One of the most used LINUX editors started its life on the Amiga. Who would think that?
Inspired by a previous port of Stevie for the Commodore Amiga, Bram Moolenaar began working on Vim for the Amiga in 1988.
Yes, you read that right… Vim was originally developed for the Commodore Amiga! I’m always surprised to see that not many programmers know that, including those that use Vim daily.
Some important Amiga milestones that few think of.
First Vim Release in 1991
The very first public release of Vim was not a normal one. Vim’s first public release (v1.14) happened in 1991 on the Fred Fish PDF disk series, which you had to order from an Amiga retailer that sent you the correct floppy.
When I got this news sent to Amitopia’s mail today, I couldn’t believe it myself.
I’ve always been a CygnusED user on the Amiga, but to know this is a fact is important to spread info about. To know that Vim began its life on Amiga is really great and a milestone in itself.
Important Vim Milestones
- 1988: (Vim 1.0) Development of Vi IMitation on the Amiga
- 1991: (Vim 1.14) First public release on Fred Fish disk #591
Then in 1993, it was ported to UNIX and the rest of the Vim story can be seen here.
Vim for Amiga came on a PDF disk
The text editor Vim was as mentioned above included on a PDF disk named Fred Fish’s disk #591. That was Vim’s first commercial release.
Freeware disks for Amiga
Fred Fish was a computer programmer known for his work on GNU’s GDB and also for releasing a series of freeware disks for the Amiga. The Fish Disks series ran for 8 years, from 1986 to 1994. Fish would distribute his disks around the world, which were then distributed at computer stores and Amiga enthusiast clubs.
Fred created the first 3rd party, Indie, or Early access type of productivity. Some of the PDF software titles were even better than some of the commercial releases for the Amiga.
Vim 9.0 got Nextgen Amiga release in May this year
Some of the PDFs got Aminet release, but not all. However, the Vim releases for the Amiga can also be found there.
The newest Vim 9.0 that came out in May this year is also available for MorphOS, AROS, and AmigaOS 4. So, if you like to have a UNIX type of editor running, get it for free.
What sort of editor did you use on Amiga, and what sort of editor do you use today? Still the same?
