Vim is apparently used widely. I’ll repress my snarky comments, but know that they exist.
Being used by many, that means I need to know how to use it.
So I’m working on it.
I’m using MacVim some of the time and Vim in the terminal. I prefer the earlier. It’s a step. I shoved Janus into it to make it not completely horrible looking or to deal with. I added a custom color theme to it that is called ‘onedark’. It looks nice-ish. Ish.
My feelings on Vim are complicated.
No, actually, they are not.
I understand Vim; I really do. I get why people like it and use it. I understand all well and good how fast one can be using it with all the shortcuts and what not. The speed. The bragging rights, too.
But I’m still not fully on board with the concept.
My, personal, problems with it:
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Knowledge of a ton of keybindings and shortcuts. I have a cheat sheet. Yes, I know muscle memory, but my muscle memory is poor.
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Building off of muscle memory–my hand coordination is…well, terrible. My hand-writing is legendarily bad. Illegible is too weak a term for it. Point: I have bad fine motor control. Typing is an extension of this. I get by, barely. I can do the basics well. Using the, eh, lesser used keys, is well, pain and suffering. Which Vim tends to use. My failure rate is high. Perpetually lost and confused.
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My typing method is very unique (bad.) I favor one hand at various points. Generally the left. This is not conducive to using the full power of Vim.
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Are you really telling me to switch esc and caps lock or something? That is confusing. I have enough trouble remembering the order of control-option-command. No.
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Other memory/remembering: I have a very good memory with things that have nothing to do with the Human body or are short cuts for something. I can recall random parts of books and quotes, but not any of the short cuts and stuff.
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Change and I are old enemies.
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I like the mouse. I know what it is doing. I don’t have to refer to a sheet or ask myself what is it doing? I do. With Vim, I’m always afraid I’ll mess up (which I probably will. I get shortcuts wrong for programs I actually use.) I never have that problem with the mouse. It is simple and I like it. I know what Carpal Tunnel is and I’ve had my problems with it in the past. I still like the mouse.
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On the point of speed: I’d like to say I go at a decent rate anyway. Why do I need to go faster? Isn’t going faster more prone to making issues and not thinking something through? Slower speed improves thinking of what I am actually doing. I don’t know.
So yea.
I’m trying to use it. I’m trying to like it. It is possible/likely that in a few weeks I’ll come around the bend and explain the glory and power of it. It is equally likely I’ll even be more salty and bitter. That is par for the course, though.
In the meantime, I’m trying.