I still use the original, AT&T vi since I grew up on UNIX and Solaris 2.5.1 was my first UNIX OS after using my Amiga. Even when I’m on a GNU/Linux variant, I

I still use the original, AT&T vi since I grew up on UNIX and Solaris 2.5.1 was my first UNIX OS after using my Amiga. Even when I’m on a GNU/Linux variant, I run vim by calling vi, primarily because syntax highlighting enrages me to no end. vi won because it came with every UNIX by default, and when one is in a cold server room connected to /dev/console via serial port at 3 o’clock in the morning, one quickly learns to appreciate vi’s ready availability and ubiquity. Emacs on the other hand was always a huge program, was never bundled with UNIX by default, and compiling it on one’s own always ended in failure somewhere around Emacs wanting to compile itself as an Xwindows application. Add to that that Emacs had completely different key bindings and users would have to adapt to it rather than it letting them use their prior knowledge, it was a death knell to Emacs. Later versions added vi key bindings (“evil mode”), but since the pre-built versions continued to insist on Xwindows, it was wholly unsuitable for servers; for example, an SGI Origin 200 or Origin 3000 didn’t even have a frame buffer nor did they need Xwindows, and neither did the hp K-, N-, or L-class servers. Meanwhile, vi continued to be the UNIX system administrator’s trusty friend: always there, with no additional software requirements. Ironically, when I’m on the Amiga I use vim, but there it doesn’t have syntax highlighting which I hate, and so is usable out of the box (I use it as I would vi on UNIX, without any extra vim fluff).