Question: **Problem:** One of my favorite aspects of Vim is its flexibility. One of my least favorite is the VimL script language itself. I know everyone has his or her own preference for languages and editors, so I take it for granted that not everyone agrees with me.

**Question:** *If* you are a Vim user, and *if* you have had a similar disaffection for using VimL to extend vim, what alternatives have you used in order to extend Vim while avoiding the default language? I am looking for ideas that may help beyond what I've already tried, including, but not limited to:

* recompiling vim with the add-on support for python, ruby, and perl (nice, but it does not help when I am running vim on someone else's machine without that support added in)
* never writing a line of VimL script and simply download preexisting add-ons (great, if and only if the existing stuff does exactly what you want it to, not so great if you have to make a change and end up having to look at more VimL script)

**Disclaimer:** Note, this is *not* a slam against VimL script or anyone's preferences. If it works great for you, that's great! I'm just asking those who have found a need for an alternative, and a way to fulfill that need to their satisfaction.

**Update:** This question was updated with a request for specific references to specific tools. No discussion, debate, polling or extended discussion is needed. If there exists a *specific* tool, please feel free to reference it.

* see e.g., <https://github.com/luke-gru/riml>

Answer: 
I love `vim` but hate `VimL`. So I have been trying `emacs` with the `evil` plugin. It's a `vim`-like mode, but with all the benefits of `emacs` plugins and `emacs-lisp` as a scripting language. Mostly a win. (It's not 100% like vim — for example, `$` isn't a special line column like it is in vim — but close enough.)
There are no alternatives, if we disregard the ones you mentioned. 

* While in Vim you can use VimL
* If you wish to program in Python/Perl/Ruby you can find yourself a pre-made binary, or build Vim to include support for it, and then use one of those, as many people do
* you can download plugins, as you said, but more and more of them require support for one of the above (which are often found on \*nix boxes, so it's really not that much of a problem)
* you can use either one of the above, or other \*nix tools outside Vim, but that has no longer anything to do with Vim

*I think that covers it.*