Vim: What is it and Why to use it?

What is Vim Editor?

Vim (Vi IMproved) is a highly configurable text editor used by programmers and system administrators for efficient text editing. It is an enhanced version of the older vi editor, providing many features and improvements.

Why Use Vim?

• Efficiency: Vim's key bindings allow you to perform complex text manipulation tasks quickly.
• Customizability: Vim can be extensively customized through configuration files and plugins.
• Portability: Vim is available on almost every Unix-like system and has ports for other platforms.
• Lightweight: It is lightweight and fast, making it ideal for use on remote servers and systems with limited resources.

Installing Vim

=> On Linux

=> On macOS

=> On Windows

Download the installer from Vim's official website and follow the instructions.

Basic Usage

Starting Vim

To start Vim, type vim in your terminal followed by the name of the file you want to edit:

Modes in Vim

Vim operates in several modes, each serving a different purpose:

• Normal Mode: The default mode for navigation and text manipulation.
• Insert Mode: For inserting text. Enter by pressing i in Normal Mode.
• Visual Mode: For selecting text. Enter by pressing v in Normal Mode.
• Command-Line Mode: For running commands. Enter by pressing : in Normal Mode.

Switching Between Modes

• Normal Mode to Insert Mode: Press i
• Insert Mode to Normal Mode: Press Esc
• Normal Mode to Visual Mode: Press v
• Normal Mode to Command-Line Mode: Press :

Basic Navigation in Normal Mode

• h: Move left
• j: Move down
• k: Move up
• l: Move right
• 0: Move to the beginning of the line
• $: Move to the end of the line
• w: Move to the beginning of the next word
• b: Move to the beginning of the previous word
• G: Move to the bottom of the file
• gg: Move to the top of the file

Basic Editing in Normal Mode

• i: Enter insert mode before the cursor
• a: Enter insert mode after the cursor
• o: Open a new line below the current line and enter insert mode
• O: Open a new line above the current line and enter insert mode
• x: Delete the character under the cursor
• dd: Delete the current line
• dw: Delete from the cursor to the end of the word
• d$: Delete from the cursor to the end of the line
• u: Undo the last change
• Ctrl + r: Redo the undone change

Visual Mode

• v: Enter visual mode to select text
• V: Enter visual line mode to select entire lines
• Ctrl + v: Enter visual block mode to select blocks of text
• y: Yank (copy) the selected text
• d: Delete the selected text
• p: Paste the copied text after the cursor
• P: Paste the copied text before the cursor

Command-Line Mode

• :w: Save the current file
• :q: Quit Vim
• :wq: Save and quit Vim
• !: Quit without saving changes
• filename: Open another file
• filename: Save the file with a new name
• :help: Open Vim help documentation

Advanced Features

Search and Replace

• /pattern: Search for a pattern in the file. Use n to move to the next occurrence and N to move to the previous one.
• :%s/old/new/g: Replace all occurrences of old with new in the file.
• /old/new/g: Replace all occurrences of old with new in the current line.

Working with Multiple Files

• :n: Open the next file in the argument list
• :prev: Open the previous file in the argument list
• filename: Open a file in a new horizontal split
• filename: Open a file in a new vertical split
• Ctrl + w w: Switch between open windows

Macros

• qa: Start recording a macro into register a
• q: Stop recording
• @a: Play the macro stored in register a

Customization and Plugins

Configuration File

Vim's behavior can be customized using a configuration file (.vimrc). Common settings include:

syntax on                                " Enable syntax highlighting
set number                             " Show line numbers
set tabstop=4                        " Number of spaces that a <Tab> in the file counts for
set shiftwidth=4                    " Number of spaces to use for each step of (auto)indent
set expandtab                        " Use spaces instead of tabs
set autoindent                        " Copy indent from current line when starting a new line
set clipboard=unnamedplus " Use the system clipboard
        

Installing Plugins

Vim can be extended with plugins. Popular plugin managers include Pathogen, Vundle, and Vim-Plug. Here's how to use Vim-Plug:

• Install Vim-Plug:

• Add Plugins to .vimrc

• Install Plugins: Open Vim and run:

Conclusion

Vim is a powerful and efficient text editor with a steep learning curve but offers immense benefits once mastered. This guide provides a foundational understanding of Vim, but the key to becoming proficient is practice and exploring more advanced features and customizations.

Happy Learning !