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Practical Vim: Edit Text at the Speed of Thought
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Vim is a fast and efficient text editor that will make you a faster and more efficient developer. It's available on almost every OS--if you master the techniques in this book, you'll never need another text editor. Practical Vim shows you 120 vim recipes so you can quickly learn the editor's core functionality and tackle your trickiest editing and writing tasks.
Vim, like ...more
Vim, like ...more
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Paperback, 300 pages
Published
September 2012
by The Pragmatic Bookshelf
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Start your review of Practical Vim: Edit Text at the Speed of Thought
Jan 04, 2014
Vít Kotačka
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
sw-engineering,
read-in-english
I tell you a story. True story. Thirteen years ago I had a classic, archetypal dilemma - Emacs, or Vim? By fortune, or by accident, I had chosen Vim and have used it for pleasant twelve years. I thought that I know something and that I've learned something...
But boy, I was wrong. After reading Practical Vim I already know that I've known very little. Even though I was quite efficient and fluent in Vim usage, all the time, I was staying at the Gates.
This book is the right key to the Gates. Use it ...more
But boy, I was wrong. After reading Practical Vim I already know that I've known very little. Even though I was quite efficient and fluent in Vim usage, all the time, I was staying at the Gates.
This book is the right key to the Gates. Use it ...more
This was hands down one of the very best technical books I've ever had the pleasure to read. Drew Neil has found a way to organize the book into a tip format without making it lose focus or seem endlessly unimaginative. Rather, by organizing the tips into themes, he gives the editor itself structure where before there was only the grey void of endless features.
I was an intermediate vim user before this book. It was my primary editor, and I used navigation keys and some basic yank and put operati
...more
If you've ever wondered what text editor you should learn to use and master for either your programming needs or your normal editing purposes, then my answer would be Vim. Sure, you might use other text editors depending on your circumstances, whether at home or work, but I would recommend making Vim as your primary text editor for your daily use. With that out of the way, the best way to learn Vim, if you are an absolute beginner, is by typing 'vimtutor' on the command line, and going through t
...more
I knew about vim for a long while, since the how to exit vim memes and since I heard so many about it, especially seeing it in action at a very fast programmer, twitch streamer, Pajlada(weirdest songs ever, on that stream...) I decided to give it a try. I downloaded it and at the beginning I didn't know how to use it(nor how to exit, kappa, so I had to restart my computer...) so I just put it aside and kept using Atom, that was a while ago. But now I decided to give it another try, and also to l
...more
If you do anything at all with computers, make sure you get really good at text editing. If you want to get really good at text editing, pick a really good text editor and get to know that editor really well. Vim is a really good text editor. I picked vim as my editor of choice and this book is invaluable in my journey to becoming a vim master.
I already had some working knowledge of vim and was using it as my day to day programming evironment for some years. After reading this book I realised I ...more
I already had some working knowledge of vim and was using it as my day to day programming evironment for some years. After reading this book I realised I ...more
You hear it from everyone who uses Vim, "tough learning curve, but totally worth it in the end." This book takes the tough learning curve and flattens it dramatically. I think every page of this book has made me love Vim more. I wonder how much time the world would save if all text fields allowed vim-style movements and editing commands. If they come out with a second volume, I'd buy that too.
This is the definitive hitchhiker's guide to Vim. Handbook for both a newbie and an experienced vimmer. Should be reread several times.
I have been using Vim as my main code editor for over a year now and I picked this up to take things to the next level. It is full of useful tips; most of which I already knew, but I also learnt quite a few tricks that will save me loads of time! I enjoyed the read overall and I definitely recommend it if you're considering reading it, no matter if you're a beginner or a more advanced Vim user, there will be something in there for you to learn. I will certainly get back to some sections myself t
...more
Thanks to this book now I’ve finally use vim as the default text/code editor. Its helped me discovering all the powerful commands and the reasoning behind them and now I can combine them to build more set of commands performing complex tasks without even thinking about how or what to combine. I totally recommend the book as its full of useful and easy to follow examples, It also follows a good way to explain tips and tricks of vim as a very powerful editor.
I highly recommend this book to vim users, who got familiar with basic commands and want to unleash the true power of vim. It will teach you the philosophy of the editor, so you could put it to your use instead of fighting it.
If you are just starting with “:wq”, you may want to get some experience before starting with this book.
If you are just starting with “:wq”, you may want to get some experience before starting with this book.
A great read for Vim enthusiasts. Quite possibly a must read as well as it teaches tons of things that you would never think that Vim was ever capable of.
I never thought I would ever read a book about some text editor. But I read this from cover to cover! I use Vim daily. I realized I was just a noob. This book helped me to learn a lot of practical tricks. I'm planning to read the next book from the same author: 'Modern Vim'
I can't say I've read the book and that's my only problem with it. It doesn't have beginning and end, it's set of tricks and instructions categorized into few groups.
Why that was a problem? Because I'm not VIM master yet. I was looking for a book to would help me get from 'almost zero' to somewhat proficient VIM user and I think that's not the best one.
Don't get me wrong, it's great book (hence four stars) with lot's of knowledge, you just need to be a bit better prepared to get most of it.
Why that was a problem? Because I'm not VIM master yet. I was looking for a book to would help me get from 'almost zero' to somewhat proficient VIM user and I think that's not the best one.
Don't get me wrong, it's great book (hence four stars) with lot's of knowledge, you just need to be a bit better prepared to get most of it.
Changed my way of thinking when working with vim. I will be picking this book again and again as it is not possible and not expected to turn all into practice at once. Great reference and nice read too.
Drew's book is very clean and well-polished for a non-linear book, and it is both a nice introduction to the text editor [for newbies] *and* a good curated list of small "formulae" and recipes on how to get better on vim, but presented without being annoying. Highly recommended.
