10 Reasons Why You Should Use Vi/Vim Text Editor in Linux

While working with Linux systems, there are several areas where you’ll need to use a text editor including programming/scripting, editing configuration/text files, to mention but a few. There are several remarkable text editors you’ll find out there for Linux-based operating systems.

Suggested Read: 12 Best Text Editors for Linux

However, in this article, we will explain to you some of the top reasons why you would consider using Vi/Vim (hereafter referred to as Vim) text editor.

Vi was the first screen-oriented text editor created for Unix, it was designed to be simple yet powerful for text manipulation.

Vim (Vi IMproved) as its name suggests, is a clone of Vi and offers yet more features than Vi. It’s free and open source, designed for use both from a command-line interface and as a standalone application in a graphical user interface (GUI).

It’s highly configurable and comes with notable features such as syntax highlighting, mouse support, graphical versions, visual mode, many new editing commands and a large amount of extension plus much more.

With that said, below are the top reasons why you would consider primarily using Vi/Vim text editor in Linux.

1. Vim is Free and Open Source

Vim is a free and open source software, and it’s released under a license that includes some charityware clauses. The Vim developer, therefore, urges users who like the software to consider donating to underprivileged children in Uganda. The license is compatible with the GNU General Public License.

If you like free and open source software, then this would be one of the first reasons you would consider to start using Vim.

2. Vim is Always Available

Vim is available on most, if not all Linux distributions out there, you can install it from your distro’s official software repositories as follows:

# apt-get install vim [On Debian/Ubuntu]
# yum install vim [On RHEL/CentOS]
# dnf install vim [Fedora 22+]

3. Vim Is Well Documented

Vim is thoroughly documented, meaning you will find most of the answers to your questions in its help system; from books to extensive help files to an assortment of tips. All you have to do is use the appropriate keywords in your help queries.

Additionally, Vim comes with a useful built-in manual, you can launch it using the :help command once the program is started. This built-in manual contains more information than Vim’s man page.

4. Vim Has A Vibrant Community

Vim also has a community full of energy and enthusiasm, offering remarkable support in terms of developing remarkable plugins, offering useful Vim tricks and tips both for beginners and expert users plus so much more.

5. Vim Is Very Customizable and Extensible

Vim is highly configurable and it has an extensive plugin system, there are lots of good plugins out there which enhance its functionality.

One of the finest collection of plugins we have come across is spf13-vim – The Ultimate Distribution for Vim Editor, which is a cross-platform and highly customizable assortment of vim plugins and various resources for Vim, GVim and MacVim.

6. Vim Has Portable Configurations

Vim’s configurations are portable, this enables you to use the same configs on all your Linux systems. You can as well share configs with friends on the Internet and so on. All you need to to do is copy a few directories and files, and that’s all.

7. Vim Uses Less Amount of System Resources

Vim’s strengths are its smallness and simplicity, therefore it doesn’t consume a considerable amount of system resources as opposed to other text editors especially graphical text editors.

It’s also normally very fast and lightweight even when editing huge files of source code. It’s easy to run over ssh for remote operations on any server.

Furthermore, its offers highly effective key-bindings thus allowing you to carry out any imaginable tasks without lifting your fingers from the keyboard. Even with its simplicity, Vim has many capabilities and is very efficient once learned.

8. Vim Supports All Programming Languages and File Formats

By default, Vim supports several programming languages and file formats. It can detect the type of file that is being edited; this is done by checking the file name and sometimes by inspecting the contents of the file for specific text.

9. Vim is Very Popular in the Linux World

Another reason you would want start using or simply stick with Vim for is that, it is very popular in the Unix/Linux world, especially for system administrators. Two in three experienced Linux system administrators out there will recommend learning Vim.

10. Vim is Fun!

Last but not least, Vim is fun to learn and once you start using it extensively on daily basis. When the initial learning curve is passed, you can really do amazing things with it.

However, you’ll only discover this aspect of Vim once you start learning and using it. Yes, give it a try.

Are you ready to give it a chance, then start learning Vim today. Remember it is not easy (as easy as clicking a button), you must have heard or read some where about the hustles of learning Vim, but the guides provided via these links below should give you a fair start:

1. How to Install and Use vi/vim as a Full Text Editor
2. Learn Useful ‘Vi/Vim’ Tips and Tricks to Enhance Your Skills – Part 1
3. 8 Interesting ‘Vi/Vim’ Tips and Tricks for Every Linux Administrator – Part 2
4. How to Enable Syntax Highlighting in ‘Vi/Vim’ Editor
5. Make ‘Vi/Vim’ as Bash-IDE Using ‘bash-support’ Plugin

That’s all for now! In this article, we explained to you some of the top reasons why you would consider using Vi/Vim text editor in Linux. Perhaps, these are not the only reasons, do you have any in mind? Let us know via the feedback section below.