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Hahaha, I love his answer to "hhkb is great for unix programming, how would you design a keyboard for a modern ide that uses lots of function keys and key combo

Hahaha, I love his answer to "hhkb is great for unix programming, how would you design a keyboard for a modern ide that uses lots of function keys and key combos?" >I once wrote an application for iPhone. The environment was quite different from my previous experience. I am already quite old, and personally the present environment is pleasant and comfortable for me. Which I read as "I'm too tired, that's someone else's problem."

klodolph 8y ago
Xcode key bindings are pretty easy to use with HHKB. I used HHKB with Xcode "back in the day" (pre-iPhone). The main Emacs text navigation shortcuts work in Xcode, like most macOS apps, and the HHKB makes those even easier. Xcode uses simple shortcuts like ⌘B for build and ⌘R for run, which are easy to type on the HHKB. Supposedly, Steve Jobs insisted that the original Mac ship without F-keys in order to force application developers to design new UIs when porting to the Mac. Visual Studio, on the other hand, uses the F-keys aggressively (and they seem to change the bindings every few years?), and navigating through text on Windows usually means having HOME/END/PGUP/PGDOWN, so Visual Studio sucks if you have a HHKB.
ungzd 8y ago
I used Eclipse, Netbeans and Idea, even Visual Studio (old versions) and don't remember using F-keys. F-keys were heavily used in DOS era, but later not much. Modifier keys are even more heavily used in Emacs than these IDEs. You will probably be more productive in all these eclipses with HHKB than with full-size PC keyboard because mouse will be closer to right hand home row position, and you can't avoid mouse with these IDEs. When Apple removed F-keys row on Macbooks, everyone missed only Esc key which was on that row, almost no one complained about removed F-keys. And AFAIK you can't press these keys with Fn+numbers on Macbook.
- dylan604 8y ago
  > And AFAIK you can't press these keys with Fn+numbers on Macbook. There is a System Preferences > Keyboard > "Press Fn key to <Show F1,F2,etc Keys>" option available to do just that.
- bootlooped 8y ago
  The JetBrains IDEs I use all have many shortcuts bound to function keys by default. I haven't tried, but i think it would be a drag to for me to use a keyboard without main layer function keys.

klodolph 8y ago

Xcode key bindings are pretty easy to use with HHKB. I used HHKB with Xcode "back in the day" (pre-iPhone). The main Emacs text navigation shortcuts work in Xcode, like most macOS apps, and the HHKB makes those even easier. Xcode uses simple shortcuts like ⌘B for build and ⌘R for run, which are easy to type on the HHKB. Supposedly, Steve Jobs insisted that the original Mac ship without F-keys in order to force application developers to design new UIs when porting to the Mac. Visual Studio, on the other hand, uses the F-keys aggressively (and they seem to change the bindings every few years?), and navigating through text on Windows usually means having HOME/END/PGUP/PGDOWN, so Visual Studio sucks if you have a HHKB.

ungzd 8y ago

I used Eclipse, Netbeans and Idea, even Visual Studio (old versions) and don't remember using F-keys. F-keys were heavily used in DOS era, but later not much. Modifier keys are even more heavily used in Emacs than these IDEs. You will probably be more productive in all these eclipses with HHKB than with full-size PC keyboard because mouse will be closer to right hand home row position, and you can't avoid mouse with these IDEs. When Apple removed F-keys row on Macbooks, everyone missed only Esc key which was on that row, almost no one complained about removed F-keys. And AFAIK you can't press these keys with Fn+numbers on Macbook.

dylan604 8y ago
> And AFAIK you can't press these keys with Fn+numbers on Macbook. There is a System Preferences > Keyboard > "Press Fn key to <Show F1,F2,etc Keys>" option available to do just that.
bootlooped 8y ago
The JetBrains IDEs I use all have many shortcuts bound to function keys by default. I haven't tried, but i think it would be a drag to for me to use a keyboard without main layer function keys.