If you never heard of vim, read the first few chapter. You will be amazed with what vim can do. If you already knew vim, this book explains practical tips to effectively use vim.
I read this book a few years ago. Although not all tips are memorized my muscle, I am still happy vim user now.
I read this book a few years ago. Although not all tips are memorized my muscle, I am still happy vim user now.
the content is comprehensive，and not read and practise every tricks.you can learn some trick,and use it feel the efficiency of vim,and be used to vim.
and then dip more trick of vim
and then dip more trick of vim
Probably the best available book about Vim if you are not a complete beginner. You can read it from cover to cover or you can read recipes when you need them.
Vimtutor is > this book. Would not recommend had I not gotten it for free.
...more
This book encourages atomic, repeatable, composable actions to refine your vim workflow. Combine this with the developments in language server protocol (e.g. use tsserver for linting, completions, go-to-def etc for js in vim) makes for a powerful editing experience. I'm a convert.
If you'd like a taste for what vim's capable of, start with "Learn vim For the Last Time", an article by Daniel Miessler. Then when you're wondering how you'd browse through files, read the top StackOverflow answer to " ...more
If you'd like a taste for what vim's capable of, start with "Learn vim For the Last Time", an article by Daniel Miessler. Then when you're wondering how you'd browse through files, read the top StackOverflow answer to " ...more
I've been eyeing this book since my days at college. The three months it took to complete this book is a testament for the amount of word for word knowledge this book presents.
The book is an easy read but not a light one. Having spent close to seven years using vim, I realized that I had barely scratched the surface of this powerful beast, and with this book I take home numerous little snippets which will make my day to day life much easier.
Would definitely recommend reading this book if you wa ...more
The book is an easy read but not a light one. Having spent close to seven years using vim, I realized that I had barely scratched the surface of this powerful beast, and with this book I take home numerous little snippets which will make my day to day life much easier.
Would definitely recommend reading this book if you wa ...more
The best single resource to learn the Vim as far as I know. Covers lot of techniques and lists recipes for different situations. Remembering all the features might be difficult after one read over so I recommend you to pick the book up occasionally and study and learn a tip or two and start using them.
I recommend to work through at least Vim tutor before this book, since while it actually covers the very basics of the Vim, I think knowing the very basics before hand helps you a lot to get most o ...more
I recommend to work through at least Vim tutor before this book, since while it actually covers the very basics of the Vim, I think knowing the very basics before hand helps you a lot to get most o ...more
I read a lot of books, 50-150 in a year. A lot of those are audiobooks, a lot are books for kids, but some of them are work related, like Practical Vim. For every book I have read in the last few years, I have an 1-5 rating and at least one sentence written. Work related books deserve a few more sentences.
I’ve been using Vim since 2014. I’ve started reading this book in December 2017, so it took me almost a year to finish it. The book is divided into more than a hundred tips. I was reading a tip ...more
I’ve been using Vim since 2014. I’ve started reading this book in December 2017, so it took me almost a year to finish it. The book is divided into more than a hundred tips. I was reading a tip ...more
This must be one of the biggest bang-for-buck books I own.
I first learned to use vi in the summer of 1986. I've picked up a lot over the years, but watching a friend driving vim made me realise I should up my game. And this book does that in spades.
There's so much in this book that there's no way it will all have stuck, but there were plenty of things that I immediately started using. I've made notes, and will keep revisiting things until they're wired in.
I first learned to use vi in the summer of 1986. I've picked up a lot over the years, but watching a friend driving vim made me realise I should up my game. And this book does that in spades.
There's so much in this book that there's no way it will all have stuck, but there were plenty of things that I immediately started using. I've made notes, and will keep revisiting things until they're wired in.
This is THE book to get if you have interest in journeying through the enlightening path that leads to mastering Vim.
Drew Neil has done a commendable job in keeping the content approachable to readers at various skill levels. He took me down the rabbit hole and dispelled misconceptions that I had about knowing Vim.
I have been using Vim for 6 years, read the first edition in 2013 right after going through vimtutor.
PS: first time reading a textbook from cover to cover!
:wq
Drew Neil has done a commendable job in keeping the content approachable to readers at various skill levels. He took me down the rabbit hole and dispelled misconceptions that I had about knowing Vim.
I have been using Vim for 6 years, read the first edition in 2013 right after going through vimtutor.
PS: first time reading a textbook from cover to cover!
:wq
I used to stuff external packages into my .vimrc files without any consideration or understanding of anything. This book made me realize there are so many powerful built-in functionalities right in your default Vim: registers, marks, global, etc. And you can be pretty efficient with them: eliminating abundant motions, lazy thinking before moving or editing, one terminal with Vim to rule them all, etc.
The most important lesson: "Know the saw, then sharpen it"!
The most important lesson: "Know the saw, then sharpen it"!
This is fantastic! Written in an enjoyable, informal narrative style, with lots of examples, it's a joy to work through either by simply reading front-to-back or by slowly working with the examples. The very first thing Neil introduces, the dot command, was enough to blow my mind. My VimGolf is so good now because of this book.
One of the best computing how-to books I've ever read. Over the years I've tried to migrate away from editors like Kate. Geany, Notepad++ and use (Neo)Vim in its place. This handbook has made that transition simple. While I'm no Vim guru (yet), I feel confident to use it for all my editing needs in Linux, and it's all thanks to this invaluable work. Great stuff.
I decided to learn Vim as a text editor this summer in a move to be more keyboard orientated. After the Vimtutor and some YouTube videos I ordered and read this book. It is practical and insightful. It is now a constant feature on my desk with my LaTeX guide and a couple of others.
this is THE book of you want to learn vim
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