vim feels impossible to use right now - Editors

John,

Why not learn it on Win XP first, if that is where you're most
comfortable? It feels like most of your problem is coming from trying
to learn Linux and vim at the same time. So you are not only learning a
new program with a steep learning curve, you're trying to do it on a
foreign operating system with a steep learning curve. Not a good combo.

The file structure is totally obvious on Windows, and you can edit
python files right out of the box, assuming, as you've said that your
keystrokes are down etc. And gvim 7.0 has toolbars and gui menus if you
get desperate and don't use the keys, even though that's the best way.

Here's some helpful hints on filetype settings and ftplugins.

http://tinyurl.com/njurw

rd.

BartlebyScrivener wrote:
> John,
>
> Why not learn it on Win XP first, if that is where you're most
> comfortable? It feels like most of your problem is coming from trying
> to learn Linux and vim at the same time. So you are not only learning a
> new program with a steep learning curve, you're trying to do it on a
> foreign operating system with a steep learning curve. Not a good combo.
>
> The file structure is totally obvious on Windows, and you can edit
> python files right out of the box, assuming, as you've said that your
> keystrokes are down etc. And gvim 7.0 has toolbars and gui menus if you
> get desperate and don't use the keys, even though that's the best way.
>
> Here's some helpful hints on filetype settings and ftplugins.
>
> http://tinyurl.com/njurw
>
> rd.
>

Thanks a lot. I'll spend some time reading that link.

And you are right about learning vim and Linux together. In fact, I even
told myself to focus on Linux right now and just use gedit or kate (I
think kate is better), but I don't want to get used to one editor and
then switch to yet another.

(Then again, there's the fact that I don't really *need* to learn vim at
all, I just want to! In my search for the best text editor to use, I
keep coming back to wanting to learn vim.)

On Fri, 11 Aug 2006 00:15:57 -0400, John Salerno wrote:
>
> And you are right about learning vim and Linux together. In fact, I
> even told myself to focus on Linux right now and just use gedit or
> kate (I think kate is better), but I don't want to get used to one
> editor and then switch to yet another.
>
> (Then again, there's the fact that I don't really *need* to learn
> vim at all, I just want to! In my search for the best text editor to
> use, I keep coming back to wanting to learn vim.)

Why not try the Cream configuration for Vim (http://cream.sf.net)? It
will feel like gedit or kate, but it's still Vim. And it won't change
your actual Vim configuration so you can switch back and forth or use
both at the same time. (Cream is basically just a sophisticated
vimrc.)


--
Steve Hall [ digitect dancingpaper com ]
:: Cream... something good to put in your Vim!
:: http://cream.sourceforge.net

Steve Hall wrote:
> On Fri, 11 Aug 2006 00:15:57 -0400, John Salerno wrote:
>> And you are right about learning vim and Linux together. In fact, I
>> even told myself to focus on Linux right now and just use gedit or
>> kate (I think kate is better), but I don't want to get used to one
>> editor and then switch to yet another.
>>
>> (Then again, there's the fact that I don't really *need* to learn
>> vim at all, I just want to! In my search for the best text editor to
>> use, I keep coming back to wanting to learn vim.)
>
> Why not try the Cream configuration for Vim (http://cream.sf.net)? It
> will feel like gedit or kate, but it's still Vim. And it won't change
> your actual Vim configuration so you can switch back and forth or use
> both at the same time. (Cream is basically just a sophisticated
> vimrc.)
>
>

Thanks. I had found out about this last night, but again I didn't want
to learn something other than the "official" version of vim. But if you
say that all the settings can be ported over to the real version at any
time, then maybe I will give it a shot.

On Fri, 11 Aug 2006 14:02:52 +0000, John Salerno wrote:
> Steve Hall wrote:
> >
> > Why not try the Cream configuration for Vim (http://cream.sf.net)?
> > It will feel like gedit or kate, but it's still Vim. And it won't
> > change your actual Vim configuration so you can switch back and
> > forth or use both at the same time. (Cream is basically just a
> > sophisticated vimrc.)
>
> Thanks. I had found out about this last night, but again I didn't
> want to learn something other than the "official" version of vim.
> But if you say that all the settings can be ported over to the real
> version at any time, then maybe I will give it a shot.

Cream is just a second, parallel configuration of Vim, the native
configuration remains unchanged.

Cream uses 100% real Vim commands. (Just like all the myriad tips and
suggestions you get here and elsewhere.) It is simply a coordinated
collection of settings so that Vim remembers your preferences, makes
all these preferences and settings available from the menus, and
behaves according to the 20 year old Common User Access (see
Wikipedia) standards for shortcuts, menu naming, and dialog
conventions.

It is the other side of the modal usability argument...a seldom
advertised fact that real Vim can play both ways.


--
Steve Hall [ digitect dancingpaper com ]
:: Cream... something good to put in your Vim!
:: http://cream.sourceforge.net

Steve Hall wrote:

> Cream is just a second, parallel configuration of Vim, the native
> configuration remains unchanged.
>
> Cream uses 100% real Vim commands. (Just like all the myriad tips and
> suggestions you get here and elsewhere.) It is simply a coordinated
> collection of settings so that Vim remembers your preferences, makes
> all these preferences and settings available from the menus, and
> behaves according to the 20 year old Common User Access (see
> Wikipedia) standards for shortcuts, menu naming, and dialog
> conventions.
>
> It is the other side of the modal usability argument...a seldom
> advertised fact that real Vim can play both ways.
>

I gave it a try, but I'm still a little confused about how to tweak
things. Where can I access the syntax highlighting file, for example, to
change colors?

