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>A modal, keyboard-driven interface inspired by Vim that makes navigating and editing text fast. But what does it do different than vim? Having competition is

>A modal, keyboard-driven interface inspired by Vim that makes navigating and editing text fast. But what does it do different than vim? Having competition is good, but I don't see any "that's why you should use amp and not vim"-reason. Where is it?

cbkeller 8y ago
Sounds like navigation might be different, but the linked page is a bit cryptic: > Fast, precise cursor movement without repetitive keystrokes or fancy expressions. Look where you'd like to move, and type the token. That's it. Digging a bit more, I found this [1] (in addition to the normal h,j,k,l, etc.): > Jump Mode > Press f to switch to jump mode. Elements on-screen will be prefixed with a two character jump token. Type the characters to jump to the associated element. > For files with syntax support, you can jump to class, method, and function definitions using symbol mode. Hit Enter in normal mode to use the symbol finder, which works identically to open mode [1] https://github.com/jmacdonald/amp/blob/master/documentation/pages/usage.md https://github.com/jmacdonald/amp/blob/master/documentation/...
- nerdponx 8y ago
  This is similar to the vim-sneak plugin for Vim: https://github.com/justinmk/vim-sneak https://github.com/justinmk/vim-sneak It's very useful.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - tom_mellior 8y ago
    Looks similar to the Emacs Ace Jump mode too: https://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/AceJump https://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/AceJump
Cyphase 8y ago
I think one of the main reasons it exists is that it's written in Rust. One clue is that the TLD is .rs, plus there's been a lot of "a <type-of-program> written in Rust" lately. Which is fine; it's just an observation. I myself am going to be getting into Rust soon, hopefully.
- tendencydriven 8y ago
  I think it's a lot easier for someone to learn a new language, or learn the benefits of a new language, by recreating something which already exists.
  - ranza 8y ago
    I usually go for irc bots when trying to learn a new language. I already know the api and the thought process which makes it easier.
- monotypical 8y ago
  being written in rust might make it more appealing to develop, but it doesn't give any benefit to the user and I can't see it being a reason for someone to use this over vim
  - DC-3 8y ago
    Rust programs tend to be more stable, more efficient, and more highly parallelized than equivalents written in other languages by developers of the same quality.
    - __Joker 8y ago
      Again, I am not sure when is the last time vim crashed on my *nix set up. Not trying to sound unreasonable but in this argument of VIM/amp it might not be relevant.
      - gdfasfklshg4 8y ago
patrickmcnamara 8y ago
I do wish there were more modal, terminal-based text editors that weren't so similar to Vim. Kakoune is Vim-like, and now this.
- jgtrosh 8y ago
  It is indeed quite amazing how modal editing is usually defined by vi, which does so in very specific ways, when there are alternatives (like kakoune) which really show there's a whole spectrum of possible implementations of that idea. I wish there was a modal editor with the same scope as nano which would help introducing that concept to newcomers without aiming to maximize productivity / expressiveness.
  - otikik 8y ago
    Well, nano is modal. If you press CAPS LOCK you enter "uppercase mode" :)
- ehsankia 8y ago
  I on the other hand would like to see other non-modal editors. Vim is already the best and most customizable modal editor, but does anyone know a good non-modal editor beyond basic nano?
  - gnodar 8y ago
    You can try micro: https://micro-editor.github.io/ https://micro-editor.github.io/
  - rerx 8y ago
    > Vim is already the best and most customizable modal editor Weird statement. "Best" is up to debate, but "most customizable" is definitely Emacs. I cannot really imagine a really good non-modal programmer's editor. Surely it should behave differently when editing Python compared to editing HTML?
    - lake99 8y ago
tbrock 8y ago
I thought it was pretty clear actually: it works out of the box with no configuration (batteries included). > Amp is complete from the start. As a long time vim user, the more advanced you get the more customized your vimrc and plugins become and you aren’t able to just walk up to vim somewhere else and be efficient (pairing with another vim user becomes impossible). Shared defaults are a powerful thing! Convention over configuration. Imagine we even both like using the nerd tree plugin but can’t agree what the leader key should be mapped to in order to activate it: a common problem. That’s why you see the most advanced vim users go back to a minimal vimrc which admittedly makes it a less useful editor. I think we can all agree vims defaults are crap and without plugins it doesn’t have all of the features of a modern editor.
- phlyingpenguin 8y ago
  > it works out of the box with no configuration (batteries included). You don't really believe that, do you? Competent users tend to have preferences. There's no need to worry about installing plugins if you have to have a .vimrc to begin with, just have the .vimrc do the installing as well.
  - Mashimo 8y ago
    I have not tried amp yet, but just as an example why I switched shell. I use fish shell because of the sane defaults. I don't want to be bothered with setting up code completion and history size. Just install it and use it. Works. I like projects that provide similar experience.
    - wasted_intel 8y ago
      Yes, fish shell is a beautiful example of that philosophy! Its design documentation[0] reflects a lot of the values that drove me to create Amp. [0] https://fishshell.com/docs/current/design.html https://fishshell.com/docs/current/design.html
      - tbrock 8y ago

