Ask HN: What's with all the Vim posts lately? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What's with all the Vim posts lately?

10 pointswmat11 comments

It's great; we get it.

I hope Vim isn't becoming a false icon, a part of some sort of hipster / brogrammer paradigm for what to look for in or symbols that a person is a ninja/rockstar/neckbeard/ or whatever the hell else they are calling it today.

I realize startups are HOT again and this sort of thing is bound to happen. I just hope that this too shall pass.

I thought we already found the minimum standard when it comes to judging ones editor of choice:

Textmate/Sublime/Notepad++(if on windows)

Being snarky past that is really uncalled for, no?

I seems to me as it's "making a comeback". Although it never left, for years I didn't hear much about it. Maybe the new generation of programmers are seeing the old guys use it and are just blogging more about it.

I personally use Vim and love it, so I don't mind reading the posts or watching the screencasts.

I don't use it, don't want to use it, don't need to use it.

I use my hands to type. Greatest editor there is.

That doesn't make any sense... You just "type" and it "magically" works and goes where it needs to?

For one project is Sublime, for one is Aptana, for another it could be VS. Who cares? In the end, as I see it at least, all it comes down to is you getting the job done.

While I agree with the end of your statement, I don't see why you'd use multiple editors for it...

Finding a great tool and sticking to it means you're then free to focus on work, not process. While I completely agree one shouldn't be enslaved to their tools (and, thus, capable to work with nearly anything and everything) it isn't true that any tool is a good tool. Mastering one means you're vastly superior at the work you do when using said tool.

In all fairness, that's kind of a worthless comment.

That's like a carpenter saying it doesn't matter whether he uses a hammer or a wrench to drive a nail, the real magic is in his hands. It's not a completely untrue statement, naturally, but it doesn't invalidate that one tool is distinctly better than the other for the job.

With text editors, there are a variety of purposes for each. I used to make it a point of pride that I developed in plain editors, if I were on Windows, that would mean "Notepad", or "pico" on Linux. Then I was able to see some of the more capable tools for the task available, and am a lot more productive for it.

Can I use another text editor to get my job done? Of course. If I absolutely had to, I could probably write an app with Dragon Dictate, but it isn't the best way to get it done, at least not for me. There are varying editors because people have different workflows. If your workflow is 'I type out code', well there's nothing wrong with that, but you're also throwing away potential productivity gains that something like Vim, or Emacs, or Sublime could add.

For what it's worth, Vim is free, available on pretty much every platform, and offers AMAZING levels of customization and productivity gains through its 'verbs and phrases' mechanic. That you'd turn your nose up at it for no apparent reason (that you've given anyway) seems slightly ridiculous.

I have to admit I might have been hot-headed about that comment. I definitely apreciate the increased productivity one gets by using an editor that he knows.

I will try Vim sometimes as a weekend project. Thank you for the comprehensive reply.

most active discussion groups have "firework" issues where one post triggers a burst of similar posts that flare up briefly and then sink back into the background noise. vim happens to be the topic du jour.

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