Rating: 
Summary: Opens the Door To Free Editor For Life On Any Platform
Review: This book was the ticket to admission to the Linux world. To use Linux, one must immediately be competent with a text editor that runs on Linux. For me, a Windows developer who had used vi a decade or so ago on an HP-UX system but had successfully forgotten everything, this book allowed me to regain my vi-ish skills on Windows during my day job so I could productively goof around on Linux at night.Other reviewers noted errors. To me, there were no big, hairy errors. This book yielded a positive learning experience. I shudder to think where I would be now without it. I had considered the purchase of a $... Linux version of a commercial editor that I use on Windows, but decided to give this book a try before I made the big investment. This proved to be a good decision, because now I eschew the expensive commercial editor and use vim as my text editor on Windows and Linux. My only complaint with this situation is not with the book, but with me. Now, my fingers 'think' in vim, and those fingers 'think' much faster that my brain thinks. This works quite well when in vim, but not so well elsewhere...
Rating: 
Summary: Two thumbs way up
Review: This is a first-rate book. I really didn't expect much because it was the first real Vim book out there, and it usually takes authors a couple of attempts to get it right, but Steve Oualline really got it right the first time out of the blocks. It covers everything from the very basics for those who have little or no exposure to vi up to topics that would enlighten even experienced users, and it's a very easy read with well-thought out examples and elucidating figures. It improved my Vim experience 100%. Two thumbs way up. Very impressive. And well worth the price of admission.
Rating:
Summary: Indispensable!!
Review: Vim is an exceedingly powerful, but somewhat esoteric text editor. You can make it do almost *anything*, provided you know how. I found this book to be indispensable in doing that, since it presents everything in an organized way. This book does not replace a good google search or the online documentation. Instead its a great way to learn what Vim can do, and how to get about it. A must for any programmer's bookshelf.
Vi rules!
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