On 6/2/11, Rafa Garcia Gallego <rafael.garcia.gall...@gmail.com> wrote: > - Most "normal" editors *do* have a slight modality (e.g. replace > instead of insert, etc). Sandy does have a different behavior when > selecting text vs. when moving, but it is bearable and IMHO it does no > lead to confussion. Some questions: do we want to avoid modes as much > as possible? even if that means losing some "power-user" > functionality?
I suppose the answers to those questions depend on what the goal of this project is. If the goal truly is a simple editor, then -- according to my definition of simple, anyways -- it ought to be modeless. And if that means sacrificing some power-user functionality then that's fine. It can't necessarily do _everything_. And if it does, then.. it would probably end up being just another bad clone of vi or Emacs. > - Vi OTOH *does* have keybinding chains / compound commands (try > typing a simple text in English, then do "d2Fe" in command mode and > think what went on there), though I think we can all agree their > damage is lesser than in emacs. Some more questions: do we want to > avoid prefixes and modifiers as much as possible? even if this means > having to repeat a keybinding a couple of times? > > If the answer to all these questions is 'yes', then we will probably > end up with a quite simple, suckless editor. As long as it lets me > select text using a regex and then filter the selection trough an > arbitrary command, it ought to be enough for me. At least in theory. I'm all for simple. John