I've been using Vim for about 25 years. Best editor I've ever used, and I've used many different text editors. (...but I haven't used ATOM, VSCode, Brackets, or Kate. I have used Sublime.) Also, Vim is on every platform I care about.
Before I switched to Vim, I had used Emacs for about 8 years.
The feature I like best about Vim is that it gets out of the way. It's a zen-like experience. I can become one with the keyboard.
I would not use Vim as an IDE substitute, although some die-hard Vim fans do use it as an IDE. Not its wheelhouse.
i would be curious to hear your opinion on doom emacs ! why did you switch to vim, it sure must be something awesome since you spent 8 years on emacs !
I used Emacs for a little while in the late 1990s and liked it. I'd tried vim and didn't really get it.
Then a few years later, a research colleague was using vim to do some basic editing while SSH'ed into a compute cluster. I asked her why she was using vim and how she was doing things. She pointed out that on the cluster the only available editors were nano and vim, and gave me a quick tutorial. Once I started to get comfortable with vim's movement actions, especially things like "daw" (delete a word), % (jump to matching bracket/paren/etc), f and F to jump forward/backward the next matching character, gg/:NN to jump to the top or a specific line... I really enjoyed it and have never wanted to go back. That was about 10 years ago.
Also, Vimgolf helped me learn more effective ways of navigating and editing text.
A coworker of mine used Vim. He and I would extol the virtues of our favorite editors (Vim for him, Emacs for me).
We made a challenge bet, I'd use Vim for a month, he'd use Emacs for a month. After the month was up, he went back to Vim, and I didn't go back to Emacs. (For the reasons mentioned earlier.)
yeah i know all the quotes, none makes sense, its like i give you an empty buffer and i tell look at this extensible environment, you could program it to do anything, the only limit is your when you get tired programming what you want.
I have to say - I also don't understand. Can you make the criticism more concrete? I do many things with Emacs, including editing text, and do not find it deficient.
I'll try to make it more concrete by using an analogy.
I've eaten chocolate ice cream. It's okay. I had eaten it for 8 years.
Then I tried vanilla ice cream. It was much better. I loved it. It's the only ice cream I've been eating now for 25 years.
I just don't like chocolate ice cream very much.
Now you've told me you used to eat vanilla ice cream. Then tried chocolate ice cream, and you love chocolate ice cream. And you would never go back to vanilla ice cream.
It's okay that I like vanilla ice cream. It's okay that you like chocolate ice cream.
The things I don't like about chocolate ice cream are the things you like about it. The things I like about vanilla ice cream are the things you don't like about it.
Hm - that's all well and good, I understand the taste thing. That's not what I'm asking about - you claimed Emacs is actually bad at editing text, which is a different claim than you simply prefer something else. 100% with you on divergent preferences, but the phrase was "Emacs is not good at it. Emacs is good -- great even -- at many other things.". I still don't follow. Is it bad because you found a tool you like better, or is it inherently worse in a way I'm missing? That's what I mean by "concrete", specific criticisms of how emacs fails where vim succeeds at editing text. I'm conversant in both and can't think of any that aren't personal preference.
Is it bad because you found a tool you like better, or is it inherently worse in a way I'm missing?
You used to use Vim, for a long time. Now you use Emacs. Obviously you think Emacs is better, and doesn't suck at editing.
I used used to use Emacs, for a long time. Now I use Vim. I think Emacs sucks at editing.
Emacs gets in the way of editing; Vim gets out of the way and editing becomes a zen-like experience. I think Emacs is inherently worse at editing; but you don't see it. Okay, that's fine. If it works for you, it works for you.
I can't recall the text editor I used when I was a beginner. It would have been on the Apple IIe, in 1983. I suspect it also wasn't very beginner friendly, but I didn't know better at the time.
I like the way Vim can customize and lightweight. I really want to replace VSCode to Vim. But still, vscode have the power of user friendly and extensions. Now when code React, I use Vim, when code Flutter, I use vscode :v
For further actions, you may consider blocking this person and/or reporting abuse
We're a place where coders share, stay up-to-date and grow their careers.
I've been using Vim for about 25 years. Best editor I've ever used, and I've used many different text editors. (...but I haven't used ATOM, VSCode, Brackets, or Kate. I have used Sublime.) Also, Vim is on every platform I care about.
Before I switched to Vim, I had used Emacs for about 8 years.
The feature I like best about Vim is that it gets out of the way. It's a zen-like experience. I can become one with the keyboard.
