Long ago, there was a debate in the software industry about whether to use Vim or not. The debate is a bit like the one in music about analog versus digital signals.
In the eyes of most engineers, Vim is an old, outdated text editor. It lacks many good features and is less comfortable to use than a modern IDE. But in reality, Vim is anything but an old text editor.
The Vim is like a stick shift car.
You have to learn how to drive it, how to shift gears manually. Once you get used to it, the rewards and fun multiply. It takes you down winding roads, requiring you to stay focused and shift gears. You feel like you have a connection with the car, like it’s part of you.
That’s what Vim is like, and that’s why it’s so interesting.
Here are three and a half reasons WHY I recommend using Vim.
1. No mouse
When you use Vim, you almost don’t have to use the mouse, you have to use the keyboard to do everything. This will make you a stronger, more effective developer.
The more times you take your hands off the keyboard, the less productive you will be. Every time you use a mouse, your productivity slows down, and your brain is like the CPU switching thread contexts. So you should learn to use shortcuts slowly.
One of the great things about Vim is that it only works with keyboard shortcuts, even if you want to use a mouse.
You just have to get used to it.
2. Local development
On most Unix systems, either Vim or Vi can be used by default. Both are editors that run entirely on the command line and are much more versatile and lightweight due to the lack of a GUI.
Because Vim is completely command-line driven, it feels like flying when you use SSH to connect to a remote server to edit text or modify code online.
VIm is especially important when using a system like Ubuntu Server that does not contain a GUI itself.
With Vim, you don’t need to transfer files directly to and from your system, nor do you need to use SSHFS to mount remote systems. Just open your configuration file with Vim, edit it, and then :wq.
3. No distractions
Do you really need to automate completion and integrate code analysis? Do you really need that fancy UI?
What you should learn is to think simple, Vim doesn’t have the bloated features of a big IDE, it allows you to focus on the essence of the problem: the code.
When you use Vim, you become more organized and disciplined. You will be more aware of which file you are currently editing and in what directory. Even if they’re not shown in front of you, you know exactly where they are.
Thanks to the simplicity of the editor, editing, cutting, pasting, and moving between files becomes much clearer and unambiguous.
Of course, sometimes you might need some extra functionality. You can do this by installing the Vim plug-in. These plugins are on-demand, you just need to choose what you really need to use.
You could use Vim to manage your Vim plug-in.
3½ Street prestige
Other developers who don’t use Vim will think you’re crazy when they see you developing on Vim, and you can use that mindset to your advantage while also increasing your impact.
Remember, you can develop faster than anyone else. Vim takes up much less memory than the larger modern ides.
No matter what purpose you use Vim for, or if you are forced to use it. You can learn to love it and grow a lot.
Vim is the best chef’s knife. You can use it to cut things, or get cut by it…
The translator reviews
Vim is still useful for development, but I use it as a text editor and prefer to use an IDE for writing code. Because I really need code completion. Programming with Vim is probably something only the first generation of geeks can do. You can still learn to use Vim properly, after all, in the eyes of the layman can be installed X weapon.
The original address
Medium.com/better-prog…