Emacs vs Vi

[NMFTM]

I'm going to school to learn about network administration and am thinking that maybe it's time to move beyond using Nano on Linux and OSX and Notepad on Windows.

I've done a little programming and am definently not a fan. Supposidly Emacs Lisp is easy to learn. But I'm sure there are enough addons/modules avalible that I won't need to use it.

Unless I step into a time machine and go back at least 20 years I don't see why the fact that Emacs is bigger or takes longer to load is really a reason not to use it in an age where computers have gigabytes of RAM and multicore processors.

I wish to efficiently create and edit Bash scripts.

I don't mind the idea of having to hold down shortcut keys to do things.

I've read that in Emacs you can customize anything. I sort of like the idea of being able to use WASD to navigate through text files. Of course, I'd have to use a shortcut key.

So, what do you guys think?

[RiceMonster]

Vimacs

[Dustin2128]

emacs is a really great text editor, especially for coding. I'd highly recommend it. Its fairly easy to learn, but more advanced than nano (read: harder), and it is fairly light compared to most text editors today.

[cariboo]

I hope you realized that before you created this thread, it is a recurring discussion. Moved.

[Greg]

I would love to tell you Emacs all the way. It's a fantastic way of life; I highly recommend it. If it sounds like it appeals to you, go jump on it.

Regardless, you're talking about bash scripting. Both vim and Emacs will do a stellar job at it. Once you start talking about Common Lisp and LaTeX, SLIME and AucTeX become must-haves, but bash can really go either way.

[prodigy_]

it's time to move beyond using Nano on Linux and OSX and Notepad on Windows

Gedit and Notepad++. 'nuff said.

[Tibuda]

Vimacs

This.

Alt+X term <ENTER> vim <ENTER>

[juancarlospaco]

ED

/thread

[jpkotta]

I've read that in Emacs you can customize anything. I sort of like the idea of being able to use WASD to navigate through text files. Of course, I'd have to use a shortcut key.

http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/ErgoMovementMode

You can of course make it use wasd instead.

[yaaarrrgg]

I'd recommend vim instead of the classic vi. You get more features like column-wise editing. That's a separate install package and will replace vi.