I would not use Vim as an IDE substitute, although some die-hard Vim fans do use it as an IDE. Not its wheelhouse.
i would be curious to hear your opinion on doom emacs ! why did you switch to vim, it sure must be something awesome since you spent 8 years on emacs !
I used Emacs for a little while in the late 1990s and liked it. I'd tried vim and didn't really get it.
Then a few years later, a research colleague was using vim to do some basic editing while SSH'ed into a compute cluster. I asked her why she was using vim and how she was doing things. She pointed out that on the cluster the only available editors were nano and vim, and gave me a quick tutorial. Once I started to get comfortable with vim's movement actions, especially things like "daw" (delete a word), % (jump to matching bracket/paren/etc), f and F to jump forward/backward the next matching character, gg/:NN to jump to the top or a specific line... I really enjoyed it and have never wanted to go back. That was about 10 years ago.
Also, Vimgolf helped me learn more effective ways of navigating and editing text.
A coworker of mine used Vim. He and I would extol the virtues of our favorite editors (Vim for him, Emacs for me).
We made a challenge bet, I'd use Vim for a month, he'd use Emacs for a month. After the month was up, he went back to Vim, and I didn't go back to Emacs. (For the reasons mentioned earlier.)
I had the opposite happen - I was a long-time Vim user, tried Emacs "just to see", have never once considered moving back. It takes all kinds I guess.
what is it that made you switch vim for emacs? what could emacs do that vim can't or do it better?
Emacs is bigger than Vim. It's an environment. It's practically an operating system. The only thing it lacks is a good editor.
yeah i know all the quotes, none makes sense, its like i give you an empty buffer and i tell look at this extensible environment, you could program it to do anything, the only limit is your when you get tired programming what you want.
That was the point: Vim is a good editor. If you want to edit, Vim is good at it.
Emacs is not good at it. Emacs is good -- great even -- at many other things.
I have to say - I also don't understand. Can you make the criticism more concrete? I do many things with Emacs, including editing text, and do not find it deficient.
I'll try to make it more concrete by using an analogy.
I've eaten chocolate ice cream. It's okay. I had eaten it for 8 years.
Then I tried vanilla ice cream. It was much better. I loved it. It's the only ice cream I've been eating now for 25 years.
I just don't like chocolate ice cream very much.
Now you've told me you used to eat vanilla ice cream. Then tried chocolate ice cream, and you love chocolate ice cream. And you would never go back to vanilla ice cream.
It's okay that I like vanilla ice cream. It's okay that you like chocolate ice cream.
The things I don't like about chocolate ice cream are the things you like about it. The things I like about vanilla ice cream are the things you don't like about it.
Hm - that's all well and good, I understand the taste thing. That's not what I'm asking about - you claimed Emacs is actually bad at editing text, which is a different claim than you simply prefer something else. 100% with you on divergent preferences, but the phrase was "Emacs is not good at it. Emacs is good -- great even -- at many other things.". I still don't follow. Is it bad because you found a tool you like better, or is it inherently worse in a way I'm missing? That's what I mean by "concrete", specific criticisms of how emacs fails where vim succeeds at editing text. I'm conversant in both and can't think of any that aren't personal preference.
You used to use Vim, for a long time. Now you use Emacs. Obviously you think Emacs is better, and doesn't suck at editing.
I used used to use Emacs, for a long time. Now I use Vim. I think Emacs sucks at editing.
Emacs gets in the way of editing; Vim gets out of the way and editing becomes a zen-like experience. I think Emacs is inherently worse at editing; but you don't see it. Okay, that's fine. If it works for you, it works for you.
Hence my ice cream analogy.
Okay, thanks - just wanted to find out if you knew something technical I hadn't experienced yet. Appreciate your time!
No problem, it takes all kinds I guess.
Nice, But vim/emacs aren't very beginner friendly. I tried to learn them but found opening a text editor like Kate much easier and faster
I agree with that!
I can't recall the text editor I used when I was a beginner. It would have been on the Apple IIe, in 1983. I suspect it also wasn't very beginner friendly, but I didn't know better at the time.
Atom, Brackets or any of these are not in the same Category as VSCode, VSC has so much you can't call it texteditor, it is a full blown IDE for web+
I like the way Vim can customize and lightweight. I really want to replace VSCode to Vim. But still, vscode have the power of user friendly and extensions. Now when code React, I use Vim, when code Flutter, I use vscode :v