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Well as carb said, you aren't going to be writing code for hours and hours each day. As a project gets fuller, it's more navigation between files and manipulat

by tlunter 14y ago

Well as carb said, you aren't going to be writing code for hours and hours each day. As a project gets fuller, it's more navigation between files and manipulation of what is already there. The ability to move around lines with only one key or a key and an alternater (Shift more often than not) makes movement a blast. Searching for words around a file is as simple as a /. The ability to repeat past commands is just a ".". There are a variety of commands that when they are first presented to you looks like a mess. If you take a second and look at it it turns out to be really quite simple. Just vim commands are short and sweet and simple. There is no recipe or anything to get really good at Vim. It's up to the person using it to get a firm handle on what is going on. Some times you just have to be curious and notice that there could be a performance tweak here and then research how to do it. Also, don't be afraid to make your own macros to take care of work for you. I have plenty of self defined macros. Taking all the work from someone else doesn't make it entirely yours. Tweaking and picking from tons of other vimrc's and the like can be interesting. As a tid bit, make your own dotfiles repository on github. I have about 15-20 systems where my dotfiles directory is symlinked and as long as I have internet I can transfer around my perfect environment.

robomartin 14y ago
I intend to spend time with vim over the weekend and take-in some of the excellent input found on this thread. The mental image I am developing now is that vim can be said to be efficient in a narrow sense. Perhaps that narrow definition is constrained to the file level. It's like a musical instrument to manipulate files. Once you know it well, it feels just like that. I am not saying that this is the only definition, it's just what I am coming-up with now. Once we deviate from whatever the narrow definition of where vim is more efficient the claims start to fall apart. This doesn't happen because of vim but rather because it is the very nature of creating software: Things take time and saving keystrokes at the file-editing level isn't going to bring a project to completion six months earlier and with less bugs. I wear at least two hats: developer and businessman. I am forced to look at things from both angles, because, well, I have to pay for the consequences of my own decisions. For example, if I succumb to my natural inclination to keep adding features it means that I might have ten programmers busy for weeks chasing an ever-moving project completion milestone. So, as a business person, I do my best to control these urges and look at things through a different equation. Eventually you have to call it "done" and move on. Over the years I have never seen any code entry tool that truly makes a serious dent in software project timelines. Software projects are notorious for being late and over-budget. And this has absolutely nothing to do with the tools we use. Zero. A better editor or IDE will not make a dent on overall project timeline. Anyone who can figure out a way to solve that problem can become an "instant" billionaire.
- johncoltrane 14y ago
  You are making stuff up. Nobody is claiming that using Vim over Eclipse allows a product to be delivered earlier and with less bugs. The Agile crowd makes that kind of claim, some language zealots also do. The "saving keystrokes" argument is important for programmers because our work is very repetitive and we are lazy. It has nothing to do with the productivity of your team or the release date. Nothing. Because programmers don't care about all that. Chosing Vim over another editor is a matter of personal choice. If you don't like Vim don't use it. Noone cares. if you are interested, even remotely, try it in your free time. But by all means don't project the effects of your delusions on random strangers: nobody is insisting that you use Vim instead of X. All the "Vim is awesome" comments or blog posts you have read are not attempts to bring you to our temple. They are just manifestations of our personal and often unreasonable "love" for Vim. No more, no less.

by tlunter 14y ago

robomartin 14y ago

I intend to spend time with vim over the weekend and take-in some of the excellent input found on this thread. The mental image I am developing now is that vim can be said to be efficient in a narrow sense. Perhaps that narrow definition is constrained to the file level. It's like a musical instrument to manipulate files. Once you know it well, it feels just like that. I am not saying that this is the only definition, it's just what I am coming-up with now. Once we deviate from whatever the narrow definition of where vim is more efficient the claims start to fall apart. This doesn't happen because of vim but rather because it is the very nature of creating software: Things take time and saving keystrokes at the file-editing level isn't going to bring a project to completion six months earlier and with less bugs. I wear at least two hats: developer and businessman. I am forced to look at things from both angles, because, well, I have to pay for the consequences of my own decisions. For example, if I succumb to my natural inclination to keep adding features it means that I might have ten programmers busy for weeks chasing an ever-moving project completion milestone. So, as a business person, I do my best to control these urges and look at things through a different equation. Eventually you have to call it "done" and move on. Over the years I have never seen any code entry tool that truly makes a serious dent in software project timelines. Software projects are notorious for being late and over-budget. And this has absolutely nothing to do with the tools we use. Zero. A better editor or IDE will not make a dent on overall project timeline. Anyone who can figure out a way to solve that problem can become an "instant" billionaire.

johncoltrane 14y ago
You are making stuff up. Nobody is claiming that using Vim over Eclipse allows a product to be delivered earlier and with less bugs. The Agile crowd makes that kind of claim, some language zealots also do. The "saving keystrokes" argument is important for programmers because our work is very repetitive and we are lazy. It has nothing to do with the productivity of your team or the release date. Nothing. Because programmers don't care about all that. Chosing Vim over another editor is a matter of personal choice. If you don't like Vim don't use it. Noone cares. if you are interested, even remotely, try it in your free time. But by all means don't project the effects of your delusions on random strangers: nobody is insisting that you use Vim instead of X. All the "Vim is awesome" comments or blog posts you have read are not attempts to bring you to our temple. They are just manifestations of our personal and often unreasonable "love" for Vim. No more, no less.