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Kakoune Code Editor

kakoune.org

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Re: Kakoune Code Editor

#41

Post by jzm2k »

pletnes wrote: post #25
jzm2k wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The multiline cursor is a great tool I didn't know I needed before I tried Kakoune. Also, the commands are more logical. Go to end of line with gl, select code from current place until the end of line with GL, go to the start of line with gh, go to the end of file with gj and to the top with gk, etc. It's more logical and the fact that you can use visual select by keeping shift down when moving is very nice.

What’s the big deal with multiline cursor over visual block mode?

I think multicursor is more flexible. I can visually select N lines and use regex to place the cursors and then modify the text in multiple places simultaneously. Kakoune also provides a multicursor similar to the visual block mode that Vim offers but I find myself using that only in very specific situations like "these 5 lines should all start with this keyword" or whatever.

Re: Kakoune Code Editor

#42

Post by raverbashing »

NateEag wrote: post #15

Note the existence of kakoune.el, an emacs emulation of Kakoune's core: https://github.com/jmorag/kakoune.el I have no idea how well it reproduces the experience - I'll probably be using vim on servers and emacs evil-mode locally until the day I die, so I haven't bothered to get into Kakoune, awesome though it seems.

Why would you even bother making Emacs look like Kakoune?

Funny how it seems a lot of Emacs developer time is spent a) making it look like / act like something else and b) making it do things unrelated to editing text.

There is no focus. It's good that it can do a lot but it doesn't do any of those things well (unless you want to learn some cryptic key combinations that make less sense than vim).

Meanwhile the rest of the world has moved on.

Re: Kakoune Code Editor

#43

Post by hasperdi »

rob74 wrote: post #32

Once you realise that it's, er, let's say, inspired by vim, you look at the logo and see that it's basically a clone of the vim logo/icon - the orange part of the K looks like the V in the vim icon, and the green lozenge background is almost exactly the same. Which makes it even stranger that they are trying to hide that - there is no mention of vi/vim on the site's landing page. Ok, I understand that they are wary t…

AFAIK the creator got the inspiration from Vim, but I think the other statements about github, not mentioning vim, etc. Are just products of your imagination

Re: Kakoune Code Editor

#44

Post by sidkshatriya »

29athrowaway wrote: post #37
atdt wrote: post #17

Kakoune does not yet have an interactive tutorial, like vim's `vimtutor` -- its developer community has mixed feelings about the need to develop an analogue. In lieu of it, there exists a document called TRAMPOLINE that is meant to help new users get up to speed quickly. It is available here: https://github.com/mawww/kakoune/blob/master/contrib/TRAMPOL...

kakoune is more discoverable than vim. You get an explanation of each command and its arguments, plus suggestions and completion, without the need for any plugin. The basics of the vim tutorial still apply to kakoune.

> kakoune is more discoverable than vim.

Yes, this is one of its most underrated features.

Make sure you have to following line in your kakrc

```

set -add global autoinfo normal

```

This will give you an explanation on the various commands that you perform in the normal mode of the editor in a unobtrusive popup on your screen.

When you type commands e.g. `:w` you will get a popup again that explains the optional switches available when saving a file. In vi, you usually need to hunt down things in documentation. In kakoune, the documentation is displayed as you work in your usual workflow. This made things really easy for me.

Re: Kakoune Code Editor

#45

Post by TeddyDD »

mushufasa wrote: post #2

Does anyone use this daily? this gets posted a few times a year to HN but tbh it looks like someone just re-invented vi. Which seems kindof like creating a new religion. It can be done, but even the best televangelist isn't going to hold a candle to the spread of the catholic church.

I've been using it as daily driver for 3+ years. I switched from Spacemacs. Focus on selections, visual feedback and simple integration with other Unix tools are main differentiating features in comparison to vi family of editors.

Re: Kakoune Code Editor

#46

Post by mikojan »

grayrest wrote: post #29
konart wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find it extremely subjective. "delete word" is much better than "word delete" imo. Also `dw` sounds more logical if you think about user input speed\pauses. If I press `w` I want to move to the next word immediately. In case were `wd` deletes a word - there should be some lag, no?

Doing the motion first lets you visually confirm the range before invoking the command. You also have the opportunity to adjust the range if you didn't get it quite right. Mnemonically the vim order works better for English but in practice I find the visual feedback from selection better for anything even moderately complex. An example would b `f` or `t` since I tend to hit the letter I was aiming for earlier than I…

I have never felt the need to visually confirm something as obvious as "delete 1 word".

On the other hand, you cannot do something like "delete 3 words" in kakoune. "3wd" just takes you to the third word and deletes that.

Deleting 3 words is definitely slower. And it's kind of infuriating...

What am I doing wrong?

Re: Kakoune Code Editor

#47

Post by rob74 »

hasperdi wrote: post #43
rob74 wrote: post #32

Once you realise that it's, er, let's say, inspired by vim, you look at the logo and see that it's basically a clone of the vim logo/icon - the orange part of the K looks like the V in the vim icon, and the green lozenge background is almost exactly the same. Which makes it even stranger that they are trying to hide that - there is no mention of vi/vim on the site's landing page. Ok, I understand that they are wary t…

AFAIK the creator got the inspiration from Vim, but I think the other statements about github, not mentioning vim, etc. Are just products of your imagination

That the landing page doesn't mention vi/vim or open source is definitely a fact. Of course the reason for not mentioning vim was a product of my imagination, but actually I just wanted to say that I think it's odd for them to avoid stating the almost-obvious...

Re: Kakoune Code Editor

#48

Post by mikojan »

skavi wrote: post #12

Check out helix [0] for a kakoune inspired editor with some nice modern features included by default. [0]: https://helix-editor.com/

Have been using this instead of vim for a month now.

It's incredible. No messing with plugins and archaic config files. All works out of the box, including LSP integration. Highly customizable still. Extremely fast, too.

I love "space-k" (Show docs for item under cursor).

The one thing I'm still struggling with is the kakoune-like movements. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but they do feel inferior to vim's.

Re: Kakoune Code Editor

#49

Post by sidkshatriya »

konart wrote: post #24
smegsicle wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

movement before command sounds nice, eg 'wd' to delete a word instead of 'dw'

I find it extremely subjective. "delete word" is much better than "word delete" imo. Also `dw` sounds more logical if you think about user input speed\pauses. If I press `w` I want to move to the next word immediately. In case were `wd` deletes a word - there should be some lag, no?

> I find it extremely subjective. "delete word" is much better than "word delete" imo.

Yes, as single command typed in isolation whether dw is better or wd is better is a matter of personal subjective opinion.

But, where object-verb (wd approach) becomes objectively better is that it composes with subsequent editor commands in a way that verb-object (dw approach) does not.

Editing is all about performing operations on text. You can first make increasing complicated selections, review them as they are being built up and then decide what to do with them in the end with the object-verb paradigm.

All this is difficult to describe textually. Try to checkout some Kakoune editing on YouTube or do it yourself by looking at the TRAMPOLINE tutorial [1] and you might come around to the `wd` school of thought!

[1] https://github.com/mawww/kakoune/blob/master/contrib/TRAMPOL...

Re: Kakoune Code Editor

#50

Post by gumby »

rob74 wrote: post #47
hasperdi wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AFAIK the creator got the inspiration from Vim, but I think the other statements about github, not mentioning vim, etc. Are just products of your imagination

That the landing page doesn't mention vi/vim or open source is definitely a fact. Of course the reason for not mentioning vim was a product of my imagination, but actually I just wanted to say that I think it's odd for them to avoid stating the almost-obvious...

I just clicked over and looked at the repo which answered my question. No big deal.
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