Unix programmers: vi or pico?

[Michael Hill]

I've been taught to use pico, but have been trying to learn to use vi. This is basically because not every unix machine has pico, but the basic editor is vi. Anyway, I've been having some trouble using vi; it's so complicated! Am I missing something here?

[felipe.tonello]

VI rules!!!

[neilsonster]

vi/vim/gvim takes some getting used to, but once you have it down you will be in love. I use gvim as a notepad replacement in windows (ie. for viewing any text-only file). For unix development (ie. school work) I use vim exclusively.

Just force yourself to use vi for a while and become familiar with the different modes (ie. "i" for insert mode and ctrl-v for select mode) and what you can do with them. Once you are comfortable with basic editing of a file look up new commands and try them out. One of my favourites is the ole' ctrl-v/<select block>/shift-i/insert text/esc technique of inserting the same thing on multiple lines! (yes, I guess sometimes vi is overly-complicated!).

Once you see all of the cool things you can do with vi you won't want to go back .

:wq

[ptan]

Joe!!!! jstar all the way!!!

vi is the second choice.

btw, joe also seems much faster and less refresh intensive than vi, believe it or not.

[Chris_Elston]

I like pico too.

vi is so different.

pico has been installed on most all boxes I have shelled into so far.

haven't tried joe editor yet, I heard it's pretty easy and good.

[Greg Young]

You aren't missing anything. vi has a really steep learning curve. Once you learn vi it's very powerful and it's on every unix box. I've tried several other editors and still use vi.

If they are available vim and gvim are nice enhancements to vi.

[Eldarion]

I personally prefer nano, but I can use vi if necessary.

[shawger]

Nano is basically a relicensed version of pico.

You didn't include emacs on your poll! (not that I use it anyway, but some people love it).

I'm currently in the process of learning vim. I don't really know that much, but even knowing 10 commands makes it quite nice to use. I plan on picking up on more commands as I go.

[indieFan]

The one thing to note about Pico and vi (other than the difficulty learning either) is that Pico can only handle a certain amount of characters. Anything that I couldn't open in Pico due to size could be opened in vi. (Is there a maximum limit in vi?)

Also, I just bought a book from a library for $3.00 called Unix Made Easy and it has a chapter dedicated to vi. I would suggest going to your local library and looking through the beginner Unix books for something similar.

indieFan

[qnetjoe]

vi!!!!

may the source be with you....

[esquared]

vi.

emacs is for GNUs.

vi FTW!

--eric

[Cuog]

I like vi(m) its nice to have on any box straight out of the box. Yeah its different and requires some new learning but thats also why I enjoy using Linux in general, just because it is something different.

Call me crazy, but sometimes I think learning new things is fun.

[Shinigami2057]

emacs

[Brandon Martus]

chiefdelphi.com is coded using vim

[meatmanek]

Nobody really should be using either anymore - both are outdated.
The real debate here would be vim/nano/emacs. You probably don't want to go there though, it can be a lot like starting a "Windows/Linux/Mac?" thread or a "Which Linux Distro?" thread or a "Is your robot 100% student built?" thread.

All you get is angry, self-congratulatory replies. "Mine is better than yours, and because of that, I'm more intelligent/moral than you"

Many places would even consider this sort of poll trolling, and you could get banned/moderated for it.

EDIT: Please ignore my hypocritical signature.