Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!helios.ee.lbl.gov!pasteur!ames!oliveb!intelca!mipos3!nate From: nate@mipos3.intel.com (Nate Hess) Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions Subject: Re: vi vs emacs in a student environment Keywords: vi emacs logic Message-ID: <2574@mipos3.intel.com> Date: 11 Jul 88 18:40:29 GMT References: <399@cantuar.UUCP> <11418@steinmetz.ge.com> <6056@megaron.arizona.edu> <2844@ttidca.TTI.COM> <1633@hoqax.UUCP> <2817@tekcrl.CRL.TEK.COM> Reply-To: nate@mipos3.intel.com (Nate Hess) Organization: Intel Corporation, Santa Clara, CA Lines: 56 In article <2817@tekcrl.CRL.TEK.COM> eirik@tekcrl.TEK.COM (Eirik Fuller) writes: >Maybe you asked the wrong question. Has anybody switched from vi to >emacs for practical, logical reasons? Mine are all silly, but a >little detail like that won't change my mind. [BTW, I used vi for about 4 years, and then learned Emacs.] Reasons why I find vi claustrophobic and brain-dead (in no particular order): o lacks multiple-windowing feature; o lacks multiple-buffer/file capability; o provides NO on-line help; o provides NO indication of mode or status; o treats command line as dumb terminal line; o non-obvious method of defining and preserving macros; o no ability to customize features to anywhere near the extent that you can in Emacs; o NO features to handle rectangles of text; o NO incremental searching; o NO editor server mode ability; o NO file, buffer, or command completion; o NO reformatting with or without right justification and an arbitrary left fill. o NO understanding of many different programming languages, outlines, TeX, nroff, etc., etc.; o NO batch mode of operation, for performing general editing functions bundled in a script (which is written in Lisp). Hey, I was once a staunch vi user and supporter; then I gave Emacs a fair chance, and used it exclusively for a week. I was the only one in the company who was interested in learning it, and no one around me knew Emacs at the time. Within one week, I was familiar enough with Emacs to be able to do all the things I could do in vi, plus lots more. Ever after, vi has felt positively claustrophobic. Happy Editing! --woodstock -- "How did you get your mind to tilt like your hat?" ...!{decwrl|hplabs!oliveb|pur-ee|qantel|amd}!intelca!mipos3!nate: nate@mipos3.intel.com ATT : (408) 765-4309