Vi
 | This article is a work in progress. …well, all the articles here are, in a way. But this one moreso, and the article may contain incomplete information and editors’ notes. |
| vi | |
| |
| Character Information | |
|---|---|
| Common Names | vi |
| Other Names | Vim, ex |
| Human Name(s) | Victor Joy |
| Faction | Linux Unix Consortium |
| Lineage | ed |
| Rival(s) | Emacs |
| Appearance | |
| Height | 4'10" |
| Hair Color | Straw-blond |
| Eye Color | Slate gray |
| Weapon(s) | None |
| Design | |
| First Appearance | 2008 |
| Technical Information | |
| System Personified | vi text editor and derivatives |
| Developer(s) | Bill Joy, various others |
| Debut | 1976 |
| Latest release | As Vim: 2011 |
Technical details
Created in 1976 at UC Berkeley, vi is a lightweight text editor derived from ed, which was originally included as a part of Unix. Today, vi is present on almost every Unix or *Nix-like OS (indeed, its presence is requisite for every Single Unix Specification-complying OS), and its small size, efficient commands and powerful nature make it a choice editor for programmers. Since the 1980s, Emacs has challenged vi for the position of de-facto Unix editor, and to this day there is no clear-cut answer to which is more popular. Vi sparked a number of spinoffs, Vim likely being the most widely-used today.
Character details
General
Vi-kun is depicted as a lightly-built teenage boy with pale skin, freckles, bowl-cut dark blond hair and round glasses. He generally dresses simply, slacks, button-up shirts and neckties being favorites of his. An avid reader and author, he is rarely seen without books, notepads and ballpoint pens.
To the casual observer, Vi may come off as starchy and aloof - indeed, he is rather notorious for driving away would-be acquaintances with his curt, orderly demeanor and methodical personality - but those people who have the patience and forgiveness to endure his initial standoffishness find him to be loyal friend and highly skilled worker. He is quite willing to do whatever is asked of him, nothing more and nothing less, and as a result his efficiency is largely determined by who he works for or with. Under the guidance of a competent and sympathetic leader, he is extremely helpful and powerful; in the hands of a less-skilled boss, he can be downright difficult. Because of this, he has little patience for incertitude or idleness, and often times flat-out refuses to work with people who don't understand his style.
Family and Relationships
Because of his status as a high-profile editor-kun, Vi-kun has many acquaintances; but his complex personality affords him few close companions. His oldest and best friend is arguably UNIX-tan, with whom he shares a common heritage and numerous physical and psychological traits (for instance, eternal youthfulness, small stature, love of simplicity and quick temper). In-story, it has been suggested that Vi-kun quietly harbors unrequited romantic feelings for UNIX, with UNIX intentionally ignoring his romantic gestures, although this idea has not been explored in-depth.
Vi-kun's shares a creator and birthplace with BSD-tan, but they have few other things in common. Nevertheless, they view one another as family and treat each other with kindness and understanding in spite of their vast differences; BSD-tan sometimes even going as far as playing the "big sister" role and looking out for Vi in difficult situations (something he looks at with a certain amount of embarrassment and chagrin).
He is locked in a long-running battle with Emacs-kun, who is his opposite in nearly every way imaginable - save intellect and fan-following.
