Unix Vi Editor, Case Study Of (SemiReal)

Case Study Why More And More People Are Using "Vi"

Author: Dmitry A. Kazakov
Date: 1994/06/01
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This article is a part of a fundamental opus devoted to the investigation of Unix. Scientists of the future will read Unix's manual pages with the same feel of a light perplexity that comes to us when we turn the pages of Witch Hammer (some people feel it right now). This work should help them in their heavy task.

Let us consider a very obscure question - why people like "vi" and why it looks like "vi." Certainly, there must be lots of convincing reasons in deleting a character by pressing three keys ([ ESC ], [ x ], [ i] ) instead of a single [ del ]. We should immediately reject opinions like "people search for obstacles to overwhelm them" as unscientific ones.

Considering this issue more thoroughly, we can find at least four approaches to it:

1. Astronomical point of view. As we know most of programmers work putting their legs on the system block. (If you have a tower just move it from your table to the floor, you'll feel the difference!). To achieve maximal comfort, legs should be arranged along the magnetic lines.

   Well, let us take a look on the keyboard laying over your mmmm... stomach. In this position, a line connecting the keys [ x ] and [ ESC ] points right to the North star. At the same time the [ x ] - [ i ] axis indicates the equinoctial point.

2. Magical approach. After active usage of the above-described [ ESC ], [ x ], [ i] key sequence, everybody comes to the conclusion that SOMETHING'S WRONG and enters another sequence: [ ESC ], [ : ], [ q ], [ ! ] since we know [ ESC ] abbreviates the word "escutcheon." If we consider keys [ x ], [ i ], [ : ], [ q ], and [ ! ] we can notice that they organize a magic pentagram. It is clear that multiple drawings of the pentagram protect us from the cruel daemons hiding in the CPU.
3. Medical reasons. Clinical researches show that using "vi" keeps the tonus of your fingers at the level of a violinist, which prevents a gout. However, you should be careful working at home. Be sure that the door to the children's room is tightly closed unless you want to hear from your son the sentences you usually address to "vi."
4. Psycho-analysis. Sexual instinct...

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         (for specialists only)
   

In conclusion I would like to state that we are currently at the very beginnings of understanding deep laws ruling over the world. Some important questions remain unexplored. For example, why are we using [ ESC ], [ d ], [ d ], [ i ] to delete a line rather than the handy [ ESC ], [ f ] , [ d ], [ h ], [ s ], [ t ], [ h ], [ n ], [ v ], [ b ], [ i ] key sequence? Never mind, "vi" should overcome some day!

See also

• C Language And Unix System Are Jokes