Why you should learn vim

As a software developer, productivity is essential. Just being able to edit files efficiently is a valuable skill for anyone to have. Vim allows you to do that extremely efficiently. But wait! Before you click away from this article, you can still get the efficiency of vim without ditching your current editor. Confused?

Vim editor vs Vim motions

It’s important to understand what vim is in both contexts. Vim the editor was released to the public in 1991 as an improved version of the editor VI(vim actually stands for VI improved). It is a modal editor, meaning that it has different modes which you switch to and has the unique advantage of not needing to use a mouse at all. This is great for efficiency since you don’t have to keep moving your hands from the mouse to the keyboard and vice-versa.

Now, Vim motions are the actual keyboard shortcuts used to navigate vim. These, unlike the editor, can be used despite what editor you use, typically through plugins. These are the best of both worlds since you get to keep the advantages of your current editor while having the high speed and efficiency of vim at your fingertips.

Why you should learn vim motions

Vim motions are quite simple to get started. It will slow you down initially but after you get the basics and use them for a bit, you will be able to edit code much faster, simply due to the fact that you don’t have to move your hand back and forth from the keyboard and mouse.

How to use vim motions in vscode

In vscode, find the extension from either the vscode marketplace or open vsx

Last updated on Mar 26, 2023

Published on Mar 26, 2023