I learned vi because my CS200 instructor said "it's the only thing that's pretty much guaranteed to be everywhere". While VIM obviously adds a cacophony of bel

I learned vi because my CS200 instructor said "it's the only thing that's pretty much guaranteed to be everywhere". While VIM obviously adds a cacophony of bells and whistles, being able to handle the "skeleton" of vi-- modes and navigation and the core commands-- will be a lifesaver some day. On the other hand, I can recall trying to fix a machine so hosed once that vi wasn't available; I think I had to use ed to bootstrap the recovery process.