Thread: Vi editor : A brief intro

Vi editor is one of the most powerful editor since the days of Unix. But it is available as clone like VIM, nvi and elvis in Linux and BSD as it is not open source and they were made to address this. Their functionality is same.
But it must be noted it is quite difficult to learn this. And also some file can only be open by it.
It has a gui front end called gvim also.
Opening file is quite easy:
vi filename

To move use- h j k and l keys.
To quit use- :q or !:q if you have not modified file or you don't want to save change.

To safe - :w
To safe and quit- :x
It has two mode :
command mode
You can enter it by hitting ESC

insert mode


It is used for entering the text. You can enter it by using a or i.

These might seem simple because I have introduce nothing complex out here which truly make it a advanced editor. You hardly need to leave the keyboard to use it.

hi,

i don't like vi. i prefer nano. it is much easier to use and more intuitive. i don't like the navigation and modes that you have to switch between in VI.

thanks,
kevin

I have a love/hate relationship with vi. It is very complex to use - especially for advanced features.

But there is no doubt in my mind that it is the best text editor.

Ther has always been a war between emacs and vi . I prefer emacs though I know vi also.

I prefer joe, though I don't use these days as there are many text editors avalable

Thank you for the info but I think pico is more easy than vi editor.