On 17/8/2023 5:41 am, Phil Smith III wrote:
Bob Bridges wrote, in part:
I once spent an agonizing half-hour trying to help a Unix programmer
code a program in a language I know using some kind of Unix editor
that was so unintuitive I could hardly accomplish anything.
As Shmuel suggests, that sounds like vi or one of its relatives. The best
description of vi I've ever heard is:
"vi has two modes: one where it corrupts your data, and one where it beeps at
you."
This joke never fails to amuse me:
https://jokejet.com/lady-gaga-tries-to-exit-vim/.
Is there anyone left who still uses vi? Vim has practically become the
standard on most systems, and NeoVim is following suit with Vim. When I
hear someone griping about Vim's lack of intuitiveness or labeling it
the "editor from hell," I quickly realize that they probably haven't put
in the effort to truly learn how to harness Vim's capabilities. It's
likely that they gave it a shot, grappled with its unique modes, may
have even struggled to exit the application, and as a result, developed
a negative impression that has persisted since that initial unpleasing
encounter. Vim's learning curve is steep, but the benefits are
significant for those in search of a lightweight editor that's arguably
more powerful than even the most intricate GUI applications. Moreover,
it performs efficiently even on resource-constrained setups.
Occasionally, I still turn to ISPF for editing JCL or REXX programs that
reside in PDS datasets. In a recent WebEx session with my millennial
teammates, I was demonstrating some new JCL. While performing a
multi-line edit involving COPY/OVERLAY after column adjustments, they
playfully laughed and teased me. Phrases like "Is ISPF your IDE?", "Does
ISPF support multiple cursors?" and "Why not use Vim?" were thrown my
way. I clarified that Vim can't manage MVS datasets, although the DSFS
might eventually address that limitation. I then proceeded to showcase
the usage of SRCHFOR from a member list. However, their response wasn't
as impressed as it was with vimgrep, NerdTree, Telescope and the
numerous plugins that operate seamlessly on z/OS ports of Vim.
It's worth mentioning that young developers are actively embracing Vim,
not just the seasoned Unix programmers. It has emerged as one of the
preferred editors for full stack web development. Take a look at the
videos and commit history for NeoVim, and you'll be amazed by the
dominance of a TUI (Text User Interface) editor in a rapidly evolving
tech landscape.
Now, let's delve into Git integration. We're all on the Git bandwagon,
right? There are plugins available that empower me to delve into the Git
history of files, providing inline annotations to pinpoint which
developer modified a specific line of code in which commit and when!
https://github.com/lewis6991/gitsigns.nvim.
Of course, it's all a matter of perspective, and to a young individual
entering the realm of z/OS, ISPF might very well seem like the "editor
from hell."
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