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Vim users: stop using hjkl

vimcasts.org

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Re: Vim users: stop using hjkl

#11

Post by eropple »

marcpeabody wrote: post #5
lutusp wrote: post #2

> Moving your Vim cursor around using the arrow keys is a bad habit ... Yes, as is having a keyboard with more than 64 keys, a pointing device, software that allows character insertion, deletion and cursor motion all without changing modes, or any computer designed after 1980. We must all fight against this rising tide of convenience and efficiency by insisting that everyone use vim and its descendants.

Being rude is a bad habit too.

His post isn't rude at all. Sarcastic, sure, but that's not the same thing.

Re: Vim users: stop using hjkl

#13

Post by aswerty »

He gives examples of how to do away with h and k except for one off errors which is how I work but he doesn't really show a smart way of going up or down 2 or 3 lines without using j and k. I vertically move by using MHL and jk, is there a smarter way than that?

Re: Vim users: stop using hjkl

#14

Post by tompko »

agscala wrote: post #6

This is okay advice, except that hjkl are actually useful occasionally. Disabling them will only hurt yourself.

>I’m not really suggesting that you permanently disable the h, j, k, and l keys. ... But...If it forces you out of your comfort zone and encourages you to use wordwise motions, character searches, and other motions, then it counts as a useful exercise.

Re: Vim users: stop using hjkl

#16

Post by hartator »

What I like about VIM people is they explain you that mouse is evil, arrow keys are evil and now the basic hjkl (btw corrected into hell in iPhone keyboard) are evil too.

I have even see a guy at a ruby conf who were using only keystrokes to browse the web. I wonder how it deal with flash animation. Anyway so now, he can replace his trackpad with a swimming pool for worms of smugueness. That's pretty cool.

Re: Vim users: stop using hjkl

#17

Post by JulianWasTaken »

lutusp wrote: post #2

> Moving your Vim cursor around using the arrow keys is a bad habit ... Yes, as is having a keyboard with more than 64 keys, a pointing device, software that allows character insertion, deletion and cursor motion all without changing modes, or any computer designed after 1980. We must all fight against this rising tide of convenience and efficiency by insisting that everyone use vim and its descendants.

This comment is ridiculous.

Being "anti-vim" is perfectly alright with me. I use vim because it's the fastest thing I've ever used by a very wide margin. I also respect others who find it too hard to learn or find they're more productive elsewhere.

But a comment that essentially boils down to "vim is archaic" in a post about vim usage habits is totally ridiculous, so in the nicest way possible, get lost.

Re: Vim users: stop using hjkl

#19

Post by jlongster »

It's amazing how fast you can retrain muscle memory by disabling certain keys. It's frustrating for about half a day, then kind of annoying for a day or two, and then you've completely retrained yourself. In just a day or so!

However, I like to fiddle with the cursor while I'm thinking. Might be just me. I don't like feeling like I'm completely constrained. It's nice to casually move around when I'm pondering something deeply.

When I'm seriously coding though, I almost exclusively use move forward/backword by word or expression, and then use ace-jump to arbitrarily jump to specific points (http://www.emacsrocks.com/e10.html). I use Emacs of course.

Re: Vim users: stop using hjkl

#20

Post by lutusp »

notaddicted wrote: post #9
lutusp wrote: post #2

> Moving your Vim cursor around using the arrow keys is a bad habit ... Yes, as is having a keyboard with more than 64 keys, a pointing device, software that allows character insertion, deletion and cursor motion all without changing modes, or any computer designed after 1980. We must all fight against this rising tide of convenience and efficiency by insisting that everyone use vim and its descendants.

It really doesn't have to be dogma, stuff like this can really help building a habit especially if you use it every day. I had this problem when I used to play Counter Strike Source. I was weapon switching with the scroll wheel which is just terrible, and since it is a shooting game I was getting shot because in a tight spot I couldn't pull out my pistol fast enough. So I just unbound the scroll wheel for a couple we…

> It really doesn't have to be dogma, stuff like this can really help building a habit especially if you use it every day.

Yes, but in modern times, the habit of navigating with arrow keys is a more transferable habit to develop. Assuming we use more than one program in our work.

And almost no programs retain the archaic i/j/k/m navigation scheme -- not surprising, since those are letter keys and most modern programs don't require the operator to switch modes in order to move the cursor -- and why should they? A modern keyboard has dedicated keys for that purpose.

> I read most of your book about sailing (most I think, you're in the Mediterranean,) ...

Thanks -- well, I did have to sail the remaining half distance around the world from there. :)

The above refers to my free world sail book: http://arachnoid.com/sailbook

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