[PLUG] Vim

[JP Vossen <jp@jpsdomain.org>]

At PLUG W we had some Vim confusion and discussion, so without kicking
off a religious war, I though I'd throw some resources out there.  This
would also be great fodder for a preso and demo.


The most critical thing is probably ESC:q!  That is hit the ESC key then
literally type ':', then 'q' then '!' and that will exit without saving
any of the changes you just made by accident while trying to exit.  Then
`apt-get install nano` or `yum install nano` and get your work done
until you have time to study up on Vim a bit.  :-)

The next most critical things are a toss-up between:
	vimtutor
	:help <thing>
	i
	ESC
	:x

`vimtutor` is what it says it is.  ":help" is the Vim help command
(literally type ":help" or ":help motion.txt" or something).  "i" puts
you into "insert" mode where you can type and move around in a very
limited way.  The ESC key exits back to command mode, where you can ":x"
to save (if needed) and exit.  ":x" is similar to the perhaps more
common ":wq" but that forces a write then quits, while ":x" only writes
if needed and is one fewer keystroke.


Why use/learn Vim?  Because it is *always* there on any
Unix/Linux/BSD/Mac (OS X+) and it's available in command line and/or GUI
for anything and everything else.  There are many other answers but they
are a slippery slope into religious war.  For some other pretty neutral
thoughts, see http://www.viemu.com/a-why-vi-vim.html.  Note that gVim is
a GUI version, which can be really handy because it allows use of menus
and mice to ease into Vim.  See also "Cream" [1] and `vim -y` [2].

By the way, Vim is "vi, iMproved."  vi was written just about 40 years
ago as a VIsual layer on top of `ex` [3], and the details are
fascinating.  (Well *I* think they are! [4,5])  Take a look at the
ADM-3A terminal keyboard layout in [4] to see why the modal nature and
all the crazy keys, including ESC, actually make sense.  (Bonus re: ESC
[6].)

There are a ton of free resources on the 'Net, and I'll mention some,
but if you like books get:
	_Learning the vi and Vim Editors_ and
	_Practical Vim_ in that order

_Practical Vim's_ subtitle is "Edit Text at the Speed of Thought" and if
you are a good touch-typist and you read this book and practice...well,
see for yourself.

Otherwise:

*
http://yehudakatz.com/2010/07/29/everyone-who-tried-to-convince-me-to-use-vim-was-wrong/
* Run 'vimtutor' on the command line
* http://vimdoc.sourceforge.net/htmldoc/
* http://vimdoc.sourceforge.net/htmldoc/vimfaq.html
* 572 page http://www.truth.sk/vim/vimbook-OPL.pdf
* 20 page(!) Quick Reference Guide
	* http://vimdoc.sourceforge.net/htmldoc/quickref.html
	* http://alexquinn.org/techref/Vim_Quick_Reference_Guide.pdf
* 2 page http://michaelgoerz.net/refcards/vimqrc.pdf

----------------------------------------------------
[1] http://cream.sourceforge.net/featurelist.html
[2] http://vimdoc.sourceforge.net/htmldoc/starting.html#-y
[3] `ex` lives on in "ex" mode in vi and Vim.  Among other things this
make Vim scriptable!
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vi
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vim_%28text_editor%29
[6] Remapping Caps Lock to ESC can be a giant PITA because how you do it
(if it's even possible) varies widely per OS and distro.  There is a
long discussion at http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Avoid_the_escape_key with
some great ideas.  But I don't think you can beat the "jk"/"kj" "smash"
mapping at http://www.kevinberridge.com/2010/10/vim-escape.html.

Enjoy,
JP
----------------------------|:::======|-------------------------------
JP Vossen, CISSP            |:::======|      http://bashcookbook.com/
My Account, My Opinions     |=========|      http://www.jpsdomain.org/
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