Vim is Vi-IMproved, a free vi-compatible text editor with many extensions and great features such as multi-level undo, multiple windows, tabs, and buffers, flexible insert mode (use the arrow keys to move while in insert mode), visual mode (execute commands on marked areas of text), block operators (operate on rectangular blocks of text), and online help system. Vim 9 added the vim9script language (legacy vim script is still available), which has generic functions (via :def) now which are compiled and very fast, functions and variables are script local by default. Wayland support has been added and is being improved. Color schemes have been updated, command line completions occur in a popup menu, xxd has been updated.Vim's long-time developer, Bram Moolenaar, passed away 3 August 2023 after more than 30 years of programming Vim and maintaining the Vim project. The Vim project has been continued by a group of long-time trusted submitters, led by Christian Brabant.
The Vim 9.1 release is dedicated to Bram.
Vim 9.2 was released 2/14/2026. There are major updates to the Vim9 scripting language, including Enums, Generic functions, and Tuples. Also in this version, Diff mode has been improved with a linematch algorithm. Defaults for history, backspace, and High-DPI displays have been updated to modern values. Support for Wayland has been improved. Completion features have been updated, including fuzzy matching and register completion.
I've come a long way down the vi trail since 1990...vi, xvi, elvis, vile, xvile, nvi, and now, Vim. Consider this page a paltry tribute to Vim: a most useful, efficient, and enjoyable free editor of the vi type. Here is a peek (screen shot). at how Vim 9.1 looks on my FreeBSD 14.3-STABLE system with the vim zenburn colorscheme.
When I was working, I used gvim most of the time on a Unix server and used a few tricks to make Vim into a good SAS development environment. I collected these tips in a page of functions for Vim when programming in SAS
Here is a short mapping to return the length of visually-selected text. I put it in my .vimrc and .gvimrc.
vnoremap <F9> "-y:echo 'Length of visual selection is' strlen(@-)<CR>If you don't know what "vi" is, my more generic vi Information & Resources page will give a brief introduction and some links to further sources of information.
Comments and suggestions about this Vim page are welcome. --Kent Nassen, knassen@NOWAYAMSPAYchartermi.net>
Here are some links to further information about Vim.
The VIM Home Page
(http://www.vim.org/)
This site is the main repository for Vim-related information. Definitely look here! (Bram Moolenaar (mool@oce.nl) was the author of VIM. Sadly, Bram passed away in 2023. The project has been continued by Christian Brabant and a team of contributors.)Vim Development Page
(https://vimonline.sourceforge.net)
A page with information about the current development status of Vim. Vim 9.2 is the latest release version. Also included at this site is information about the development of vim for Windows, and where you can get development releases of vim. Note that such releases are for testing only. Here is what vim 5.0m looks like screen shot.vimhelp.org FAQ
A very long and detailed FAQ on Vim. Jano's Vim Macro Page
(http://www.wi.leidenuniv.nl/~jvhemert/vim/) [bad link]
Approximately two dozen macros for Vim in the categories of Toys & Entertainment (for example, a macro for creating text stereograms, and the Tower of Hanoi macro), Documents & Languages (including macros for C, HTML, and LaTex editing), and Miscellaneous (such as a file manager macro).Vim Resources
(http://www.mauigateway.com/~urban/projects/vim/index.html)[bad link]
Includes an archive of Vim macros, a Vim setup file (.vimrc), and examples of Vim syntax menus (for HTML coding). [dead link]Eli's Vim and vi Page
(http://www.netusa.net/~eli/src/vim.html) [bad link]
Eli the Bearded presents vi, including Conway's Game of Life for vi! [SCREEN SHOT, 7K GIF] Also there are examples of "Hello, world" in vi, the Towers of Hanoi puzzle solver vi macros, and a couple different sets of HTML macros for vi. This site leans heavily toward VIM, but has a lot of "true" vi content as well.Java Programming with Vim
(http://www.wandering-man.com/Java/vim/java_Vim.html) [bad link]
Discusses and illustrates the use of Vim for Java programming, including syntax highlighting features helpful in Java development.-->[The screen shots above were grabbed while the application was running under XFree86 and the FVWM-95 window manager.
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Last modified: Fri Mar 20 10:59:27 EDT 2026
![Game of Life for vi! [SCREEN SHOT, 7K GIF]](../gif/vi-life2.gif){kind=link}