A *big* advantage for me is that at work I very often log in to test systems and customer systems that only have 'real' vi available so I don't have to re-learn the editor there.
Indeed, knowing the fundamentals of vi is essential for anyone using a *nix alike OS.
Seems odd to me that using two different editors can be 'easier' than knowing one (possibly more complex) one in depth.
I use nano solely because that's what came out of the box with my gentoo install - and it's very easy to use. If it wasn't for the fact that vi is just everywhere - it'd be a good candidate for my fave console editor. Joe is also quite easy to use too.
I use the GUI vile which is called xvile. Again I don't see the problem, xvile is just the same as vile with a few GUI addons like mouse awareness etc. Just using the same editor *everywhere* means that it's never 'hard work'.
Picking up and remembering the shortcuts, *is* the hard work. and something like Gvim doesn't make that much easier, as you say - it's pretty much just vi with addons.
I still think my philosophy of using the same editor *everywhere* is the best approach. You need to choose one that's available on every platform you use of course, that's what led me to vile/xvile. I use it in all the following situations:-
I'm glad that works for you - but using a GUI editor you can drag things around, compare docs side by side and use diff features etc. which can be more productive than just plain ol' vi. One size doesn't always fit all!
Nowadays I could probably replace most of the above by using vim/gvim and starting now I probably would. I'm not sure if there's a server mode in gvim though.
Yes, I think the vi clones would probably be the most portable and functional options if I was going to restrict myself to one family ... but there's still something to be said for the feel of a nice GUI one on my main desktop.
I am going to give Geany a whirl, I think - it feels quite nice on first impressions.
Peter.