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Why is vi so popular?

ralph_shade

This is a minor point, but my curiosity has been sparked by a number of suggestions to use vi to edit a file.  I remember vi being the hot thing 30 years ago - yes, I've been around that long image. - actually got a TRS 80 mod 1 about thirty four years ago.  Writing programs on that machine along with my experience using the line editor on BIX has given me a long standing aversion to using line editors.  The people who are recommending it's use are people who I respect for their technical knowledge.  I must assume that vi still has some capabilities that make it a recommended choice over a good screen editor.  If someone has the time and the inclination to help educate a SOF (seriously old fart) I'd appreciate it!

 

Thanks,

Ralph

  • IMHO, the reason vi has outlasted almost every other editor out there is because of its ability to work in almost any environment.  Almost all other editors require either graphical environment or curses (including emacs, pico, nano, etc).  Plus, vi has grown in capability over the years so many of the features available in other IDEs or editors are available in some form in vi.  If you can't tell, I'm one of "those" people that tell other unix/linux users that they should at least learn to use vi even if they prefer another option because you know it will be there when other editors fail.  As an example of vi adaptability in all environments, I've even had the pleasure of using systems that have no arrow keys, so the hjkl navigation keys made it possible to get around.  In an even more extreme case, I had a headless box that was connected to a line printer so I had to use vi in ex mode to edit a file.  Can't speak for anyone else but that's why I tell everyone they should at least learn vi.

     

    All of that said, I do actually prefer vi.  Even though I mostly manage right now, I still do a fair share of development work and I use vi for just about every language I code in.  I have relented in the case of Java where I fire up Eclipse for any major project but for quick edits, I still fall back to vi.  I can still probably do complicated global search and replace tasks using regex faster than most can with the search and replace functions in most IDEs.  I find myself typing "jjjj" and <esc> in Word sometimes when I'm not paying attention.

  • Many thanks to all the folks who took the time to respond to my question.  Since I believe in putting my money (well, time anyhow) where my mouth is, I'm going to try to resurrect a simple editor I wrote about 25 years ago.  The source code is long gone, so it's more like re-writing than resurrecting but the second time should be easier.  I'm going to use the FPC compiler because (a) it's what I know best and (b) holds the hope of compiling in a variety of environments.  I'm not talking anykind of GUI app.  Just a simple editor that uses arrow keys, etc if availabe and also WordStar keyboard commands.  If anyone knows of an issue that would keep such an editor from functioning over SSH or other technical considerations that I, as a Linux noob, am unaware of, it would be a great help. 

     

    Fair warning, this is not a priority project in my wife's eyes so it may take more time than seem's reasonable image

     

    Ralph

  • in reply to ralph_shade

    Keep us posted. Sounds like a good project.

     

     

    Mike

  • As Bruce pointed out, vi is standard on every nix installation, so if you are going to devote brain cells to learning something, it's generally good to pick something you can rely on being available.

     

    One other advantage is that a lot of the commands are based on sed sequences, so you can also use it to test or create formatting or search scripts for automating document tasks.

  • I've been using vi and regular expressions since the early 80's, so my finger are already trained to use it and sometimes I can get things done, particularly when editing code much better and faster with vi that with other editors, well you can list me also as an emacs user.

     

    -J

  • in reply to jamodio

    After 20 years I just started using it again after buying a PI and needing to edit configs etc...  just like riding I bike I keep saying to myself... still makes my head hurt...  especially when I've got spf, ed, edlin  and a bunch of other OS command line editors still in my head.. its a challenge remembering all the commands on them... then again a few months ago I got on my sons  skateboard for the first time in probaby nearly 30 years can still do that too...  I remember first seeing vi in the early 80's when I first started using BSD and also xenix.. when I think back to the power of those machines... gee a Pi looks pretty good!!