Unix in a Nutshell, 4th Edition

Chapter 9. The vi, ex, and vim Editors

The vi and ex editors are the “standard” editors on Unix systems. You can count on there being some version of them, no matter what Unix flavor you are using. The two editors are in fact the same program; based on how the editor was invoked, it enters full-screen mode or line mode. vim is a popular extended version of vi.

This chapter presents the following topics:

• Conceptual overview

• Command-line syntax

• Review of vi operations

• Alphabetical list of keys in command mode

• vi commands

• vi configuration

• ex basics

• Alphabetical summary of ex commands

vi is pronounced “vee eye.”

Besides the original Unix vi, there are a number of freely available vi clones (including vim). Both the original vi and the clones are covered in Learning the vi Editor, listed in the Bibliography. The Internet starting point for vim is http://www.vim.org.