Emacs具有Viper模式，因此在某种意义上，它提供了一个超特性集(除了那些在使用Viper和Vimpulse的Emacs中缺少哪些Vim特性?)

vi(和VIM IIRC)的重量较轻(它可以就地编辑文件)，但提供的功能较少(子进程通信、扩展语言)。

Seems an answer has been selected already, but the big difference to me has always been the modal vs. non-modal. Vim is modal, which means that it makes optimizations based on a specific set of usage modes. At least that's how I've always looked at it. This makes using Vim a different experience because instead of having a work area that you type code in, you really are telling an environment to act on the text. This is why people say things like with Vim you really are learning a language. The :wq and :s/foo/bar is all part of a shell like environment that edits and reads text.

Emacs on the other hand is much closer to most editors/word processors/etc. you see today. You have a workspace that has a highly programmable interface. That is why you see things like email, irc, shells, etc. As a programmer it is easy to think in terms of saying "take the line number I'm on and do something with the information". The desire to leave the editor becomes less because instead of having to quit, open some other app/language and do things on some text, you have Emacs where you can do these things within the scope of your editor.

这两种观点并不一定是对立的，只是它们揭示了两个不同的焦点。就我个人而言，我使用Emacs，但我见过非常了解Vim的人，他们可以诚实地说，选择哪种并不重要。我首先尝试了Vim，但Emacs最终支持了我。的确，无论您选择什么，您都应该至少在一定程度上精通Vim，因为它总是可用的。

击键执行::: Vi编辑将保留键入键的每个排列。这将在决策树中创建一个路径，该路径明确地标识任何命令，而Emacs命令是立即执行的键入键的组合，使用户可以选择是否使用命令。

内存使用和可定制性::: vi是一个更小更快的程序，自定义能力更有限，而Emacs启动时间更长，需要更多内存。然而，它是高度可定制的，并且包含大量的特性，因为它本质上是为文本编辑而设计的Lisp程序的执行环境。

Emacs的好处

Emacs has both non-modal interface (by default) and modal one (e.g. it can emulate vim and vi through Evil, Viper, or Vimpulse). One of the most ported computer programs. It runs in text mode and under graphical user interfaces on a wide variety of operating systems, including most Unix-like systems (Linux, the various BSDs, Solaris, AIX, IRIX, macOSetc.), MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows, AmigaOS, and OpenVMS. Unix systems, both free and proprietary, frequently provide Emacs bundled with the operating system. Emacs server architecture allows multiple clients to attach to the same Emacs instance and share the buffer list, kill ring, undo history and other state. Pervasive online help system with keybindings, functions and commands documented on the fly. Extensible and customizable Lisp programming language variant (Emacs Lisp), with features that include: A powerful and extensible file manager (dired), integrated debugger, and a large set of development and other tools. Having every command be an Emacs Lisp function enables commands to DWIM (Do What I Mean) by programmatically responding to past actions and document state. For example, a switch-or-split-window command could switch to another window if one exists, or create one if needed. This cuts down on the number of keystrokes and commands a user must remember. "An OS inside an OS". Emacs Lisp enables Emacs to be programmed far beyond editing features. Even a base install contains several dozen applications, including two web browsers, news readers, several mail agents, four IRC clients, a version of ELIZA, and a variety of games. All of these applications are available anywhere Emacs runs, with the same user interface and functionality. Starting with version 24, Emacs includes a package manager, making it easy to install additional applications including alternate web browsers, EMMS (Emacs Multimedia System), and more. Also available are numerous packages for programming, including some targeted at specific language/library combinations or coding styles.

vi类编辑器的好处

Edit commands are composable Vi has a modal interface (which Emacs can emulate) Historically, vi loads faster than Emacs. While deeply associated with UNIX tradition, it runs on all systems that can implement the standard C library, including UNIX, Linux, AmigaOS, DOS, Windows, Mac, BeOS, OpenVMS, IRIX, AIX, HP-UX, BSD and POSIX-compliant systems. Extensible and customizable through Vim script or APIs for interpreted languages such as Python, Ruby, Perl, and Lua Ubiquitous. Essentially all Unix and Unix-like systems come with vi (or a variant) built-in. Vi (and ex, but not vim) is specified in the POSIX standard. System rescue environments, embedded systems (notably those with busybox) and other constrained environments often include vi, but not emacs.

来源:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Editor_war

这就像苹果和橘子。两者都有不同的设计和理念。Vim是一个文本编辑器，而Emacs是一个Lisp解释器，可以进行文本编辑。

我使用Vim是因为它快速、狡猾，而且非常擅长处理文本。它具有可组合的自然键绑定，可以使您的开发任务真正协调一致。Vim基于一种简单的*nix哲学，即做好一件事——即文本操作。

使用bash/zsh和tmux扩展Vim通常很简单，可以学到很多东西。恕我直言，这是一个很好的学习曲线。关键是要学习如何集成这些东西以获得更大的工作应用程序。使用Vim，您需要学习集成，因为除非您告诉它如何进行集成，否则它不会自然地进行集成。另一个值得我使用的扩展是Tig。它是一个基于ncurses的Git前端。我只是有一个绑定，它无声地打开Tig，然后我在那里做所有Git的事情。

由最终用户来决定什么是最好的。Emacs和Vim经受住了时间的考验，证明了它们的价值。最终，一个优秀的程序员只需要一支笔和一张纸就可以发挥创造力。好的算法不需要编辑器的支持。所以两种方法都试试，看看哪种方法能让你更有效率。从这两个软件中学习设计模式，因为有很多东西需要学习和发现!

如果您经常从一个站点移动到另一个站点，或者您的工作涉及到登录到生产系统，那么vim就是合适的选择。

默认情况下，所有*nix机器都会安装vi。

大多数sysdamins更喜欢ksh作为默认shell。KSH使用vi(或emacs)命令击键来搜索历史记录并编辑命令行。

如果你不太了解vi，当你登录到一个标准配置的unix机器上时，你就会受到严重的限制。

仅仅因为这个原因，我推荐vim作为你日常的编辑器。我曾经见过emacs爱好者试图在一个基本的unix服务器上修改配置文件。