Vi and Vim Origins: Vi and Vim’s history parallels open-source software’s evolution. Key players and events shaped these UNIX text editors. George Coulouris created “em” at Queen Mary University in 1976, addressing frustrations with the line editor “ed”. Bill Joy developed Vi inspired by “em” after improving “ex” for full-screen editing at UC Berkeley. Vim, initially “Vi IMitation,” began as a clone of Stevie for the Amiga in 1988. Over 30 years, Vim evolved into a powerful tool with a vibrant community, boasting numerous features and plugins, still frequently used in programming today.
Understanding the Origins and the Evolution of Vi & Vim
