3 Reasons To Learn Vim
What is Vim?
Vi (not to be confused with Vim) was created in 1976 by Bill Joy. Vi is a standard text editor initially designed for the UNIX operating system. Vi is the universal text editor of Linux, which has been around almost since the beginning of UNIX and has changed very little since then. Vi is widely popular and has enjoyed great success since its creation.
Vim was introduced in 1991; Vim is a clone of Vi and is considered an enhanced version of Vi. There are many differences, but the main takeaway is that Vim is far more adopted in the modern age than Vi. The list of enhancements include Multilevel undoes, which means you can undo changes multiple times. Syntax highlights a feature Vi doesn’t support, but developers consider a must-have today. Vim is available on all major operating systems. Vi is only available on UNIX systems.
Why should you learn Vim?
Considering if it’s worth your time to learn Vim in the modern age is a fair appraisal. There are many great editors on the market, VSCode, Sublime, Brackets, and many more. Many developers today decide not to learn Vim, and they can certainly go on to have great careers in the field of software. But, I very much believe learning Vim is well worth any developer’s time. If one decides to push through the steep learning curve required to master Vim, the payoff is immense, and developers will be grateful throughout their careers if they take a step back and invest in this technology to improve their day-to-day workflows.
3 Reasons To Learn Vim
Reason 1: Productivity
Almost everyone who has mastered Vim has first hated it. Learning Vim is arduous; it feels unnatural at the beginning stages. You will fight long-time muscle memory to reach for the mouse and click across your editor. Undoubtedly, your productivity will take a hit for the first few days of learning Vim, and you’ll flirt with the idea of quitting, and you may not just think about it but will actually stop and go back to your old ways. However, if you can stick with Vim through the first week or so and get past the beginning frustrations of retraining…
