I was previously attracted by a colleague’s fast coding operation, and upon asking, I learned it was IdeaVim -
a Vim plugin for IntelliJ IDEA. I tried it for a while but felt uncomfortable with it, and there were also a lot of hotkey conflicts, so I gave up.Recently, I read a book “Practical Vim” and was attracted by Vim’s modal editing and the design philosophy behind all its commands. At the same time, a comment in the book moved me -
one-time investment, lifelong benefit.
I think it’s a bit embarrassing as a programmer to have never really used Vim, so I decided to learn it.
Vim Plugins
One of Vim’s strengths is its cross-platform compatibility and well-developed ecosystem. If you are familiar with the entire keyboard workflow, switching platforms will be smooth.
Currently, after sorting, I have included two Vim plugins in my productivity tool system:
IdeaVim
Used in WebStorm IDE to improve coding efficiency.
Vimium
Used in Chrome/Safari browsers for web scrolling, bookmark operations, etc., to improve efficiency.
Learning Cost
I didn’t stick with learning Vim before because of the learning cost. However, over the past few years, my persistent efforts in English translation, open-source project development, and self-developed productivity tools have brought me benefits that far exceed the initial costs.
Now I have a new understanding of the so-called “learning cost”: cost is an investment. As long as the probability of high returns is high, then I should try it. So now I realize that it’s a pity I didn’t learn Vim earlier, and I’m no longer afraid, so I’m starting to learn it.
Expectations - Learning Benefits
From now on, it will take a lot of time to master Vim proficiently, and I believe there will be two main gains:
- Vim’s functionality itself will further improve my efficiency, just like my previous set of hotkeys.
- Vim’s design philosophy will also bring me some reflections on software design.
