'vi' is driving me crazy

[Kurt Wall]

On Fri, Dec 31, 2004 at 11:47:34AM -0600, Alma J Wetzker took 67 lines to write:

["vi rox!" contra "vi sux!"]

> <analogy>
> Since Windoze runs on so many systems there really is no point in ignoring 
> it. Just get used to it and you will hardly know when you are running it.  
>  Sure there are other choices, but why bother.  After using Windoze a decade 
> or more, you will never think twice about running it.  You will just get 
> your work done and never notice things like an unintuitive, bloated, 
> crash-prone interface.
> </analogy>

Ordinarily, this is where I'd say that analogies can only be pressed so 
far before they break down. But, your point is well taken. Early on in my
participation in this thread, I tried to make it clear that I was comfortable
with my finger habits. vi isn't intuitive, but I've learned it somewhat. 
 
> I grew up on micro's and loved IBM's Personal Editor series.  When I 
> started doing more diverse jobs I made my peace with vi and learned to do 
> simple editing jobs.  When I moved to linux, I learned to tolerate vi.  I 
> will never learn to do significant things like programming on vi, it is 
> neither easy to learn or easy to use.

There are exceptions, of course, but it is my experience that many powerful
tools are neither easy to use nor easy to learn. vi and my new digital 
camera to mind...

> I understand all the apologist's arguments about using it, but they sound 
> exactly like the arguments for sticking with Windoze.  I thought that linux 
> was all about choice and finding better ways of doing things, yet there is 
> this intense reluctance to even question the use of vi by linux's 
> adherents. I find the irony quite fun.

:-)~

Kurt
-- 
The nice thing about standards is that there are so many of them to
choose from.
	-- Andrew S. Tanenbaum