Where Vim Came From ( via ) is an interesting and thorough overview of the history of vim, vi, ed, and other predecessors (with copious footnotes). It's nice to see all of the pieces laid out this way, and I learned of some historical links that I hadn't already known.

(I do wonder what vi would have been like if ed had kept QED's multiple buffer support.)

Update, the next day: See also Dennis Ritchie's An incomplete history of the QED Text Editor ( via ).