Vim ported to iOS • Hacker News Board

Re: Vim ported to iOS

#11

Post by neckbeard » Thu, Jan 19, 2012, 11:02 PM UTC

cleverjake wrote: post #8

I'm confused, how does one use the esc key without a keyboard?

As explained on the splashscreen, they've remapped that to backslash. I suspect it'd be much more useful with a BT keyboard - lack of ctrl and tab for a start.

The font is pretty ugly too - I can't easily tell the difference between q and g.

However, it is a neat hack, if not very usable.

Re: Vim ported to iOS

#12

Post by joshu » Thu, Jan 19, 2012, 11:02 PM UTC

superchink wrote: post #9

How about file management? Anyone know how files are stored/accessed?

It can only edit files in $HOME, it says.

Re: Vim ported to iOS

#13

Post by g3orge » Thu, Jan 19, 2012, 11:02 PM UTC

I was always using "Prompt" to connect to an ssh server and then use vim there with an external keyboard. But that's a nice touch.

Re: Vim ported to iOS

#14

Post by zzzmarcus » Thu, Jan 19, 2012, 11:05 PM UTC

cleverjake wrote: post #8

I'm confused, how does one use the esc key without a keyboard?

They remapped backslash to esc. Kind of a pain since you have to go through 2 keyboards to get to it, but it works.

Re: Vim ported to iOS

#15

Post by lyso » Thu, Jan 19, 2012, 11:05 PM UTC

superchink wrote: post #9

How about file management? Anyone know how files are stored/accessed?

Looks like you need to send them across through iTunes.

Re: Vim ported to iOS

#16

Post by DrHankPym » Thu, Jan 19, 2012, 11:06 PM UTC

Wow, the only thing missing now is Git / Github.

Re: Vim ported to iOS

#17

Post by pdenya » Thu, Jan 19, 2012, 11:06 PM UTC

nwest wrote: post #10

"Unfortunately, without an escape key it’s not possible to leave insert mode. That’s why by default the backslash key (‘\’) is mapped to the ‘Esc’ key. You’re free to overwrite this setting by unmapping the backslash key." from http://applidium.com/en/applications/vim/support/

That's great for browsing but I can't picture coding in an editor where I need to stop and look for common command keys. At the moment vim is efficient because [esc]10dd or something but it's just not viable without a keyboard. For reviewing code or making quick edits however this could be incredible.

I wonder if it supports plugins.

Re: Vim ported to iOS

#18

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Jan 19, 2012, 11:07 PM UTC

neckbeard wrote: post #11

cleverjake wrote: post #8

I'm confused, how does one use the esc key without a keyboard?

As explained on the splashscreen, they've remapped that to backslash. I suspect it'd be much more useful with a BT keyboard - lack of ctrl and tab for a start. The font is pretty ugly too - I can't easily tell the difference between q and g. However, it is a neat hack, if not very usable.

[deleted]

Re: Vim ported to iOS

#19

Post by stevelosh » Thu, Jan 19, 2012, 11:14 PM UTC

pdenya wrote: post #17

nwest wrote: post #10

"Unfortunately, without an escape key it’s not possible to leave insert mode. That’s why by default the backslash key (‘\’) is mapped to the ‘Esc’ key. You’re free to overwrite this setting by unmapping the backslash key." from http://applidium.com/en/applications/vim/support/

That's great for browsing but I can't picture coding in an editor where I need to stop and look for common command keys. At the moment vim is efficient because [esc]10dd or something but it's just not viable without a keyboard. For reviewing code or making quick edits however this could be incredible. I wonder if it supports plugins.

    nnoremap jk

Re: Vim ported to iOS

#20

Post by tambourine_man » Thu, Jan 19, 2012, 11:15 PM UTC

What's the biggest advantage over SSHing to your server? Is the interface optimized?

I mean, you're almost never offline these days, so local storage can't be it, right?

I suggest mapping 'jj' to ESC rather than '\'