The interface is modal editing, which, yes, takes some getting used to. The payoff is that you get a kind of programming language for text editing. Rather than memorizing ctrl+shift+alt-style keybinds, you decompose stuff into chainable actions.

Have you ever played a video game, be it with kbd+mouse or gamepad, and realize you’re doing a bunch of stuff without actually consciously thinking about what buttons you’re pressing? That’s what working in editors like Vim or (my fav) Helix feels like.

[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 3 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Rather than memorizing ctrl+shift+alt-style keybinds, you decompose stuff into chainable actions.

By memorizing something else that's equally or more obscure.

[–] lemon@sh.itjust.works 4 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Just in case you’re not trolling, here’s a simple example: yi) means yank inside )-parentheses. It copies the contents of round brackets. Core commands like these are relatively easy to remember

[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 2 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

Which is something you have to memorize. Do you honestly think that that is somehow easier to memorize than say "Ctrl-Shift-5"?

[–] lemon@sh.itjust.works 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Yes. It’s mnemonic and composable whereas your key chord isn’t. It’s fine if you don’t care for it. Each to their own. I’m just explaining the appeal of modal editing

[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 days ago

Interesting that you use the word "chord", because guitarists and piano players have been remembering chords forever based on the position of their hands, not based on some letters and numbers. Your version isn't more easily memorized, it's just different.

[–] T156@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago

They're also fairly versatile. y-i takes any symbol after. Space, comma, the letter p, you name it. If you can type it, it'll generally work.

Which can be a bit faster than some graphical editors at times, where you might have to find and select the contents by hand. That can be a bother if there's a lot.