Actually, if I could just figure out how to get highlighting and
indenting to work with regular vim, I'd use it instead, but I just don't
know how to do this. I have a python.vim file that I found online, but I
don't know where to put it. I'm not sure this does anything for
indentation either. (But this was my original problem...where do things
go, how do you change settings, etc.)

John Salerno wrote:

> Actually, if I could just figure out how to get highlighting and
> indenting to work with regular vim, I'd use it instead, but I just don't
> know how to do this.

3 python.vim files on my xp set up. I didn't put them there. They were
installed when I ran the install program.

They are in:

/ftplugin

/syntax

/indent

There is something wrong with your installation if you have the python
shebang etc on the first line and it's not automatically colorizing
your python file, unless of course it comes set up differently on
Ubuntu. I don't know. Somewhere in vimrc you need to turn syntax on, or
just go up to the toolbar and select syntax and turn it on if you are
in doubt.

I think you need to uninstall vim and reinstall, but I have no clue how
to do that on Ubuntu.

rd

BartlebyScrivener wrote:
> John Salerno wrote:
>
>> Actually, if I could just figure out how to get highlighting and
>> indenting to work with regular vim, I'd use it instead, but I just don't
>> know how to do this.
>
> 3 python.vim files on my xp set up. I didn't put them there. They were
> installed when I ran the install program.
>
> They are in:
>
> /ftplugin
>
> /syntax
>
> /indent
>
> There is something wrong with your installation if you have the python
> shebang etc on the first line and it's not automatically colorizing
> your python file, unless of course it comes set up differently on
> Ubuntu. I don't know. Somewhere in vimrc you need to turn syntax on, or
> just go up to the toolbar and select syntax and turn it on if you are
> in doubt.
>
> I think you need to uninstall vim and reinstall, but I have no clue how
> to do that on Ubuntu.
>
> rd
>

Well, the thing is, vim came preinstalled on Ubuntu (as it does in
Linux), so I'm only working with whatever it came with at this point. I
tried it in Windows like you said and it automatically started coloring
my file as I typed, so obviously the Linux version doesn't come with the
syntax files by default.

But like I said originally, I was able to find a python.vim file online,
but in following the directions for where to put it, it turns out I
didn't even have that particular directory at all, so now I'm not sure
where it's supposed to go. I don't know if syntax highlighting and smart
indenting involve the .vimrc file either, or are separate.

John Salerno wrote:
> BartlebyScrivener wrote:
>> John Salerno wrote:
>>
>>> Actually, if I could just figure out how to get highlighting and
>>> indenting to work with regular vim, I'd use it instead, but I just don't
>>> know how to do this.
>>
>> 3 python.vim files on my xp set up. I didn't put them there. They were
>> installed when I ran the install program.
>>
>> They are in:
>>
>> /ftplugin
>>
>> /syntax
>>
>> /indent
>>
>> There is something wrong with your installation if you have the python
>> shebang etc on the first line and it's not automatically colorizing
>> your python file, unless of course it comes set up differently on
>> Ubuntu. I don't know. Somewhere in vimrc you need to turn syntax on, or
>> just go up to the toolbar and select syntax and turn it on if you are
>> in doubt.
>>
>> I think you need to uninstall vim and reinstall, but I have no clue how
>> to do that on Ubuntu.
>>
>> rd
>>
>
> Well, the thing is, vim came preinstalled on Ubuntu (as it does in
> Linux), so I'm only working with whatever it came with at this point. I
> tried it in Windows like you said and it automatically started coloring
> my file as I typed, so obviously the Linux version doesn't come with the
> syntax files by default.
>
> But like I said originally, I was able to find a python.vim file online,
> but in following the directions for where to put it, it turns out I
> didn't even have that particular directory at all, so now I'm not sure
> where it's supposed to go. I don't know if syntax highlighting and smart
> indenting involve the .vimrc file either, or are separate.
John,

To determine the location of the Vim distribution files on "Ubunto",
bring up Vim and type the command

:scriptnames

This command lists the files Vim has loaded at startup. Under Red Hat
Linux, which I use, it shows the standard Vim distribution files are
located in /usr/local/share/vim.

Another way of determining this is to check out the value of
"VIMRUNTIME" in Vim. Again, open Vim and enter the command

:echo $VIMRUNTIME

Insofar as .vimrc files are concerned, you should create one in your
home directory. To enable syntax highlighting, add the following lines
to your .vimrc:

filetype plugin indent on
syntax enable

If there's a particular colorscheme you want to use, just add a
"colorscheme" command to your .vimrc. For example, to use the "torte"
colorscheme, you'd add the line

colorscheme torte

In addition to the standard colorscheme files, hundreds more are
available. To see some of the possibilities, go to:

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~maverick/VimColorSchemeTest/


Hope this has been helpful,

Mike