from that 5 minute intro to Unix has been applied orders of magnitude more often than anything from 5 years of an EE degree.

Can you explain to me what apropos does?

Re: Vim Creep

#39

Post by pfraze »

dpeck wrote: post #32
pfraze wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used emacs for about 6 months, and just recently switched to vim to see what I think. It's been pretty subtle so far; close enough that I don't know how much the choice matters.

I don't think you were using the features of emacs/vim that make them awesome in their respective ways if you think the differences are subtle.

You may be right-- 6 months isn't much time. What should I look into?
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