I finally decided to start learning some of the basics of vim, something that always seemed elusive to my focus. But I was also getting a bit sick of the confusing nano I usually use when quickly editing files from the command line.

The way I got started is using this excellent video series from Thoughtbot called ‘Onramp to Vim’. It makes it very accessible.

Along the way I also was reminded of and learned some new things to make any work in the terminal more efficient. Some that come to mind:

• Using tmux for terminal window management
• Backgrounding jobs via Ctrl+z (and then restoring using fg)

Even if I’m probably never going to start using Vim as my main editor, it’s great to feel slightly more proficient in using it.

Side note: The original author (and benevolent dictator for life) of Vim was a Dutch guy named Bram Moolenaar, who sadly passed away last month. Besides his work on Vim, he was well known for his charity work with ICCF Holland, supporting projects in Uganda.