vim-for-beginners

Vim for beginners

Artur Nowak

vi is screen-oriented text editor created in 1976 and included in POSIX standard
Vim was first published by Bram Moolenaar in 1991
It was originally conceived as port of Vi editor to Amiga
In 1992, it got ported to Unix and soon changed name from Vi IMitation to Vi IMproved
It is still nearly compatible with Vi (especially in compatibility mode)

This slide is inspired by "Zen of Vim"
Vim commands form a language of operators (verbs) and motions (nouns)
This language resembles more how we think about actions to happen (e.g. change two words that follow, change contents of quote marks)
It also features special grammar rules, e.g. for applying the operation to the whole line (dd, cc, …) and the reminder of the line (D, C, …)
In time, you will learn to think in terms of 'edits' that are in turn object of repeat (.), undo (u) and redo (C-R) operations

Because operations in Vim are expressed in a form of language, it becomes trivial to define macros or new function the moment you learn it
Operators and motions can be added, but you know how to use them instantly, because the basic 'verbs' and 'nouns' soon become second nature to you
Vim (because of its vi and ex roots) has very strong shell integration. It means that you can delegate work to extremely powerful shell commands whenever you are in need!