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To be honest, I didn't realise that nano was being maintained, I sort of assumed that it was slowly fading out of existence. Honest question: does anyone here u

by mrmondo 10y ago

To be honest, I didn't realise that nano was being maintained, I sort of assumed that it was slowly fading out of existence. Honest question: does anyone here use nano for anything? If so - what are you reasons for using it / what do you like about it?

kalleboo 10y ago
The times I need to edit a text file in a terminal are very rare (config is managed, code comes from git). I already have a GUI text editor of choice, so I've never felt any need to memorise vi/emacs (aside from how to save and exit). nano has the commands right there onscreen if I've forgotten.
- mrmondo 10y ago
  ah yes, interesting, thank you for replying!
niftich 10y ago
Nano lists its shortcuts in the window, like most modern GUI software. This is helpful for beginners, but also for me when I haven't had my morning coffee and suddenly find myself in a text editor. I enjoy using it, but I also like that it's discoverable from within the program; that strikes me as good design.
- mrmondo 10y ago
  OK interesting, for me I personally always feel lost in nano as for me it feels like it's a gui app trying to exist in a console, but that's me - thanks for replying to my question!
  - niftich 10y ago
    FWIW any application launched from the shell that spawns its own full-screen context is a 'gui app trying to exist in a console', including its competitor editors; at least nano tells you now to use it once you're stuck inside it.
stordoff 10y ago
I don't spend enough in Linux/BSD* environments and/or editing text to make learning vi/emacs worthwhile, but need a terminal editor for maintaining my remote server. nano is ideal for that role - minimal functionality + shortcuts shown at all times means I don't need to learn anything, but can make any quick edits I need. * I know both can be used on Windows, but a GUI editor feels like a more natural fit to me in that environment.
- nzp 10y ago
  Not trying to force either of those on you or anything like that, but just a quick remark: both Vim (although not vi) and Emacs have fully functional GUI “modes” (in fact, I think overwhelming majority of Vim/Emacs users use it in GUI mode). They might not look native in Windows though.
  - caseymarquis 10y ago
    Atom with a vim plugin or sublimetext are good windows options for vim.
Sylos 10y ago
It was cool to have when I first worked with a Linux command-line and didn't really get any introduction. The instructor just told me to type in "nano filename.txt" and from then on I could work out the rest. Not that it was terribly necessary. Another instructor told people to use vim, showed them around for half a minute and then they could do just as much with vim as I could with nano.

by mrmondo 10y ago

kalleboo 10y ago

The times I need to edit a text file in a terminal are very rare (config is managed, code comes from git). I already have a GUI text editor of choice, so I've never felt any need to memorise vi/emacs (aside from how to save and exit). nano has the commands right there onscreen if I've forgotten.

mrmondo 10y ago
ah yes, interesting, thank you for replying!

niftich 10y ago

Nano lists its shortcuts in the window, like most modern GUI software. This is helpful for beginners, but also for me when I haven't had my morning coffee and suddenly find myself in a text editor. I enjoy using it, but I also like that it's discoverable from within the program; that strikes me as good design.

mrmondo 10y ago
OK interesting, for me I personally always feel lost in nano as for me it feels like it's a gui app trying to exist in a console, but that's me - thanks for replying to my question!
- niftich 10y ago
  FWIW any application launched from the shell that spawns its own full-screen context is a 'gui app trying to exist in a console', including its competitor editors; at least nano tells you now to use it once you're stuck inside it.

stordoff 10y ago

I don't spend enough in Linux/BSD* environments and/or editing text to make learning vi/emacs worthwhile, but need a terminal editor for maintaining my remote server. nano is ideal for that role - minimal functionality + shortcuts shown at all times means I don't need to learn anything, but can make any quick edits I need. * I know both can be used on Windows, but a GUI editor feels like a more natural fit to me in that environment.

nzp 10y ago
Not trying to force either of those on you or anything like that, but just a quick remark: both Vim (although not vi) and Emacs have fully functional GUI “modes” (in fact, I think overwhelming majority of Vim/Emacs users use it in GUI mode). They might not look native in Windows though.
- caseymarquis 10y ago
  Atom with a vim plugin or sublimetext are good windows options for vim.

Sylos 10y ago

It was cool to have when I first worked with a Linux command-line and didn't really get any introduction. The instructor just told me to type in "nano filename.txt" and from then on I could work out the rest. Not that it was terribly necessary. Another instructor told people to use vim, showed them around for half a minute and then they could do just as much with vim as I could with nano.