Vim creator and maintainer Bram Moolenaar (1961 – 2023-08-03)
August 5, 2023 7:21 PM Subscribe
Bram Moolenaar, the Dutch software engineer, creator and maintainer of long-lived text editor Vim, has died.
This hit pretty hard. I’ve used Vim extensively for more than twenty years. It’s an application that was clearly a labor of love and a true gift to the world. 62 is far too young. I never crossed paths with him, but I felt like I knew him a bit anyway. I’d have loved to been able to buy him a beer and say thanks.
posted by jzb at 7:30 PM on August 5, 2023 [14 favorites]
posted by jzb at 7:30 PM on August 5, 2023 [14 favorites]
%s/Bram/\./g
posted by bolix at 7:33 PM on August 5, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by bolix at 7:33 PM on August 5, 2023 [5 favorites]
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posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 7:43 PM on August 5, 2023
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 7:43 PM on August 5, 2023
That's sad. Bill Joy, the creator of vi, is still very much alive.
posted by furtive at 7:46 PM on August 5, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by furtive at 7:46 PM on August 5, 2023 [4 favorites]
VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
SUMMARY
Vim is Charityware. You can use and copy it as much as you like, but you are
encouraged to make a donation for needy children in Uganda. Please see kcc
below or visit the ICCF web site, available at these URLs:
https://iccf-holland.org/
https://www.vim.org/iccf/
https://www.iccf.nl/
.
posted by nickzoic at 7:46 PM on August 5, 2023 [27 favorites]
:wq
posted by Horkus at 7:52 PM on August 5, 2023 [12 favorites]
posted by Horkus at 7:52 PM on August 5, 2023 [12 favorites]
I have always loved Steve Jobs's description of the personal computer as a "bicycle for the mind," but the only time that I feel I'm really having that experience is when I am using Vim. Thank you, Bram, for the only tool that lets me code at the speed of my thoughts.
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posted by /\/\/\/ at 7:57 PM on August 5, 2023 [21 favorites]
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posted by /\/\/\/ at 7:57 PM on August 5, 2023 [21 favorites]
I didn't care for vi or vim, but I know a lot of people who really liked them.
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posted by Spike Glee at 7:59 PM on August 5, 2023
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posted by Spike Glee at 7:59 PM on August 5, 2023
ZZ
posted by teppic at 8:03 PM on August 5, 2023 [11 favorites]
posted by teppic at 8:03 PM on August 5, 2023 [11 favorites]
I think it's generally not understood that open source software is fundamentally a kind of labour that can be replicated an infinite number of times at close to zero cost. A developer's tools, in turn, are a kind of labour that both facilitates that creation and replication while in turn being trivially replicated itself.
We have no model for that in economics that does or even can make sense. It is not possible for us to recognize and reward people who have created those tools in any way that is even vaguely proportional to the value that they've given to the world.
There are some people in the world whose contributions to society simply can't be repaid, because we have no way to pay them that is in any way commensurate to what they've given us, no way to even understand what that value might be. It is immeasurable. That amount of money just doesn't exist.
Bram was one of those people.
posted by mhoye at 8:05 PM on August 5, 2023 [55 favorites]
We have no model for that in economics that does or even can make sense. It is not possible for us to recognize and reward people who have created those tools in any way that is even vaguely proportional to the value that they've given to the world.
There are some people in the world whose contributions to society simply can't be repaid, because we have no way to pay them that is in any way commensurate to what they've given us, no way to even understand what that value might be. It is immeasurable. That amount of money just doesn't exist.
Bram was one of those people.
posted by mhoye at 8:05 PM on August 5, 2023 [55 favorites]
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posted by interogative mood at 8:06 PM on August 5, 2023
posted by interogative mood at 8:06 PM on August 5, 2023
:q
posted by JoeXIII007 at 8:17 PM on August 5, 2023
posted by JoeXIII007 at 8:17 PM on August 5, 2023
I'd leave a dot, but I'm afraid I'd die too
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 8:31 PM on August 5, 2023 [25 favorites]
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 8:31 PM on August 5, 2023 [25 favorites]
:wq
posted by Going To Maine at 8:37 PM on August 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Going To Maine at 8:37 PM on August 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
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posted by robotmachine at 8:44 PM on August 5, 2023
posted by robotmachine at 8:44 PM on August 5, 2023
"how do I exit this damn thing again?"
RIP...
PS I had no idea he created it on the Amiga originally then ported it.
posted by symbioid at 8:46 PM on August 5, 2023 [6 favorites]
RIP...
PS I had no idea he created it on the Amiga originally then ported it.
posted by symbioid at 8:46 PM on August 5, 2023 [6 favorites]
:wq
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 9:11 PM on August 5, 2023
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 9:11 PM on August 5, 2023
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posted by MonsieurPEB at 9:25 PM on August 5, 2023
posted by MonsieurPEB at 9:25 PM on August 5, 2023
:help 42
What is the meaning of life, the universe and everything? *42*posted by swift at 9:46 PM on August 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
Douglas Adams, the only person who knew what this question really was about is
now dead, unfortunately. So now you might wonder what the meaning of death
is...
