5 ms·

I'm always amazed that people are still working on new text editors. When I have an idea for an app and I see there's even only one alternative I usually loose

I'm always amazed that people are still working on new text editors. When I have an idea for an app and I see there's even only one alternative I usually loose all motivation for coding this app (until I realize the alternative doesn't fulfill my need).

nebabyte 9y ago
okay? Some people aren't like that. This should not be news. And it's "lose".
earlybike 9y ago
I had the same thought first but kept on reading. The topic, which data structures should an editor employ, is actually quite interesting and well explained.
thomastjeffery 9y ago
I am torn between this feeling, and the opposite. There are some great projects that seem to have very similar goals to mine, but I still yearn for a truly modular editor, and am not sure if I am better off working from scratch, or benefiting from others' work. Either way, it's a learning experience, and - to me - quite fun. Text editing is a very complex, yet approachable problem.
- yumaikas 9y ago
  I'm certain that you've looked into it (if you're implementing your own), but what about Emacs is a bad fit for your goals? From what I can tell, it is very modular. If you're going to build something heavily modular, but different from Emacs, I'd be rather interested in what you end up with.
  - thomastjeffery 9y ago
    See my comment here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15386994 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15386994 Emacs comes fairly close, but not close enough for me. What I want is modularity to the extreme. I want to define an entire UI/UX as a user without running into roadblocks. I have envisioned a set of default UIs that the user can simply override, or reference in their own UI. This way a new user is presented with a familiar editor, but can cleanly step away from defaults. No workarounds. > I'd be rather interested in what you end up with. My problem is that I care so much about planning ahead that I have started over several times. It would be very helpful for me to get feedback from others, and bounce ideas back and forth. I am considering putting a serious effort into this project, since I am currently unemployed, and need to build a resume, etc.
dilap 9y ago
I use emacs, but it has lots of problems; I'm still waiting for an editor that combines its good qualities while resolving the problems. (And I'm tempted to try to write one.)
- shalabhc 9y ago
  What do you think are the problems of emacs?
  - kaens 9y ago
    30 years of cruft + mix/matching of semi-incompatible semi-backwards-compatible systems if you use 3rd-party elisp and/or maintain a config for a long time. I love emacs, use it daily, and think that it's positives far outweigh it's negatives, but hooo boy sometimes you need to wade through decades of muck to make it do a thing, and it's often not clear what the best way to go about trying to do a thing is, particularly to people who haven't been using emacs for a decade+.
  - thomastjeffery 9y ago
    My biggest problem with Emacs is that most modes map keys to be compatible with its default layout, so you really can't get away from the default Keybindings. Evil-mode is nice in this regard, but I don't want Vim's defaults either, not to mention Emacs' bindings are still there, just hiding in insert mode. The feature I want the most (that isn't readily available in an editor) is to define keybindings from scratch. I don't want to deal with undoing everyone else's work just to get started on my own.
  - dilap 9y ago
    bad performance and lots of bugs.
- thomastjeffery 9y ago
  > And I'm tempted to try to write one. It looks like there are quite a few of us. I wonder how many would be interested in putting a group project together. I would really like to consider and hash out some ideas with a group.
palunon 9y ago
>until I realize the alternative doesn't fulfill my need And programmers spend most of their day interacting with a text editor, so many hold strong opinions about them (see editor wars). It is likely that some will not find one that fit their needs, and thus build their own.

nebabyte 9y ago

okay? Some people aren't like that. This should not be news. And it's "lose".

earlybike 9y ago

I had the same thought first but kept on reading. The topic, which data structures should an editor employ, is actually quite interesting and well explained.

thomastjeffery 9y ago

I am torn between this feeling, and the opposite. There are some great projects that seem to have very similar goals to mine, but I still yearn for a truly modular editor, and am not sure if I am better off working from scratch, or benefiting from others' work. Either way, it's a learning experience, and - to me - quite fun. Text editing is a very complex, yet approachable problem.

yumaikas 9y ago
I'm certain that you've looked into it (if you're implementing your own), but what about Emacs is a bad fit for your goals? From what I can tell, it is very modular. If you're going to build something heavily modular, but different from Emacs, I'd be rather interested in what you end up with.
- thomastjeffery 9y ago
  See my comment here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15386994 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15386994 Emacs comes fairly close, but not close enough for me. What I want is modularity to the extreme. I want to define an entire UI/UX as a user without running into roadblocks. I have envisioned a set of default UIs that the user can simply override, or reference in their own UI. This way a new user is presented with a familiar editor, but can cleanly step away from defaults. No workarounds. > I'd be rather interested in what you end up with. My problem is that I care so much about planning ahead that I have started over several times. It would be very helpful for me to get feedback from others, and bounce ideas back and forth. I am considering putting a serious effort into this project, since I am currently unemployed, and need to build a resume, etc.

dilap 9y ago

I use emacs, but it has lots of problems; I'm still waiting for an editor that combines its good qualities while resolving the problems. (And I'm tempted to try to write one.)

shalabhc 9y ago
What do you think are the problems of emacs?
- kaens 9y ago
  30 years of cruft + mix/matching of semi-incompatible semi-backwards-compatible systems if you use 3rd-party elisp and/or maintain a config for a long time. I love emacs, use it daily, and think that it's positives far outweigh it's negatives, but hooo boy sometimes you need to wade through decades of muck to make it do a thing, and it's often not clear what the best way to go about trying to do a thing is, particularly to people who haven't been using emacs for a decade+.
- thomastjeffery 9y ago
  My biggest problem with Emacs is that most modes map keys to be compatible with its default layout, so you really can't get away from the default Keybindings. Evil-mode is nice in this regard, but I don't want Vim's defaults either, not to mention Emacs' bindings are still there, just hiding in insert mode. The feature I want the most (that isn't readily available in an editor) is to define keybindings from scratch. I don't want to deal with undoing everyone else's work just to get started on my own.
- dilap 9y ago
  bad performance and lots of bugs.
thomastjeffery 9y ago
> And I'm tempted to try to write one. It looks like there are quite a few of us. I wonder how many would be interested in putting a group project together. I would really like to consider and hash out some ideas with a group.

palunon 9y ago

>until I realize the alternative doesn't fulfill my need And programmers spend most of their day interacting with a text editor, so many hold strong opinions about them (see editor wars). It is likely that some will not find one that fit their needs, and thus build their own.