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Emacs vs Notepad++ vs Vim: What are the differences?
Introduction: When comparing text editors for coding and writing, key differences between Emacs, Notepad++, and Vim can help users choose the right tool for their needs.
Customization and Extensibility: Emacs is known for its extensive customization and extensibility through Lisp programming, allowing users to tailor the editor to their specific workflow. Notepad++ offers a wide range of plugins for added functionality, but its customization options are not as flexible as Emacs. Vim, on the other hand, features a powerful scripting language that enables advanced customization and extensibility, similar to Emacs.
User Interface and Learning Curve: Notepad++ has a user-friendly interface with a familiar look and feel, which makes it easier for beginners to get started. Emacs has a steep learning curve due to its multitude of features and reliance on keyboard shortcuts for efficiency. Vim is known for its modal editing style, which may require some time to master but offers unparalleled speed and productivity once learned.
Compatibility and Cross-Platform Support: Notepad++ is primarily designed for Windows and has limited support for other operating systems. Emacs, being open-source software, has broad compatibility across various platforms, including Windows, macOS, and Linux. Vim, also open-source, is compatible with multiple operating systems and is available as a command-line editor or with a graphical interface.
Community and Documentation: Emacs has a large and active community that provides comprehensive documentation, tutorials, and user-created packages to enhance the editor's functionality. Notepad++ has a supportive user base and official documentation but may lack the depth of resources found in the Emacs community. Vim boasts a dedicated following of experienced users who contribute to its extensive documentation and online forums.
Text Editing Features: Emacs offers a wide range of text editing features, such as syntax highlighting, code folding, and version control integration, making it suitable for programmers and writers alike. Notepad++ provides essential editing tools like search and replace, macros, and multi-language support, catering to a variety of users. Vim excels in advanced text manipulation capabilities, such as powerful search and replace, text objects, and efficient navigation through large files.
Performance and Speed: Notepad++ is lightweight and fast, making it suitable for quick editing tasks and working with smaller files. Emacs, while resource-intensive, can handle large files and complex tasks efficiently once configured properly. Vim is renowned for its speed and efficiency in handling large text files and performing intricate editing operations quickly.
Summary: In summary, the key differences between Emacs, Notepad++, and Vim lie in customization, user interface, compatibility, community support, text editing features, and performance characteristics. Each text editor offers unique strengths and caters to different user preferences and requirements.
For a Visual Studio Code/Atom developer that works mostly with Node.js/TypeScript/Ruby/Go and wants to get rid of graphic-text-editors-IDE-like at once, which one is worthy of investing time to pick up?
I'm a total n00b on the subject, but I've read good things about Neovim's Lua support, and I wonder what would be the VIM response/approach for it?
Neovim can basically do everything Vim can with one major advantage - the number of contributors to the code base is just so much wider (Vim is ~100% maintained only by B. Mooleanaar). Whatever you learn for Neovim you can also apply to Vim and vice versa. And of course there is the never ending Vim vs Emacs controversy - but better not get into that war.
Actually, the biggest advantage with Neovim (as a VS user) is that you can embed REAL Neovim as the editor UI, rather than using a "Vim emulation", you're using actual NVIM, embedded in VS!
"asvetliakov.vscode-neovim" is the extension you are looking for:
- Install the 'vscode-neovim; extension (https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=asvetliakov.vscode-neovim)
- Install Neovim version 0.5+ nightly
- Start winning.
(You can install neovim-nightly separately for just vscode, I usually build and install it to /opt/nvim - it's enough enough to do - let me know if you need help).
Works wonderfully. It might not work out of the box if you have some 100K epic nvim initialization file, but the plugin documents a workaround for having an embedding/VS specific configuration.
I don't actually notice much of a difference between the two, as the end result looks identical. If you use Vim and are switch to Neovim it's an extremely easy 1-minute process. I switched from Vim to Neovim. I can't say I found much of a difference, but the key points where Neovim could be better than just vim is that first, there are much more people maintaining Neovim compared to vim, which means fewer bugs and a modern code base. It also has a smaller code base which might result in a small speed improvement. Another thing is that it's basically just a fork of vim, so what harm can it do? ;)
I recommend using vim 8+
it has native plugin support
if you need language supports you can install the package vim-nox
which will come with support for python, lua, ruby, etc
It truly depends on whether you want to completely avoid GUI and stick to TUI and command lines. If you want to edit all of your codes within a terminal, then Vim or neovim would be the choice. Emacs can be run in a terminal, but the functionality is limited. Most people use Emacs using GUI and emacs-client not to use too much memory.
