Learning the vi and Vim Editors, 7th Edition

Preface to the Seventh Edition

This seventh edition of Learning the vi and Vim Editors retains all the good features of the sixth edition. Time has proven Vim to be the most popular vi clone, so this edition adds considerably expanded coverage of that editor (and gives it a place in the title). However, to be relevant for as many users as possible, we have retained and updated the material on nvi, elvis, and vile.

What’s New

The following features are new for this edition:

• Once again, we have corrected errors in the basic text.

• Seven new chapters provide exhaustive coverage of Vim.

• The material on nvi, elvis, and vile has been brought up-to-date.

• The previous edition’s two reference appendixes on ex and vi have been condensed into one and now contain selected additional material on Vim.

• The other appendixes have been updated as well.

Versions

The following programs were used for testing out various vi features:

• The Solaris version of vi for a “reference” version of Unix vi

• Version 1.79 of Keith Bostic’s nvi

• Version 2.2 of Steve Kirkendall’s elvis

• Version 7.1 of Bram Moolenaar’s Vim

• Version 9.6 of vile, by Kevin Buettner, Tom Dickey, and Paul Fox

Acknowledgments from the Sixth Edition

First and foremost, thanks to my wife, Miriam, for taking care of the kids while I was working on this book, particularly during the “witching hours” right before meal times. I owe her large amounts of quiet time and ice cream.

Paul Manno, of the Georgia Tech College of Computing, provided invaluable help in pacifying my printing software. Len Muellner and Erik Ray of O’Reilly & Associates helped with the SGML software. Jerry Peek’s vi macros for SGML were invaluable.

Although all of the programs were used during the preparation of the new and revised material, most of the editing was done with Vim versions 4.5 and 5.0 under GNU/Linux (Red Hat 4.2).

Thanks to Keith Bostic, Steve Kirkendall, Bram Moolenaar, Paul Fox, Tom Dickey, and Kevin Buettner, who reviewed the book. Steve Kirkendall, Bram Moolenaar, Paul Fox, Tom Dickey, and Kevin Buettner also provided important parts of Chapters 8 through 12. (These chapter numbers refer to the sixth edition.)

Without the electricity being generated by the power company, doing anything with a computer is impossible. But when the electricity is there, you don’t stop to think about it. So too when writing a book—without an editor, nothing happens, but when the editor is there doing her job, it’s easy to forget about her. Gigi Estabrook at O’Reilly is a true gem. It’s been a pleasure working with her, and I appreciate everything she’s done and continues to do for me.

Finally, many thanks to the production team at O’Reilly & Associates.

—Arnold Robbins Ra’anana, ISRAEL June 1998

Acknowledgments for the Seventh Edition

Once again, Arnold thanks his wife, Miriam, for her love and support. The size of his quiet time and ice cream debt continues to grow. In addition, thanks to J.D. “Illiad” Frazer for the great User Friendly cartoons.^[3]

Elbert would like to thank Anna, Cally, Bobby, and his parents for staying excited about his work through the tough times. Their enthusiasm was contagious and appreciated.

Thanks to Keith Bostic and Steve Kirkendall for providing input on revising their editors’ chapters. Tom Dickey provided significant input for revising the chapter on vile and the table of set options in Appendix B. Bram Moolenaar (the author of Vim) reviewed the book this time around as well. Robert P.J. Day, Matt Frye, Judith Myerson, and Stephen Figgins provided important review comments throughout the text.

Arnold and Elbert would both like to thank Andy Oram and Isabel Kunkle for their work as editors, and all of the tools and production staff at O’Reilly Media.

—Arnold Robbins Nof Ayalon, ISRAEL 2008

—Elbert Hannah Kildeer, Illinois USA 2008

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^[3] See http://www.userfriendly.org if you’ve never heard of User Friendly.