It's also worth learning it in 2023, 2024,.....
Because it's the
timeless concept that makes vi-editors so extremely powerful.
I once started with emacs - very good, very powerful, very flexibel, very customizable... but simply not my style.
Geany also is worth a try (and there are others, too.)
But if you want the best:
vi - and it's family
When emacs is the Lamborghini of texteditors - fast and luxurious,
then vi is the Formula-one:
rock-solid, no luxuries at all, but by far the fastest there is.
After I overcame the prophecies of doom and laughter one may confronted with if people hear you want to learn vi,
I bit the bullet, made the effort one needs to spent before vi can be even remotely useful,
and regretted not done it earlier.
With emacs you are seduced to stick to the GUI.
This is exactly the point which slows you down.
You cannot imagine how much this slows you down unless you flew warp speed.
vi is warp speed.
Because vi forces you to use the keyboard, and the keyboard, only.
That's why I recommend
not to use GVim, especially not for the start.
You'll try to use GVim's GUI as you are common to other (emacs-like) editors.
This will not work.
You'll miss the whole point of vi's core concept: use the keyboard, only.
That's where the speed comes from.
You will not learn vi but produce curse words, only, 'cause this sh#t ain't working
like...
First thing you need to do when start learning vi:
Stop comparing!
Start completely new at zero!
Of course with emacs you may also use keyboard commands.
And you'll better do if you want to use
any editor even remoteful efficiently.
But with emacs you'll have to learn hundreds (thousands?) of keystroke combinations.
I like to compare vi and emacs with the comparison of the roman alphabet with graphical symbols.
At first one thinks: 'graphical symbols are so much easier, so much more powerful.
You don't even have to learn to read or write.
With the roman alphabet you have to learn all 26 signs first
and how to combine them to syllables before you can do even anything at all with this shit.'
..we all know the punchline:
that bitch bites back.
I started on pure Vim.
Console, only.
All my textediting I do in console only.
The best way to learn is to use it.
So force yourself to use vi for anything.
And be patient with yourself
As mentioned by others above, also I recommend:
- if you have lots of editing to do, or may in the future: learn vi/Vim/neovim - it will pay in the long term
- do the tutorials, the internal one as others you may find on the internet - you need to practise
- I could also recommend Learning the vi & Vim Editors, but soon I will get me a copy of Steve Oualline's Vi Improved - Vim (thanks for the tipp!) (used books don't cost much) you'll learn lots of those
- keep a writing book ready with a pen to write down your personal most used commands, to look them up quickly, and you'll leran better/quicker that way
- get yourself a couple of cheat-sheets; those are most valuable if you just need to use vi by accident, but also at the start. best practise: write you own cheat-sheet