Once again pls let me cite the 1985 Unix Review interview with Bill Joy (that's the one where he said "actually, I use cat [to edit source code]"), in which he admitted that he was working on a multi-buffer version of vi but the disk crashed and he had no backup so props to Brad Moolenaar for making it happen.
posted by morspin at 9:48 PM on August 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by morspin at 9:48 PM on August 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
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posted by brundlefly at 11:47 PM on August 5, 2023
posted by brundlefly at 11:47 PM on August 5, 2023
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posted by northtwilight at 1:33 AM on August 6, 2023
posted by northtwilight at 1:33 AM on August 6, 2023
Had just installed Red Hat 5 in dual boot as my first Linux install. Of course got stuck in vim and had to restart the computer.
These days I’m really uncomfortable if I can’t use vim keybindings in my editor.
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posted by symmsaur at 1:54 AM on August 6, 2023 [2 favorites]
These days I’m really uncomfortable if I can’t use vim keybindings in my editor.
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posted by symmsaur at 1:54 AM on August 6, 2023 [2 favorites]
:wq
posted by 4rtemis at 2:24 AM on August 6, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by 4rtemis at 2:24 AM on August 6, 2023 [2 favorites]
Love vim now. But I guess it dates me that I posted somewhere, in frustration, about hitting ctrl-z and my vim session disappearing (I was a Mac System 7 user at that time and thought it would undo) and got a very polite explanatory email from Lars Wirzenius explaining about backgrounding processes... and how to quit vi.
RIP Brad.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 3:03 AM on August 6, 2023 [3 favorites]
RIP Brad.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 3:03 AM on August 6, 2023 [3 favorites]
Somewhere? it was almost certainly USENET. I wonder if I could find it....
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 3:04 AM on August 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 3:04 AM on August 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
Like some others, I am longtime user of Vi-style editors, starting in 1984 with Vi on an AT&T 3B2. (And that only after my professor forced me to use the ed line editor for a few weeks…)
As the PC world grew and the number of platforms expanded, the idea of having a common editor across all of them was not a given. There were several alternate vi style editors, but certainly vim ‘won’ the market. For the longest time I was a purist and avoided using any extensions, but eventually curiosity and pragmatism forced me to adopt some of the productivity enhancing features of Vim. It truly was Vi Improved.
In spite of having been a user for so long, I don’t really know much about the issues that led to the creation of the NeoVim fork. My understanding is that it had to do with direction of the project (proprietary vimscript vs Lua), and the limitations of having one primary author. I think it best to leave that debate for another day. I do think that vim showed many others how to grow an editor in a more practical manner, and I think the world of editing tools is much richer for it.
Thanks, Bram.
posted by grimjeer at 4:30 AM on August 6, 2023 [2 favorites]
As the PC world grew and the number of platforms expanded, the idea of having a common editor across all of them was not a given. There were several alternate vi style editors, but certainly vim ‘won’ the market. For the longest time I was a purist and avoided using any extensions, but eventually curiosity and pragmatism forced me to adopt some of the productivity enhancing features of Vim. It truly was Vi Improved.
In spite of having been a user for so long, I don’t really know much about the issues that led to the creation of the NeoVim fork. My understanding is that it had to do with direction of the project (proprietary vimscript vs Lua), and the limitations of having one primary author. I think it best to leave that debate for another day. I do think that vim showed many others how to grow an editor in a more practical manner, and I think the world of editing tools is much richer for it.
Thanks, Bram.
posted by grimjeer at 4:30 AM on August 6, 2023 [2 favorites]
.
posted by mikelieman at 8:01 AM on August 6, 2023
posted by mikelieman at 8:01 AM on August 6, 2023
:wq!
posted by The Lurkers Support Me in Email at 12:29 PM on August 6, 2023
posted by The Lurkers Support Me in Email at 12:29 PM on August 6, 2023
My first real job out of college and the CADOL ( not COBOL) system they used, used vi as the editor. Have used vim and/or vim ever since.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 1:57 PM on August 6, 2023
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 1:57 PM on August 6, 2023
I learned Vim from the person who taught me Linux back in the mid-90s. She used Vim so I learned it by following along.
I've used Vim at every job I've had since. It's been a steadfast and reliable tool, and I sometimes get annoyed when other editors don't respond to the commands that are muscle-memory at this point.
So long, Bram. Thank you for creating and maintaining something amazing.
posted by ralan at 3:33 PM on August 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
I've used Vim at every job I've had since. It's been a steadfast and reliable tool, and I sometimes get annoyed when other editors don't respond to the commands that are muscle-memory at this point.
So long, Bram. Thank you for creating and maintaining something amazing.
posted by ralan at 3:33 PM on August 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
I also didn't know that VIM was created on the Amiga. That explains a lot. I had used Stevie on my Amiga a good bit, then around 1988/89 at university on the UNIX machines I was using vi and ed and I remember going through USENET and random FTP sites to find Amiga software and caches of Fred Fish disks. I very probably used the first release of VIM on my Amiga. I just figured it was a UNIX program that had been ported like so many other programs on the Amiga.
