What does Vi stand for?

Question

I was just wondering what "Vi" means in Linux (the command used for editing files)?

Seems like a simple search on Wikipedia would've answered this one? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vi — slm, Mar 31 '14 at 02:48
No, _visual_ not _virtual_. And `vim` is "Vi improved", not virtual improved. — Jonathan Wakely, Apr 01 '14 at 10:54
A stupid question has earned me so many upvotes ... :in tears: :P — Umair Ayub, Mar 05 '16 at 17:40

thomasrutter · Answer 1 · 2019-10-10T23:59:54.850

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Wikipedia has a concise and properly cited explanation:

The name vi is derived from the shortest unambiguous abbreviation for the command visual in ex; the command in question switches the line editor ex to visual mode.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vi

Note that this does not mean that the full name of the text editor "vi" is still "visual" or, even, that "vi" currently stands for "visual" - the name of the editor is just "vi". The above quote just explains how the name originally came into being.

As Ben Voigt helpfully points out, the people (and websites) claiming that it stands for "Visual Instrument" are confusing it with another product unrelated to the text editor.

edited Oct 10 '19 at 23:59

answered Mar 30 '14 at 15:17

thomasrutter

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The association of VI = Visual Instrument comes from LabVIEW, which has an editor for visual instruments and therefore matches searches for "VI editor". There is no connection between the Linux text editor "vi" and the acronym Visual Instrument. +1 – Ben Voigt Mar 30 '14 at 19:35
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In case anyone wonders why a program would be named after a command in another, remember that programs under Unix can be installed under multiple names, and change their behaviour appropriately. Thus invoking `ex` with the name `vi` would start it in `visual` mode. `vim` can be started in many modes this way, including `ex`, `exim` ("`ex` improved"), `view` (read-only), `rvim` (restricted), `evim` (easy), `vimdiff` (compare two files) etc – IMSoP Mar 31 '14 at 17:00

Sylvain Pineau · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-31T06:32:14.400

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Vi is a screen editor for Linux, Unix and other Unix-like operating systems. Pronounced (vee-aye). Stands for VIsual.

_{Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vi and http://www.techopedia.com/definition/10347/vi}

edited Mar 31 '14 at 06:32

answered Mar 30 '14 at 11:39

Sylvain Pineau

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VI improved, just that – Sylvain Pineau Mar 30 '14 at 11:40
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It should probably be noted that while it is excellent (once you know how to use it), vi/vim takes some effort to learn. It can be overwhelming the first time you have to use it; if you're not editing plain text files regularly, it's probably better to use (in the terminal) nano or (in the GUI) gedit (which lack the advanced features, flexibility and efficiency of vim, but are much more new-user-friendly). – evilsoup Mar 30 '14 at 13:01
Wow, I always thought it's just short for "view". – Ruslan Mar 30 '14 at 13:40
You can get the VIM book from Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Vi-iMproved-VIM-Steve-Oualline/dp/0735710015/ref=sr_1_3/182-7055828-0904365?ie=UTF8&qid=1396192179&sr=8-3&keywords=vim+book) or a PDF (suspect formatting) from ftp://ftp.vim.org/pub/vim/doc/book/vimbook-OPL.pdf – Agi Hammerthief Mar 30 '14 at 15:11
Actually the amazon book is states that its available online entirely for free. Only buy it from amazon if you want to help the writer's charity. – avgvstvs Mar 30 '14 at 17:34
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VI = Visual Instrument in the context of National Instruments' LabVIEW programming environment. Not the Linux text editor. This answer erroneously suggests a relationship between the two. – Ben Voigt Mar 30 '14 at 19:36
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I also disagree with the second half of this answer, as I've always pronounced it "vie". – IMSoP Mar 30 '14 at 23:44
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@IMSoP [how to pronounce Vi](http://thomer.com/vi/vi.html). Oh, and [another page](http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?ViEditor) that mentions how to pronounce Vi – Alexej Magura Mar 31 '14 at 00:30
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I just say "vim" - nobody really uses the original vi anyway - they may type "vi" but it'll most likely actually be vim, nvi or Busybox. Or in some cases Elvis. – thomasrutter Mar 31 '14 at 01:25
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@MariaMeh VIM is Vi IMproved. – David says Reinstate Monica Mar 31 '14 at 02:38
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As mentioned above - vi does not stand for "visual instrument". It is an abbreviation of "visual". – GreenAsJade Mar 31 '14 at 03:11
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In case people are confused, this answer previously said VI stood for "Visual Instrument" but has since been edited. – thomasrutter Mar 31 '14 at 03:29
@SylvainPineau Notice has been removed. Thanks for your help. – Mitch Mar 31 '14 at 08:53
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@AlexejMagura I stand corrected. Still, I'm going to carry on saying "vie", just as I wouldn't say "G.R.E.P." (`grep` being another program named after an `ed` command sequence) `:P` – IMSoP Mar 31 '14 at 10:39
I believe that `vi` stands for either: `Visual edItor` or `Visual Interface`, as contrasted by the lack of visual-ness provided by `ed`. – Alexej Magura Mar 31 '14 at 16:20
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@IMSoP nothing wrong with that; I pronounce `vim` like `tim`, but with `v` instead of a `t`. Occasionally, I'll even catch myself saying `vime`, like `vine` but with an `m` instead of an `n`. – Alexej Magura Mar 31 '14 at 16:22

