Vim vs Emacs: The Essential Facts

It doesn’t take new developers long to find themselves sucked into the debate over whether Vim or Emacs is the superior text editor. A text editor can make or break your experience in software engineering, and the argument between coders over the pros and cons of these two editors has been heated enough to have been dubbed “the Editor War”. It’s important to become familiar with both sides of the Vim vs Emacs debate. When you have a grasp of both text editors and how they work, you can select the ideal one for your process.

Don’t worry, though, because we’re here to make everything easier for you. We give you the facts about Emacs vs Vim and show you the strong and weak points of both editors. You’ll find out how the two editors handle memory utilization, keyboard layout, the user environment, and language support. Both editors are excellent and will help you with your work. Our guide helps you make an informed choice between the two.

Vim vs Emacs Memory Use

Memory use is an important factor to consider, especially during startup. Vim and Emacs memory usage varies, with benefits and drawbacks to each approach. Vim uses little memory during startup, so it launches quickly but with limited adaptability. Emacs, on the other hand, offers customizable settings but with slower startup times.

Efficient and effective memory utilization is crucial to your text editor, as any glitch in memory management will slow down the editor. Consequently, Vim and Emacs offer advantages to some people and disadvantages to others. Whichever program works best for you depends on what your priorities are, and what you value most in a program–adaptability or startup speed. You should also consider that the importance of memory usage varies between languages.

Emacs and Vim Keyboard Functionality

How does Vim and Emacs keyboard functionality compare? Vim suffers from awkwardness in its keyboard layout and lacks some streamlined shortcuts. Alternatively, Emacs uses meta key chords to activate additional features to create customized and mode-specific operations. When it comes to keyboard functionality, Emacs has an advantage.

Vim lacks these features because it is based on an older text editor called vi. Like its ancestor, Vim’s keyboard functionality seems slightly dated. However, Vim still allows you to adjust the key bindings to make it more comfortable, but it may take some time to get them the way you like. Keyboard functionality is a helpful tool no matter which coding language you like to use. Vim and Emacs both feature simple and easy to understand keyboard functions, and your individual preferences are the most important determining factor.

Vim and Emacs User Environment

Vim and Emacs user environments are well-designed and functional. Vim has more features than it’s predecessor but retains a text-based environment. Emacs began as a text-based program, but new versions include a modern GUI. If you prefer a classic layout, Vim is ideal. However, the Emacs GUI still has its advantages.

Now, let’s discuss why someone would choose a simple text-based program or a modern GUI. Experienced coders benefit from the no-nonsense approach of a text-based editor like VIM. It’s familiar and lacks ‘distracting’ bells and whistles, even though it has more features than its predecessor. Vim users who prefer a GUI can use gVim or other derivatives. Alternatively, the Emacs GUI approach offers an attractive and easy-to-navigate interface, which is advantageous in many situations. Beginners and professionals alike prefer GUIs, especially when dealing with complex projects.

How Do Vim and Emacs Handle Languages?

Vim and Emacs handle languages differently. Vim originates from the old-school Unix environment, so it works well with Linux, DOS, BSD, HP-UX, Mac, and other operating systems. Emacs also works with Unix systems, using special major modes for Scheme, Lisp, Perl, Java, Ruby, and more. 

Overall, Vim features slightly faster performance. But both Vim and Emacs include good system support and plenty of language pack options, allowing you to add more languages or operating systems if needed. But, owing to their backgrounds, the Vim and Emacs do better with some setups than others. Knowing which editor does best with your language and platform of choice can save you a lot of headaches, which is why it’s important to examine your coding priorities before making the choice.

Emacs and Vim are both immensely popular text editors, and the debate over which is better is ongoing. Here at Career Karma, we help you jump into the Emacs vs Vim debate and show you how each one can make your programming life a little bit better. You’ll be ready to get on board Team Vim or Team Emacs with our help.