this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2024
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VIM - Vi IMproved

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"VIM is the greatest editor since the stone chisel." - Dr. Jose Unpingco

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When I was a student a few decades ago, everybody I knew pronounced it as "vee-eye". Then in the late nineties / early aughts, I heard the first people pronounced it as "vie" in a different city I had found employment in. It sounded odd to me, and it seemed to come from people who in fact didn't use it much. But the pronounciation I was used to still applied, mostly.

Nowadays, I almost never talk about VI to anyone anymore, nor do I hear anyone say the name. It's become mostly a typed thing for me. But - coincidence? - this week I heard three people talk about it (younger, non VI users) and they all said "vie".

And now I'm watching this video from the reasonably famous and definitely not young and not VI newbie NCommander and he too says "vie" in the video.

I'm beginning to worry that I'm the one who's been saying it wrong all this time because of my misguided college buddies and teachers way back when ๐Ÿ™‚

So I'm curious: how do YOU say it? VEE-EYE or VIE?

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[โ€“] [email protected] 34 points 5 months ago (1 children)
[โ€“] [email protected] 19 points 5 months ago

Vee-eye. That's the historically correct way :)

[โ€“] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Vee Eye because ed is pronounced Eee Dee.

[โ€“] [email protected] 12 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

How weird. I've always said "Ed" - like the name ๐Ÿ™‚

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

Yeah, and not like erectile dysfunction.

Plus it rhymes with sed (like said).

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

That would've made 209 friendlier.

[โ€“] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago
[โ€“] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago
[โ€“] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago
[โ€“] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago (2 children)
[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

"How do I quit the editor"

[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

I think I say "vie" in my head but "vee-eye" out loud because it's less ambiguous / easier to hear.

[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I call it vim, because Vee Eye is typically an alias of vim to begin with, and if youโ€™ve ever actually used Vee Eye, youโ€™d throw your computer out the window. ๐Ÿ˜

[โ€“] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago

if youโ€™ve ever actually used Vee Eye, youโ€™d throw your computer out the window

I have used vanilla VI on real Unices (i.e. pre-Linux and pre-Minix). In fact, that's the VI I learned VI with.

The first "better VI" I used was Elvis. Then VIM of course. But here's the thing: even decades later, I still consider their extended features niceties rather than essentials. In other words, I'm still very happy to run vanilla VI to this day. The only thing from VI of yore I can't really stand anymore is HJKL: I kind of need the arrows, and the ability to move in edit mode.

[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

I didnโ€™t look at what the community the post was from and was very confused for a moment as to why any one would make such a fuss about how to best pronounce the Roman numeral 6 like letters, not like a number.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

Vie, but have heard vee-eye as well.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

Vi, vie, voe, vim. I will not explain further.

[โ€“] [email protected] 0 points 5 months ago