IDEs With VIM Text Editing Capability?

An anonymous reader writes "I am currently looking to move from text editing with vim to a full fledged IDE with gdb integration, integrated command line, etc. Extending VIM with these capabilities is a mortal sin, so I am looking for a linux based GUI IDE. I do not want to give up the efficient text editing capabilities of VIM though. How do I have my cake and eat it too?"

Comments

Netbeans ( or others )

[stoolpigeon]

Netbeans with the Vi Vim for netbeans plugin.
 
Netbeans is FOSS, runs on Windows, Linux and OS X. It handles Java, C/C++, PHP, Python, Ruby, Groovy and does a bunch of other stuff.
 
There is the viPlugin for Eclipse as well - I just happen to like Netbeans better.
 
The ActiveState folks list VI key bindings as a feature for their Komodo and Komodo Edit products. These are closed source though Komodo Edit is free as in beer. It is cross platform - covering the win/lin/mac world.
 
I'm sure there are other options but those are the largest projects I know of that do what you want.

Re:Netbeans ( or others )

[iMaple]

And if you want to use Visual Studio then visit the main download page
http://www.vim.org/download.php and get:
ftp://ftp.vim.org/pub/vim/pc/gvim72ole.zip
(OLE GUI executable, A GUI version with OLE support. This offers a few extra features, such as integration with Visual Developer Studio. But it uses quite a bit more memory.)

And you can safely disregard the more memory part, if you are already using visual studio :D

http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Integrate_gvim_with_Visual_Studio for tips if you need help setting it up.

Re:Netbeans ( or others )

[stoolpigeon]

I don't think VS runs on Linux.

Re:Netbeans ( or others )

[TheCarp]

I tried eclim and found, pretty quickly, that I reverted to the eclipse built in editor.

The problem that I had was that well, it didn't add the capabilities to vim, as much as add vim to the IDE.

I love vim, but, the ability to highlight individual lines and give me specific errors, especially as I am new to java and tend to make silly errors still. More than that, just the ability to have it cleanly (mostly, I have issues with eclipse's built in editor too) pop up a list of what methods are available on an object as I go serves both to help me refer to docs less, but also to remind me of what I am doing.

Overall, I do prefer vim because I am so used to it. The ability to switch modes, and run a quick regex over a whole document, or do it from here to the end of file, or just do it on the next 10 lines... so handy! I really wish I could get the best of both worlds, but, for now... I need the other features more.

Re:Netbeans ( or others )

[oren]

There's also http://www.viemu.com/ (it costs $$$, but if you are forced to use VisualStudio...) and http://ideavim.sourceforge.net/ (free plug-in for IntelliJ IDEA). And for people who use EMACS as their IDE, there's http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/ViperMode :-)

Re:Netbeans ( or others )

[schnablebg]

This is not informative to anyone who wants to use a recent version of Visual Studio (ie, anything since VS2003) because it does not work. There is a lame workaround to open the file externally in vim and save it back. You need to use ViEmu if you want a vi mode in VS. It is commercial software, but worth it. If you are stuck on VS5 or 6, god help you; a vi mode is not going to save you.

In any case, what the OP is looking for is actually just vim and the knowledge to use it to its full potential. Extending vim is not a "mortal sin," it is very useful and done all the time. There are plugins and examples for everything the OP wants to do, and if he likes vim he will probably like these better than clicky IDE.

Re:Netbeans ( or others )

[Anonymous Coward]

For highlighting current lines and specific errors (Assuming you mean compile time errors), read up on quickfix (:help quickfix). It's more for C apps, but I've found a few references for getting it to work with java (in the help file even!)

For the pop up list of methods, look into autocomplete (:help i_CTRL_X You may have to download the javacomplete.vim file, search vim.org for it) and possibly ctags (:help ctags) (or :help jtags for a java specific version of ctags) Your distribution probably already has ctags on it, if not get Exuberant ctags from http://ctags.sourceforge.net

 

Re:Netbeans ( or others )

[Abcd1234]

Funny, I don't find gvim provides any major advantages over regular vim. After all, I'm using vim... I've already chosen to use the keyboard for most things, so the improved mouse integration is basically useless. Meanwhile, I can embed vim in GNU Screen, which makes for a much more convenient environment, as you can spawn and switch between new terminals quickly and easily, right from the keyboard.

Emacs!

[Saint Aardvark]

Is there anything Emacs can't do? :-)

Re:Emacs!

[rainmaestro]

Yeah, it's a great operating system. If only it had a decent text editor =)

KDevelop4

[DMiax]

I know it's not out yet, but the katepart (the editor widget) already has a VI mode that supports most of the original commands and modal editing. Worth giving a try: the betas are getting better and better...

Vim has integration already

[Anonymous Coward]

Umm vim supports plugins, and there is of course a GDB one.

Also there is an integrated command line called :!
or if you want to get more fancy you can open multiple buffers and :%!whatever to replace it with output

Vim easily integrates with the shell. You just have to know how to use both.

At the risk of starting a flame war

[dkleinsc]

Try Emacs.

Seriously. The integration with gdb, gcc, etc is where Emacs really shines. Yes, the Control-Meta-cokebottle commands are a bit annoying, but there's worthwhile tradeoffs there.

The first post was also quite useful. And to be fair, I like vim too.

Re:At the risk of starting a flame war

[Splab]

I've only been using VI for 10 years, but still is almost impossible for me to work in any editor now where there aren't modes.

What made me choose VI over Emacs back in the day [tm] was the fact that my hands aren't build for the ctrl voodoo used in Emacs.

Gvim

[theinvisibleguy]

Gvim is pretty good, it might still be too lean for what you are asking for, I would say it's more an intermediary step between vim and a big gui ide.

Re:Why not extend vim?

[frank_adrian314159]

Because, if you allow vim to be extended, it may accidentally become an operating system.

Re:Why not extend vim?

[Subliminalbits]

The poster probably doesn't want to have to learn keybindings for a new editor. He may even already know them but just prefers vim keybindings. What he really probably wants is the luxuries of of a full IDE without having to give up the editing flexibility and familiarity he has with vim.

Extend Vim

[__aalruu9610]

Mortal sin? First, get over your ridiculous predisposition against extending vim. Vim is built to be extended, and extending it can make it much more useful as a tool and not just an editor. If you're good enough in Vim to prefer it as a text editor, then make it comfortable as an environment. There are some amazing extensions for vim, that for me at least, make me much more productive than using an "IDE". Fuzzy file finder, exuberant ctags with taglist, minibufexplorer...

Re:Qt Creator

[StackedCrooked]

Qt Creator's Vim bindings are not complete yet. For example keystrokes like yiw or diw don't work. Recording macro's (which for me is Vim's killer feature) also doesn't work. That aside it's a great piece of software. Actually, it is the only IDE that I find usable on Linux.

Re:Moving in the wrong direction

[penguin359]

http://www.gnu.org/fun/jokes/ed.msg.html

command mode baby..

[tempest69]

if I want line 200 I type in 199j from the top..

if I want to change all of the X to - in an amino acid sequence line I type :s/X/\-/g

yea.. I'm sure that emacs can do it too.. But once all that brainpower is invested, theres no way I'd bother with emacs.. It's like a secretary changing to dvorak after she's hit 200wpm

vim is fast, powerful, user friendly, and quite picky about it's friends.

Storm

Re:command mode baby..

[ilikejam]

if I want line 200 I type in 199j from the top..

Try 200G instead - works from anywhere in the file.