Difference Between Vim and Vi

Table of Contents

Every computer has a text editor which helps the files and configures the document full of text. These texts are edited and configured in a code that helps them to program every source. There are many text editing sources and software available. Vim and vi are the two text editor which helps to edit the text and transform them into program codes.

Vim vs Vi

The main difference between Vim and Vi is that the Vi is a normal text editor which is very famous among users. IT members are also fond of this editor and it helps the users very much. On the other hand, Vim is a very high-quality editor which helps you transform and configure text with high-quality documentation.

Programming Is very helpful and also many web designers and web users use programming codes and languages. They always require text editors which helps them to configure high-quality text. Vim is high quality and high-performance text editor which gives you a good amount of results. It makes the hard work easy and understanding the code is also easy.

People worry about the files and documents which is damaged, and if they want to edit they can use Vi text editor. It helps you to edit the file and edit the folders easily from the beginning. The editor helps to work and understand the codes and languages easily. Helps to create files and documents in the way users want.

Comparison Table Between Vim and Vi

Parameters of ComparisonVimVi
VersionsVim is the enhanced version of ViVi is the version of the UNIX operating system
FeaturesVim has a multilevel of undoVi does not have a multilevel undo feature
SupportVim supports the syntax for color textVi does not have any support for color text in syntax
Operating AvailabilityAvailable on all major devices and servicesVi only operates in the UNIX system
CompatibilityVim also supports ViBut Vi does not support the Vim system

What is Vim?

Vim text editor is not just a text editor, you can find many features and options to do more with this editor. It is not more than that, it only gives you help with editing the text and creating the text in different documentation and files. People are also familiar with notepad, Linux, and atom editor, which helps users to write and edit the text. Vim is also an editor which provides you with high-quality features to edit and create text with different languages or codes. Before Vim it was Vi and that is now updated with new features and designs of options.

Vim is famous for its efficiency and unique ability. Most people spend their time editing text and making changes in the documents, especially the software members and the IT engineers who always manage codes and text in their daily routine. Vim is a robust text editor that is possibly the most extensively utilized vi clone, with capabilities that go beyond what vi offers. When you understand how vim operates, you can do some sophisticated edits efficiently and simply.

Vim, on the other hand, is a powerful text editor that is generally often used to develop software, brief documents, and inputs to a textual styling system, rather than a text structuring software. Even students edit their documents and essays daily with computer technologies. And now also Vim provides mouse shortcuts that enable you not to use a mouse with the keyboard at the same time.

What is Vi?

When you come to the term Vi, it is a screen-based text editor which helps all the small details and text to configure easily and it was originally created for the UNIX operating systems. Before Vim all the languages and software were based on and supported by this text editor. The basic ability and behavior of the Vi editor were all in the set for the user. It is also considered as the specification of all single Unix units.

Bill Joy wrote the original code for Vi and since then the editor was famous and used it for many software applications. All these years, the creation of new languages, codes, and other important software technologies supported the Vi editor and it simply accepted the text. It was free and it still is. It is easy to operate and function. It provides full-screen mode, and it also highlights the text which is important and mistaken.

Vi helps you to use fewer keyboards, as it provides all the shortcut keys and functions in one-hand mode. It makes the operative system easy to operate and also gives the user some special commands. The user does not need to remove his hand over the home row when performing the edit and also commanding the edit. Vi provides a lot of shortcut keys, which have multiple purposes for editing and also help you to command codes easily.

Main Differences Between Vim and Vi

  • The main difference that you can find between Vim and Vi is the advanced features. Vim is the upgrade for Vi and Vim has more advanced features which help the users to work more easily. Vim is more powerful than Vi.
  • The other difference is that in Vi if you make a mistake then you cannot change it. It will remain the same, you will only have one option to make a new project or delete it. But in Vim you can change the mistake and correct it as many times you want to.
  • The other difference is that the text in Vim highlights every text differently. It helps you to remember and work with the content correctly. On the other hand, Vi does not have this feature as it shows all the text in the same texture of color.
  • The other difference is the GUI, Vim has its own GUI which is also known as Gvim. It is the most advanced graphic interface which helps the user to have a mouse in some important sections and can highlight the target. Vi does not have its own GUI, and it works outside the terminal.
  • Vi creates small files which help to manage the storage. It does not consume all the space but Vim has large files which consume the storage because it has a high range of power and GUI.
  • Conclusion

    Vim is a refined copy of the traditional vi editor, however, it lacks the capability of Emacs. Vim is indeed a text editor that looks like Vim but does even more. Vim’s code editor feature, which enables you to see a message in different colors, is indeed one of the strongest selling features.

    Vim began as a console-only, non-graphical word processor, but it now has visual variants, anything that the initial vi editors lacked. Vim also has a lateral display zoom feature, compatibility for software applications, accessibility to command-line interface past, the ability to create modifications and expressions, and so on. These extra features set vim apart from the classic vi editors.

    References

  • https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=YQXfIbb0cJ8C&oi=fnd&pg=PR4&dq=difference+between+vim+and+vi+text+editors&ots=ehCSLjMHU_&sig=-DQnBDPPi_pi9-2mQ09IsKNnpnM
  • https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4842-0250-0_1
  • ncG1vNJzZmiZo6Cur8XDop2fnaKau6SxjZympmeUnrOnsdGepZydXZeytcPEnqVmrpmieqK6w2atomc%3D