Core Vim Class in London

From 14:00 to 17:30

Core Vim, with Drew Neil

Level up your Vim with this definitive masterclass

In the hands of a master Vim can shred text at the speed of thought, but learning how can take years. I know, because I learned the hard way: figuring out the stuff that isn’t obvious. But it needn’t take years of your life to reach this level. I’ll show you everything that matters in this 3.5 hour masterclass.

We’ll deal with Vim’s core functionality. The features that are relevant no matter whether you’re working with server config files, source code, or prose. My tips will improve your workflow across the board.

Once you’ve mastered Vim, you will resent having to use any other text editor. And that’s okay, because Vim runs everywhere!

Who is it for

This Core Vim masterclass is aimed at the intermediate user who wants to level up.

  • you are familiar with the basics (not sure? Go through vimtutor)
  • you have moved beyond using the arrow keys (not sure how? Read habit making, habit breaking)
  • you feel that something is holding you back from reaching the next level

Come and see how Vim can blow your mind, or your money back.

What you will learn

  • learn how to repeat the last change using the dot command
  • meet the dot formula - a 2 step process with 1000 uses
  • move your cursor wherever you want it to go with as little as 2 keystrokes
  • attain enlightenment by understanding text objects
  • Stop using counts! I will teach you to apply the same change over a visual range with the :normal command.
  • know the 2 lines of attack for text operations, and why old-style vi operators trump Visual mode
  • DRY up your workflow with macros - your robotic sidekick
  • learn how to execute your macros across multiple files using the arglist

If you've already read Practical Vim, then you may be familiar with the concepts covered in this class. The coursework doesn't correspond to any single chapter of my book, but joins the dots between the most important tips. We learn best by doing (as Confucius put it: "I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand."). In this class you'll get your hands dirty, learning best practices by applying them.

How it works

When you sign up for the masterclass, I'll ask for your github username. The learning materials are in a private github repository, to which you'll be granted access. We'll work through a series of exercises that are designed to teach Vim best practices. I teach this class using a combination of slides and live coding.

We’ll be using bare Vim (not vi - we’re not savages). You’ll be asked to leave your .vimrc at the door before entering my Vim Dojo.

Who is teaching

I'm Drew Neil. You may know me as the voice of Vimcasts. I'm passionate about Vim, and have made it my mission to help people get the most from this awesome tool. I wrote Practical Vim (Pragmatic Bookshelf, 2012) because I felt that learning Vim was too hard. It's the book that I wanted to read when I started out with Vim.

I've taught this Vim Core masterclass around Europe and at conferences, including Strangeloop, Oredev, Rocky Mountain Ruby Conference, and wroclove.rb.

What you will get

  • access to the VimDojo - an interactive lesson plan (vimtutor++)
  • a copy of the slides used to teach the course, with annotations
  • a 25% discount coupon for Practical Vim

Tickets

Additional Information

When and Where?

The workshop runs from 14:00 - 17:30 at Forward, Camden, London.

What people say about the course

Over 400 people have attended this class (some online, some in person). Here are some of the things people have said about it:

I'm using the stuff I learned on a daily basis now (:args/:argdo FTW!) - it was an absolutely fantastic course. Felix Geisendörfer

The format for the workshop was perfect. Drew encourages practice and experimentation, you try and solve a problem yourself and then he shows you a better/easier way to do it. The team got very into it, working to try and get the best solution before Drew came back with it.

Drew doesn't teach you vim, he guides you through learning vim the best way you could - by using it. John Duff

I loved the interaction with the attendees, and the difficulty level was just right. Piotr Szotkowski

I left the Vimcasts workshop thinking for the first time in my relationship with Vim that not only are there many ways of doing things in the one true editor, there might also be a right way. Matt Johnson

Great class. Many fundamental ideas and lots of important pointers on how Vim should be used. Extremely useful for anyone trying to understand the Vim way. Konstantin Dankov

If you believe in learning how to master tools you use every day in your job as a programmer, learn your editor inside and out. Drew's Vim master class is the gateway to becoming really proficient with Vim. Chris Hartjes

I've been using Vim for over a decade. Every couple of years, I attempt to polish the mirror and learn new tools and tricks to make my typing and editing more effective. I'd consider myself a fairly advanced user. This course taught me to return to the basics, and systematically think about the specifics of Vim movement in order to optimize further. I wish I'd had this course much earlier in my career, as it teaches some tremendously effective habits and techniques for using Vim effectively! Matthew Weier O'Phinney

The Vimcasts workshop won't teach you shallow Vim tricks - that you can find online. Instead Drew reveals epiphany after Vim epiphany. You'll learn how the visual, normal and ex mode intersect and how they can be tamed into doing your will. You'll leave the workshop with a pattern language for constructing elegant and robust text operations -- or magic if you prefer. Drew was an articulate teacher and he effortlessly illuminated subtle distinctions that had eluded me during a previous year of full time Vim usage. All in all well worth the time and money. Jack Kinsella, Hackerpreneur OxbridgeNotes

You only have a finite number of keystrokes before you die. Make them count!

Any questions? Contact me at drew@vimcasts.org