On Oct 21, 2006, at 11:46 AM, Java Bob wrote:
Gary Johnson wrote:
I don't think that's true. Vim :help comprises two manuals:
Vim User Manual - :help user-manual
Vim Reference Manual - :help reference
This is even discussed in ":help 01.1". The User Manual is written
in a different style than the Reference Manual and is more readable.
I believe the User Manual is intended to be the intermediate-level
guide you're looking for.
Regards,
Gary
Well, I said "that's basically it", I didn't really want to go through
the details of :help and analyse what's missing in it because I don't
think there is anything missing in it.
I'm more talking about a tutorial "that will take you by the hand and
bring you through the Vim universe in a nice and easy way" to quote
myself. I believe that an official well-written tutorial that goes
nice
and easy with lengthy descriptions and good examples is missing.
Something to turn people from novices to Vim addict.
I'm always surprised that not every single coder doesn't use Vim on an
everyday basis. Especially when I can say that since I've made the
effort to learn the 'basics' of the software, I code two to three
times
faster, even tho I believe I don't use more than 20% of Vim.
I've also had a look at the FAQ as suggested by belgian compatriot
Tony
and I think that it could be the perfect start for a good
tutorial. Yet
the tutorial needs to be adressed to novices with the objective to get
them hooked asap :)
I'll be in touch with the FAQ team and see if it is possible to start
such a project.
Laurent
I agree, thats why I am reading 60 emails a day from the Vim list.
Robert
I'm an long time computer user but a relatively new user of Vim. At
this point, I think I'm 'hooked', but I am somewhat troubled by how
difficult it is to appreciate what Vim offers. About five years ago,
I tried Vim and gave up, couldn't see the benefit and it sure seemed
confusing with many options and settings. "All detail; no structure"
was my reaction, and I didn't then have the time to invest in it.
When I tried it this time I had the same initial reaction, but
persevered and started to see some of the neat, efficient things it
can do.
What seems to me to be lacking is a fairly 'simple' set of concepts
or examples that would have helped me understand what Vim offers.
Not so simple that Vim appears to be 'just an other text editor' and
not so complex or long that it seems like an overwhelming bucket of
keystrokes. Given the flexibility of Vim, a longish document would
be needed to describes its many features with examples, but that may
not be the answer. If we want to make Vim enticing, I think brevity
would be a virtue. Since a good sense of who the audience for a
document is always important, possibly a series of shorter pieces
focused on various activities: c coding, xml coding, scripting,
network connections, etc. The list of titles/section headings in
itself could give an idea of the scope and flexibility Vim provides.
The current FAQ material might provide a good starting point, and it
might be worth considering different "packaging"; for instance in a
wiki format.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Hal
