Comment by BrenBarn

Vim recognises that the typing text is a small part of coding by defaulting to a mode in which you can’t even type :)

For me, vim is a nice way to navigate code. It’s really fast to jump from place to place so I can explore quickly and build an understanding.

Is anybody claiming it makes you more productive at writing code? I just find it more convenient and more comfortable.

Depends on how you work I guess. I explore solutions through coding different versions of some algorithm, sure I could theorycraft as well but I am stronger by just writing code and see if it runs. I type a lot so vim motions help me a ton.

Just because it is small doesn't mean that it isn't important.

Roll your eyes if you want. A professional takes tools seriously, that includes key bindings and shortcuts.

Yes, it's not the time it takes to type that's the matter, but once you're in the zone you need to stay there without any resistance.

Writing code, notes, diagrams and now also AI prompts is certainly a big part of my work

I agree. Vim is my default text editor, but it's not great as an IDE. Don't have much of a choice there either, and have to use the right tool for the job.