My general preference is to use an independent text editor, which is better if it is highly customizable and programmable. So, I have used Emacs for several years. For beginners, I guess Emacs requires significant time to learn to fully enjoy its wonderful functionalities. In that sense, using atom would be a recommendable option.
Regardless of all the situations, learning basic vim in the terminal will help you in any case. In summary, I recommend 1. vim as a default editor in the terminal 2. atom if you are a beginner, or 3. Emacs if you have a long-term plan to master a programmable editor
Other editors like sublime text, VS code, and so forth are also worth learning and using. But, no matter which editor you choose, stick to one or two until you become an advanced user. Being able to use most text editors at an intermediate level is waste of time.
I hope it helps.
The hints on the codebase's contributors and the VSCode integration helped me make up my mind.
I really appreciate all comments, though.
Thanks a bunch!
Since communication with Github is not necessary, the Atom is less convenient in working with text and code. Sublim's support and understanding of projects is best for us. Notepad for us is a completely outdated solution with an unacceptable interface. We use a good theme for Sublim ayu-dark
Pros of Emacs
- Vast array of extensions65
- Have all you can imagine44
- Everything i need in one place40
- Portability39
- Customer config32
- Your config works on any platform16
- Low memory consumption13
- Perfect for monsters11
- All life inside one program10
- Extendable, portable, fast - all at your fingertips8
- Enables extremely rapid keyboard-only navigation6
- Widely-used keybindings (e.g. by bash)5
- Extensible in Lisp5
- Runs everywhere important5
- FOSS Software4
- Powerful multilanguage IDE4
- Git integration4
- May be old but always reliable4
- Asynchronous3
- Powerful UI3
- Huge ecosystem1
Pros of Notepad++
- Syntax for all languages that i use104
- Tabbed ui60
- Great code editor56
- Fast and lightweight54
- Plugins38
- Nice GUI28
- Regex & Special Character Search & Replace26
- Fast startup16
- Application is free, and plugins are too9
- Themes9
- Free6
- Very Lightweight4
- 100% Free3
- Column selection2
- Awesome autocomplete1
- Easy edit on FTP servers (NppFTP)1
- Cos it's seck1
- Nice gui. are you kidding me?1
- Open Sourced1
Pros of Vim
- Comes by default in most unix systems (remote editing)347
- Fast328
- Highly configurable312
- Less mouse dependence297
- Lightweight247
- Speed145
- Plugins100
- Hardcore97
- It's for pros82
- Vertically split windows65
- Open-source30
- Modal editing25
- No remembering shortcuts, instead "talks" to the editor22
- It stood the Test of Time21
- Unicode16
- VimPlugins13
- Everything is on the keyboard13
- Stick with terminal13
- Dotfiles12
- Flexible Indenting11
- Hands stay on the keyboard10
- Efficient and powerful10
- Programmable10
- Everywhere9
- Large number of Shortcuts9
- A chainsaw for text editing8
- Unmatched productivity8
- Developer speed7
- Super fast7
- Makes you a true bearded developer7
- Because its not Emacs7
- Modal editing changes everything7
- You cannot exit6
- Themes6
- EasyMotion5
- Most and most powerful plugins of any editor5
- Shell escapes and shell imports :!<command> and !!cmd5
- Intergrated into most editors5
- Shortcuts5
- Great on large text files5
- Habit5
- Plugin manager options. Vim-plug, Pathogen, etc5
- Intuitive, once mastered4
- Perfect command line editor4
- Not MicroSoft1
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Cons of Emacs
- So good and extensible, that one can get sidetracked4
- Hard to learn for beginners4
- Not default preinstalled in GNU/linux1
Cons of Notepad++
- No default plugin manager3
- Can't install more advanced packets2
Cons of Vim
- Ugly UI8
- Hard to learn5