Learn Vim

Why?

So you can have street cred. Duh! Why else? (you don't really want to get your work done faster, do you?)

What?

The text editor you can use anywhere.

Anywhere?

Yes, built-into Mac is the vi command/program. So in your terminal you can run vi myfile.rs and start editing immediately without downloading anything. But way more importantly, vi is available on most Linux/Unix servers. So if you are attempting to update a config file on a server without a GUI, knowing how to use vi/vim is very useful.

Who still uses servers? Aren't those like, "old school", isn't everything "Serverless" and "Edge Functions" now? Yes, running on infrastructure you don't understand with high vendor-lockin and latency is always an <option> ... But sooner or later you will need to go lower-level and edit a config file. Be it on a Raspberry Pi, Firewall or legacy Oracle System that you need to integrate with because you're building a FinTech / Healthcare / EdTech startup ...

Trust us, being proficient at Vi/Vim will pay off.

How?

Most Linux/Unix Operating Systems have vi already included/installed by default. But if yours does not, then installation is usually pretty straightforward and quick.s

Installation

Mac

brew install macvim

Linux/Unix

see: https://www.vim.org/git.php (most Linux already have Vim, check your distro)

Windows?

GOTO: https://www.vim.org/download.php

Vundle Plugin Manager

First:

git clone https://github.com/VundleVim/Vundle.vim.git ~/.vim/bundle/Vundle.vim

Then add the following to your .vimrc file:

set nocompatible              " be iMproved, required by Vundle
filetype off                  " required

" set the runtime path to include Vundle and initialize
set rtp+=~/.vim/bundle/Vundle.vim
call vundle#begin()
:
" These are two plugins that will be installed/managed by Vundle:
Plugin 'slashmili/alchemist.vim'
Plugin 'scrooloose/nerdtree'

" All of Plugins must be added before the following line
call vundle#end()            " required

Finally restart Vim and run the following command: :PluginInstall

When you edit a README.md you should see something like this:

NERDTree

NERDTree is a directory/filesystem navigator. see: https://github.com/scrooloose/nerdtree

It's already installed above in the Vundle section. If you want to map a keyboard shortcut, go with F6 as it's available.

Add the following line to your .vimrc file:

nmap <F6> :NERDTreeToggle<CR> " Keyboard shortcut https://vi.stackexchange.com/a/9968

• Keyboard shortcut: https://vi.stackexchange.com/questions/9967/how-do-i-open-and-close-nerdtree-toggle-nerdtree-view-using-a-single-keystroke/9968

Creating a New File or Directory using NERDTree

First, bring up NERDTree and navigate to the directory where you want to create the new file. Press m to bring up the NERDTree Filesystem Menu. This menu allows you to create, rename, and delete files and directories. Type a to add a child node and then simply enter the filename. You’re done! To create a directory follow the same steps but append a / to the filename.

Thanks to @soofaloofa for summarising this in https://sookocheff.com/post/vim/creating-a-new-file-or-directoryin-vim-using-nerdtree/ ❤️

Useful Links

• How to install NERDTree (or any other Vim plugin) using Vundle: https://vi.stackexchange.com/questions/5335/how-to-install-nerdtree-with-vundle

Helix

Helix is a "post-modern" modal text editor that picks up where Vim left off. See: helix-editor.com and github.com/helix-editor/helix

It includes many of the most popular features that are plugins in the Vim ecosystem such as a file-picker, fuzzy searching, language servers and themes. It's a "batteries included" alternative to Vim with many enhancements. It's built with Rust and under active development.

Install

If you already have the Rust toolchain on your computer, you can install Helix with:

git clone https://github.com/helix-editor/helix
cd helix
cargo install --locked --path helix-term

see: github.com/helix-editor/helix#installation

macOS

brew install helix

Once installed, in any terminal window, start Helix by issuing the command:

hx .