Questions tagged [history-of]
Questions about the history of Vi. DO NOT use this for command history.
30 questions
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Why did vi use hjkl instead of jikl?
I found this convincing history on StackOverlow:
Vim uses hjkl because vi did.
Vi used hjkl because its creator's keyboard didn't have physical cursor keys. Instead, the arrows were printed on the ...
user9024
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When was getcharstr() introduced? And how could I have found the answer my self from :help?
Yesterday I made a change to my plugin which essentially consisted in using getcharstr() instead of nr2char(getchar()).
That was Vim 8.2.4106.
Today at work I updated my plugin and got an error, ...
- 2,276
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How to find patch release date
I want to use a feature included in Patch 7.4.1154.
From vim-history, I see releases:
v8.0 - 12 September, 2016
v7.4 - 10 August, 2013
There's a few years between them.
How do I find the release ...
- 2,731
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Is there a reason why the short for `'modifiable'` is `'ma'` and not `'mo'`?
Is there a reason why the short for 'modifiable' is 'ma' and not 'mo'?
I've entered :h 'mo' and I got E149, so there doesn't seem to be any clash...
- 2,276
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Why does vi sometimes use harder-to-reach keys?
For example:
[[ and ]] instead of [ and ], and
G instead of g.
Some ideas:
Vim used these keys first, and they were backported to Vi (though G seems like an essential command for a code editor)
Vi ...
- 83
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2
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Advice to add `set nocompatible` as first line of .vimrc
I recall (perhaps in the early 2000's) having set nocompatible as the first line of my vimrc and most Vim guides and tutorials recommending that practice.
Some examples I could easily find online:
...
- 29.9k
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Why is `vmap` for both Visual *and* Select mode?
Vim has both Visual and Select modes. Select mode is similar to Visual mode in some senses, but different in that when a printable character is typed, Vim will replace the selection with that ...
- 29.9k
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Vi and Vim default to split left and split above. What is the history and motivation behind this?
When a window is split, given that Vi/Vim splits are not stored in a tree structure, the "direction of the split" is basically "the window in which the cursor is placed after the ...
- 251
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Traditional Vi and its regular expressions
I'd just want to get confirmation on (and maybe some background to) the way that Bill Joy's vi, sometimes found as traditional-vi on some BSD systems, handles regular expressions.
It seems as if most ...
- 239
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Why is it called a "vimrc" file?
Where did the name vimrc come from? Is the rc part an acronym? Are there historical reasons for picking this name? Where did the practice of using rc for configuration files first come from?
For what ...
- 17.9k
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Why is it okay to have a space in a `let` statement?
In my ~/.vimrc if I write set tabstop = 2, it will be a syntax error:
set tabstop = 2 " E521: Number required after =: tabstop =
set tabstop=2 " no errors
But I can write let @/ = ""
let @/ = "" "...
- 657
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What are the advantages of using colon for commands instead of semicolon?
Vi very successfully minimises finger travel and speed with command mode.
Swapping ; and : seems to save a lot of extra shift keystrokes for commands which are used more freqently than repititions of ...
- 211
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What is the rationale for \r and \n meaning different things in s command?
We all know that, when searching, \n is newline and \r is carriage return (^M), but when replacing \r is newline while \n is a null byte (^@).
What is the origin of this asymmetry? Given that this ...
- 283
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Why does vim use hjkl for cursor keys?
Why use the keys hjkl on the same line instead of keys in a triangle like wasd for moving on video games?
Why not something equivalent with right hand, like ijkl or pl;'?
- 1,205
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Does Vim have a marketing symbol? [closed]
Since Vim is one of the most popular editors maybe it does not need marketing, but does it have a marketing symbol, like the Linux Penguin?
- 2,161
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Why is the visual selection represented by these characters: '<,'> ? Can it be parsed?
While I can understand the percentage sign % being chosen to represent the current file, just because you need to choose some character for that, I am curious as to why '<,'> is representative ...
- 905
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Why is the expression register "read only"?
I was messing with the expression register (:h @=) and noticed that it is not possible to put text directly in it. The doc says:
The expression register is read-only; you cannot put text into it.
...
- 50.5k
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Why is Y a synonym for yy instead of y$?
Is there a specific historical reason for this?
Background — (you can skip this part if you already understand the question.)
As intermediate/advanced vi users will know, y is the "yank" command—it ...
- 4,449
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Why does the source code of Vim have a folder named farsi in the root directory?
While looking through Vim's source code, I notice that it contained a folder named farsi in the top directory, created 9 years ago. The commit message seems to be just updated for version 7.1a. Why ...
- 25.1k
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Why is ] used for tag navigation?
Several of the commands for browsing programs with tags use ].
Is there a mnemonic for this?
Why was it selected?
- 171
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What is the origin of the term "yank"?
I'm interested in learning how the term yank got its name. I'm also interested in why Vi/Vim "yank" differs from Emacs "yank".
See also: same question on Unix & Linux; dual question about Emacs
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What is the select mode and when is it relevant to use it?
I accidentally pressed gh in normal mode and started a selection, so I looked up the doc and found :h Select-mode.
From what I understand the select mode is close to the visual mode excepted that:
...
- 50.5k
16
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Does Vimscript have an official name?
The name of the language sometimes known as Vimscript is a topic of debate. Some places use Viml (or is it VimL?), others Vimscript. Does it have an official name, and if it does, what is it and since ...
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Why doesn't vimscript provide a random number generator?
EDIT Since 8.1.2342, Vim introduced a rand() function as described by @Maxim Kim's answer. I'll keep the question here for historical reference.
I recently needed to generate a random number in vim ...
- 50.5k
17
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What is the use of the black hole register ("_)?
I recently read about the black hole register "_ which is a write-only register.
Vim documentation describes it this way:
Black hole register "_
When writing to this register, nothing ...
- 50.5k
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Did Vim ever use a different versioning scheme?
In Debian packaging, a version number looks like: x:y~z, where x is called the epoch. According to the Debian policy:
It is provided to allow mistakes in the version numbers of older versions of a ...
- 25.1k
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Are there any platforms whose native `vi` is not vim, nvi, or original vi? [closed]
Just like in the title. I know most Linux distributions ship with vim and most BSDs use nvi, but I was wondering if there are any "obscure" versions of vi on some commercial UNIX or other platform, ...
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Why are ^ and $ still magic in nomagic mode?
In 'nomagic' mode, ^ and $ have a special meaning and no others do. Why were these selected, rather than making people type \^ and \$ just as they do for \. and \*?
EDIT: I have been able to confirm ...
- 1,232
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How much money has been raised for needy children in Uganda from Vim? [closed]
As it says under :help iccf…
Vim is Charityware. You can use and copy it as much as you like, but
you are encouraged to make a donation for needy children in Uganda.
Please see kcc below or ...
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What is the relation between vi, nvi and vim?
On some unixes sometime I found a command named nvi. It was a vi-like editor, without much of its functionality. Maybe it was a fork of the old vi?
Anyways, which vi versions are a fork of the others,...
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