VIM is a powerful command-line text editor usually a default package in the majority of *nix distros (that includes Mac's OS X). I believe there are ports available for other OSes, even winblows. Firstly, vim is a man's editor. Whiners and GUI lovers can stop reading now. Although, VIM offer GUI ports such as MacVim. Men with thick beards, please stay tuned.

He starts with a bit of comparison between opinions on IDE versus editor and comments from others on both sides of the vim argument. Then he gets to the tips - here's a list of some of them:

• Syntax highlighting
• Tabs as spaces
• Search and show matches as you type
• PHP-specific highlighting
• Highlighting matching brackets/parentheses
• Auto change to to editing file's cwd

I use Vim for all my editing needs -- TODO lists, email, presentation outlines, coding in any language... everything. So, I thought I'd start sharing some of my vim habits and tools with others, particularly those that pertain to using Vim with PHP.

He includes tips for things like mapping keystrokes (to the PHP interpreter and linter), using the Project plugin to make setting up projects easier and a mention (again) of ctags.