Thanks Bram.
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posted by zengargoyle at 4:33 PM on August 6, 2023 [3 favorites]
Thanks Bram.
.
posted by zengargoyle at 4:33 PM on August 6, 2023 [3 favorites]
There's a subset of UNIX people who should absolutely use the pronouns vi/vim.
posted by fnerg at 7:38 PM on August 6, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by fnerg at 7:38 PM on August 6, 2023 [9 favorites]
Has anyone in the vim community said anything about continuity? Bram knew the end was near and was preparing for it, which presumably includes handing the commit bit to someone else. That said, one the strengths and weaknesses of vim development was how central Bram was to it; it's not obvious that anyone else can step into his position, even if Bram blessed them.
With neovim I'm not scared for the future of the vi lineage, and maybe there's some poetry to vim fading into the background while the next iteration comes to the fore. But still, vim far surpassed vi and was a towering piece of software. It's up there with linux itself, alongside emacs and gcc.
posted by fatbird at 9:45 PM on August 6, 2023
With neovim I'm not scared for the future of the vi lineage, and maybe there's some poetry to vim fading into the background while the next iteration comes to the fore. But still, vim far surpassed vi and was a towering piece of software. It's up there with linux itself, alongside emacs and gcc.
posted by fatbird at 9:45 PM on August 6, 2023
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posted by brambleboy at 10:15 PM on August 6, 2023
posted by brambleboy at 10:15 PM on August 6, 2023
Apparently Christian Brabant will step up and take over the vim infrastructure and continue development.
posted by fatbird at 10:31 PM on August 6, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by fatbird at 10:31 PM on August 6, 2023 [5 favorites]
. means to repeat a vi command, which is the opposite of finality, so I'll instead salute him by typing 'ZZ'.
While reading the article, my mind wandered a bit and I imagined the undertaker team carefully writing 1's, then 0's, then random numbers all over him, followed by a ceremonial pressing of ':X' keys on the coffin to finally en-'crypt' him. I think I've been doing IT lifecycle management for too long.
posted by zaixfeep at 8:04 AM on August 7, 2023
While reading the article, my mind wandered a bit and I imagined the undertaker team carefully writing 1's, then 0's, then random numbers all over him, followed by a ceremonial pressing of ':X' keys on the coffin to finally en-'crypt' him. I think I've been doing IT lifecycle management for too long.
posted by zaixfeep at 8:04 AM on August 7, 2023
Vim has, for a long time, been the first piece of software I’ve looked for on a new (to me) platform. I love that it came from a time when charityware could be a functional license and is still alive, kicking, & thriving today.
Bram’s benevolent dictatorship has been a big part of that. These rare kinds of passion projects shared with the world perform their own service fighting entropy, leaving our world a little better than they found it. Even if they’re not important to you they, like the aforementioned bicycle for the mind, helped those who did use and cherish them to do their part.
GgvG=
posted by mce at 9:50 AM on August 7, 2023
Bram’s benevolent dictatorship has been a big part of that. These rare kinds of passion projects shared with the world perform their own service fighting entropy, leaving our world a little better than they found it. Even if they’re not important to you they, like the aforementioned bicycle for the mind, helped those who did use and cherish them to do their part.
GgvG=
posted by mce at 9:50 AM on August 7, 2023
:x
posted by lock robster at 10:37 AM on August 7, 2023
posted by lock robster at 10:37 AM on August 7, 2023
I really hope his family have some idea how much his work was appreciated and how much creativity it facilitated in other people. From the announcement linked in the post it's clear they are aware that there is a large worldwide community of users but there's a lot of software that is used every day that is nowhere near as fundamental to many people's work lives as the project to which Moolenaar generously devoted his time and effort.
I have, in the past, donated to the Ugandan relief efforts that Moolenaar suggested out of appreciation for the value I received from his work. I'll be sure to make another donation soon out of appreciation for the man's legacy.
posted by Nerd of the North at 12:40 PM on August 7, 2023 [3 favorites]
I have, in the past, donated to the Ugandan relief efforts that Moolenaar suggested out of appreciation for the value I received from his work. I'll be sure to make another donation soon out of appreciation for the man's legacy.
posted by Nerd of the North at 12:40 PM on August 7, 2023 [3 favorites]
c1996 my friend setup a dino intel box with Red Hat and NAT so I could play LAN games in my house. That was my first experience with vim. Later I moved and created a new NAT machine (Yellowdog), and learned vim. I knew then I was taking a first step on a long, but rewarding journey. Still using vim and still learning. Thank you Bram. Absolute legend! :wq
posted by xtian at 5:10 AM on August 9, 2023
posted by xtian at 5:10 AM on August 9, 2023
A lobste.rs post called "The future of the Vim project" links to a discussion at Google Groups.
posted by cgc373 at 4:36 PM on August 10, 2023
posted by cgc373 at 4:36 PM on August 10, 2023
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