cbkeller 8y ago

Sounds like navigation might be different, but the linked page is a bit cryptic: > Fast, precise cursor movement without repetitive keystrokes or fancy expressions. Look where you'd like to move, and type the token. That's it. Digging a bit more, I found this [1] (in addition to the normal h,j,k,l, etc.): > Jump Mode > Press f to switch to jump mode. Elements on-screen will be prefixed with a two character jump token. Type the characters to jump to the associated element. > For files with syntax support, you can jump to class, method, and function definitions using symbol mode. Hit Enter in normal mode to use the symbol finder, which works identically to open mode [1] https://github.com/jmacdonald/amp/blob/master/documentation/pages/usage.md https://github.com/jmacdonald/amp/blob/master/documentation/...

nerdponx 8y ago
This is similar to the vim-sneak plugin for Vim: https://github.com/justinmk/vim-sneak https://github.com/justinmk/vim-sneak It's very useful.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- tom_mellior 8y ago
  Looks similar to the Emacs Ace Jump mode too: https://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/AceJump https://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/AceJump

Cyphase 8y ago

I think one of the main reasons it exists is that it's written in Rust. One clue is that the TLD is .rs, plus there's been a lot of "a <type-of-program> written in Rust" lately. Which is fine; it's just an observation. I myself am going to be getting into Rust soon, hopefully.

tendencydriven 8y ago
I think it's a lot easier for someone to learn a new language, or learn the benefits of a new language, by recreating something which already exists.
- ranza 8y ago
  I usually go for irc bots when trying to learn a new language. I already know the api and the thought process which makes it easier.
monotypical 8y ago
being written in rust might make it more appealing to develop, but it doesn't give any benefit to the user and I can't see it being a reason for someone to use this over vim
- DC-3 8y ago
  Rust programs tend to be more stable, more efficient, and more highly parallelized than equivalents written in other languages by developers of the same quality.
  - __Joker 8y ago
    Again, I am not sure when is the last time vim crashed on my *nix set up. Not trying to sound unreasonable but in this argument of VIM/amp it might not be relevant.
    - gdfasfklshg4 8y ago

patrickmcnamara 8y ago

I do wish there were more modal, terminal-based text editors that weren't so similar to Vim. Kakoune is Vim-like, and now this.

jgtrosh 8y ago
It is indeed quite amazing how modal editing is usually defined by vi, which does so in very specific ways, when there are alternatives (like kakoune) which really show there's a whole spectrum of possible implementations of that idea. I wish there was a modal editor with the same scope as nano which would help introducing that concept to newcomers without aiming to maximize productivity / expressiveness.
- otikik 8y ago
  Well, nano is modal. If you press CAPS LOCK you enter "uppercase mode" :)
ehsankia 8y ago
I on the other hand would like to see other non-modal editors. Vim is already the best and most customizable modal editor, but does anyone know a good non-modal editor beyond basic nano?
- gnodar 8y ago
  You can try micro: https://micro-editor.github.io/ https://micro-editor.github.io/
- rerx 8y ago
  > Vim is already the best and most customizable modal editor Weird statement. "Best" is up to debate, but "most customizable" is definitely Emacs. I cannot really imagine a really good non-modal programmer's editor. Surely it should behave differently when editing Python compared to editing HTML?
  - lake99 8y ago

tbrock 8y ago

I thought it was pretty clear actually: it works out of the box with no configuration (batteries included). > Amp is complete from the start. As a long time vim user, the more advanced you get the more customized your vimrc and plugins become and you aren’t able to just walk up to vim somewhere else and be efficient (pairing with another vim user becomes impossible). Shared defaults are a powerful thing! Convention over configuration. Imagine we even both like using the nerd tree plugin but can’t agree what the leader key should be mapped to in order to activate it: a common problem. That’s why you see the most advanced vim users go back to a minimal vimrc which admittedly makes it a less useful editor. I think we can all agree vims defaults are crap and without plugins it doesn’t have all of the features of a modern editor.

phlyingpenguin 8y ago
> it works out of the box with no configuration (batteries included). You don't really believe that, do you? Competent users tend to have preferences. There's no need to worry about installing plugins if you have to have a .vimrc to begin with, just have the .vimrc do the installing as well.
- Mashimo 8y ago
  I have not tried amp yet, but just as an example why I switched shell. I use fish shell because of the sane defaults. I don't want to be bothered with setting up code completion and history size. Just install it and use it. Works. I like projects that provide similar experience.
  - wasted_intel 8y ago
    Yes, fish shell is a beautiful example of that philosophy! Its design documentation[0] reflects a lot of the values that drove me to create Amp. [0] https://fishshell.com/docs/current/design.html https://fishshell.com/docs/current/design.html
    - tbrock 8y ago