Introduction

What makes Vim special is that it is one of those few software which is both simple and powerful.

Simple means it is easy to get started with. Simple means that it has a minimalistic interface that helps you to concentrate on your main task - writing. Simple means it is built around few core concepts that helps you learn deeper functionality easily.

Powerful means getting things done faster, better and easier. Powerful means making not-so-simple things possible. Powerful does not mean it has to be complicated. Powerful means following the paradigm of “Minimal effort. Maximal effect.”

What can Vim do?

Well, a lot.

Let’s see some random examples to compare Vim with your current choice of editor. The point of this exercise is for you to answer the question “How would I do this in the editor I currently use?” for each example.

In these examples, you can see the power of Vim in action. Any other editor would make it insanely hard to achieve the same level of functionality. And yet, amazingly, all this power is made as understandable as possible.

Notice that we didn’t use the mouse even once during these examples! This is a good thing. Count how many times you shift your hand between the keyboard and the mouse in a single day, and you’ll realize why it is good to avoid it when possible.

Don’t be overwhelmed by the features here. The best part of Vim is that you don’t need to know all of these features to be productive with it, you just need to know a few basic concepts. After learning those basic concepts, all the other features can be easily learned when you need them.