score 19 · Answer 3 · answered Mar 31 '14 at 01:50

If one goes back and looks at an old man page for vi, such as the one for SunOS 5.10 from '07:

SunOS 5.10          Last change: 16 May 2007                    1

User Commands                                               vi(1)

     The vi (visual) utility is a  display-oriented  text  editor
     based on an underlying line editor ex. It is possible to use
     the command mode of ex from within vi and to use the command
     mode of vi from within ex. The visual commands are described
     on this manual page; how to set options (like  automatically
     numbering lines and automatically starting a new output line
     when you type carriage return) and all ex line  editor  com-
     mands are described on the ex(1) manual page.

Or from Ultrix (latest release '95):

Name
       vi - screen editor

Syntax
       vi [ -t tag ] [ +command ] [ -l ] [ -r ] [ -wn ] [ -x ] name...

Description
       The (visual) editor is a display-oriented text editor based on The com
       mand and the command run the same code.  You  can  access  the  command
       mode of from within

And thus you have it: vi is from vi‍sual. This matches the pattern its ancestor editors: ex is the ex‍tended editor and ed is an ed‍itor.

There is no indication that this stands for anything else. Maybe V‍isual I‍nterface (what I learned it as back long ago), but there is no documentation that it stands for anything other than vi‍sual.

score -1 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 31 '14 at 00:04

-1

Vi just stands for Visual, as in Visual Editor. Vim stands for Visual Improved, as in Visual Editor Improved.^wikibooks

answered Mar 31 '14 at 00:04

ChrisR.

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Vim stands for Vi IMproved proved really, with the "V" from "VI" and the "IM" from "IMPROVED". – thomasrutter Mar 31 '14 at 00:27
I said that and gave an example of usage. – ChrisR. Mar 31 '14 at 00:28
Your answer says it stands for "visual improved". What I'm trying to say is it stands for "vi improved", not "visual improved". The "v" is from "vi". – thomasrutter Mar 31 '14 at 00:46
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Vi, which stands for Visual (according to the link and the old man page according the MichaelT) and IM, which stands for Improved. If the abbreviation stands for Vi Improved, then the Vi in that would still be Visual. – ChrisR. Mar 31 '14 at 03:56
I still disagree that this means you can say "vim" stands for "visual improved", sorry. Not that it really matters as it's outside the scope of the question, but I just think it's misleading to imply that the vim creator intended it to stand for "visual improved". Vim's name is clearly referring to the product *vi*, not the *visual* command whose name vi is derived from. – thomasrutter Mar 31 '14 at 04:42
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Vim certainly does not stand for Visual Improved. Expanding acronyms multiple times is not valid—far less something that isn't even an acronym. Also, incidentally: quoting the Vim manual: "VIM stands for Vi IMproved." – Chris Morgan Apr 01 '14 at 04:51
vi isn't an acronym either. It is an abbreviation, much the same that vim is. When you expand the abbreviation and it **includes** the original abbreviation, then it is fine in my eyes. No one is going to refer to it that way, including myself. I call "vi" "vee-eye" and "vim" "vee-eye-mmm" or pronounce it phonetically as one word. – ChrisR. Apr 01 '14 at 06:06

What does Vi stand for?

4 Answers4