A Visual Walkthrough of New Features in Vim 7.0

An anonymous reader writes "Anybody who has used Linux or any other OS would be aware of the very powerful and feature rich text editor Vi. This interesting article takes a visual look at some of the new features in the latest version of Vim 7.0 — a Vi clone created by Bram Moolenaar. From the article: 'Just for once, I wouldn't mind siding with the beast if that is what it takes to use Vi. The modern avatar of Vi is Vim — the free editor created by Bram Moolenaar. Riding from strength to strength, this editor in its 7th version is a powerhouse as far as an editor is concerned. When ever I use Vim (or GVim for that matter), it gives me the impression of the Beauty and the Beast.'"

Comments

Bill Joy

[Brainix]

For the younger ones in the audience, Vim is a superset of vi, which was originally written by Bill Joy.

Yes, the same Bill Joy who heavily contributed to BSD, TCP/IP, NFS, and csh.

Yet I still count vi as one of his top contributions. :-)

While it may be free

[also-rr]

It is also charity ware. The website asks for donations to a charity that helps children in Uganda.

Re:Default mode

[TheBogBrushZone]

Does Vim still default to starting in command mode? I suppose it does (...) It's a text editor, it should start in insert mode like every other editor.

It has something called 'Easy mode' for those who dislike the mode distinction or just want to use a dubmed-down editor interface. And why should starting in insert mode be the 'right' thing to do just because other editors do it? 99% of the time when I first open a text file I don't want to start inserting text. I want to navigate somewhere, usually by searching for a string or a line number.

Pressing some key to start typing is bloody annoying, then pressing Esc to insert commands is also annoying.

You seem to be very easily annoyed. Use vi or ViM for a while and the dual mode system becomes second nature and you miss it in other applications.

Ctrl-sequences are much better, and the default insert mode means I can do simple text editing and slowly learn other commands of the editor.

I don't see any major disadvantage here. You can do the same with ViM. All you need to start with are 'i', 'ESC' and 'ZZ'. The cursor keys and most of the navigation keys work in the same way as other editors until you learn to use the more advanced navigation available.

To be honest, I also find Vim's shortcuts extremely unintuative. Want to go to the end of the document? 99% of editors, Ctrl-end. Vim, G. Sorry, that's retarded.

Did you actually try doing that in ViM? CTRL-END works just the same as G. Has done for a long time. And why should using one arbitary key combination be more 'retarded' than another? CTRL-END could just as correctly be used to terminate the application or insert the letters 'E', 'N' and 'D'. You are entitled to your opinion but it's just arrogance to assume your interpretation is the only valid one.

Maybe it's based in the days of legacy terminals that didn't have arrow keys or even control sequences, but we're not in those days anymore; it's the text editor equivalent of still using a green-on-black text-only monitor.

It's called Vi iMproved. It takes the features that people found useful with vi (and its predecessors) with newer features added (not that the Control key you seem to have an obsession with is exactly a cutting-edge invention). Most developers I know, myself included, prefer ViM because it contains a wealth of practical features and a fast, efficient user interface for those with the patience to learn a little and get past the preoccupation with Microsoft-prescribed keyboard shortcuts.