Website design : what to use ?

[Gary W. Swearingen]

> vi is the standard editor on unix (well, I know, ed is the standard
> editor...).

Yeah, "ed" is the standard line editor and "ex" is the new-and-
improved (late '70s :) line editor which has "vi" as the standard
full-screen editor as another mode which is invoked when the
editor is started as "vi". (Switch between modes with "Q" and "vi".)
Nobody should complain about "vi" being called the standard editor,
as line editing is so rarely done now.

>> Can someone educate me about vi and vim and the difference between
>> them. 

> vim stands for "vi improved" and is the most popular of today's vi
> clones.

It's not so much a clone as it is an advanced editor which can emulate
"vi/ex".

The *buntu don't really use "vi" or "ex" at all.  Current versions of
"real" vi/ex are available and, being much smaller, are preferred for
some systems and for those who don't want to get hooked by extentions.

It might be better if vim was not installed as "vi" because then we
have people recommending "vi" for features that are not in the real
"vi"".

(I use Xemacs normally, but as "root" I run "jed" in emacs-mode, when
possible, else "vi".  If I used more than the most basic "vi" commands
I'd want a real "vi" with only the features that can be expected to be
found on any vi emulator that I might encounter.)