[plug] re: editing

[Michael Hunt]

I heard once that at a Linux convention sometime back (think I read it in a
Linux Journal) a "paintball" war was organised with one side being those who
used vi and the other being emacs supporters. IIRC the vi side had more than
double the numbers of the emacs side and did manage to win the "conflict"
but did suffer quite a few casualties through stealth like sniper tactics. A
lot of the vi users were "shot" unaware of their foe.  Now interpretations
abound as to what all this means:

1. The larger group of vi users represents the larger installed base of vi.
2. Emacs users develop an almost "commando/elite forces" type ability when
near vi users.
3. To many "first timers" get shot in the early stages of the editor wars
4. Well I could go on and on (like Uncle Trevor from the zones ad, but this
is written using a keyboard not a pencil).

What does this mean to me. Well learn and use vi (to some extent anyhow) if
only for the fact that it is going to be on virtually every Unix system ever
built. If your favourite editor is something else then you won't n3ed to ask
a vi user stupid questions when that's the only thing available.

Michael Hunt

> On Wed, 21 Jul 1999, Bevan Broun wrote:
>
> > Anybody who is going to use unix often should know basic vi. I recomend
> > you use vim which is vi with extentions. I have learnt a ton about vi
>
> Thou shalt fall apon thy knees and repent foul blasphemer! For
> there be one True Editor, and His profit be rms*, creator of the Gnu and
> grandfather of Linux.
>   All hail Emacs!
>
> * Richard "lignux" Stallman.
> + disclaimer: I'm a protestant, since I use Xemacs.
>
> P.S. note that i'm also making a serious point here about views on
> editors.
>
> Mike Holland <mike at golden.wattle.id.au>            Perth, Australia.
>                           --==--
> 	"Disraeli was pretty close: actually, there are Lies, Damn lies,
> 	 Statistics, Benchmarks, and Delivery dates."
>
>