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Real Vi/emac users don’t use the esc key. It’s way too far frome home row.

by chrischen 7y ago

buttsu_ 7y ago
i am a real vi user its not too far I use esc
- pfranz 7y ago
  I think the parent was a bit tongue-in-cheek. It's in reference to the keyboard layout vi was developed with and the fact many vi users are obsessed with keeping their fingers on/near the home row (much like, "a /real/ vi user doesn't use the mouse"). Ctrl-[ is an equivalent to ESC on American English keyboards. https://dave.cheney.net/2017/08/21/the-here-is-key https://dave.cheney.net/2017/08/21/the-here-is-key https://vim.fandom.com/wiki/Avoid_the_escape_key#Avoiding_the_Esc_key https://vim.fandom.com/wiki/Avoid_the_escape_key#Avoiding_th...
mellavora 7y ago
Right! Real vi users have a foot pedal for escape. :__) *yes, fingers pointing at me
- chrischen 7y ago
  I think most people actually remap to the ~ key, or if they're extreme they'll use tab. On my keyboard Escape already came as the ~ key and you have to use fn to access ~ or `. The ergonomics of moving it closer far outweigh any benefits from it being physical vs touchscreen.
  - tcoff91 7y ago
    Remap caps-lock to escape and you're good to go! Or remap capslock to control and use Ctrl-[. Or use karabiner and remap capslock to control-when-held and escape-when-pressed-quickly.
    - thedirt0115 7y ago
      AutoHotkey can do this "caps lock as both escape and control" thing too. I use this, from http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Map_caps_lock_to_escape_in_Windows http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Map_caps_lock_to_escape_in_Windows : ; Author: fwompner gmail com #InstallKeybdHook SetCapsLockState, alwaysoff Capslock:: Send {LControl Down} KeyWait, CapsLock Send {LControl Up} if ( A_PriorKey = "CapsLock" ) { Send {Esc} } return
- dhosek 7y ago
  When I first started using Emacs, I used to joke that with all the various modifiers and prefix keys for escapes that it was just a generation away from needing foot pedals.
- 1337shadow 7y ago
  Or they use ctrl+c
  - elliotlarson 7y ago
    Right. I've been a long time vim user and I don't really use the escape key while vim-ing. I use ctrl+c.
- m463 7y ago
  don't you mean toe pedal?
james-mcelwain 7y ago
Some of us just have big hands. :3
liamdiprose 7y ago
Mapping the sequence 'jk' to Esc supercharged vim for me. Faster, but also helps me stay in the flow longer. Run `:inoremap jk <Esc>` to try it out.
- chrischen 7y ago
  I wonder if any people remap hjkl to jkl;. Having to shift my hands one key over always annoyed me.
  - liamdiprose 7y ago
    I just use my index finger for both j and h. Are you used to the arrow keys? I noticed with jkl;, my fingers line up with the arrow-key directions.
  - NoodleIncident 7y ago
    'jk' are on the strongest two fingers on the right hand home row, since that's what you'll be doing the most. 'h' can be hit once or twice with no real effort, but there are better ways to move left and right within a line, such as `bBeEfFwWIA`. I also remap `H` and 'L' to move all the way to either end of the line, but I might be doing it wrong
- weaksauce 7y ago
  add in kj too and you can just press both keys at the same time and it will work like it was just one key press. the added benefit is that it's basically a no-op from the standpoint of vim too just in case you were already in normal mode.
derefr 7y ago
On the keyboards vi was designed for, Escape was positioned where the Caps Lock key is now on modern US-101 keyboards. May as well just map it there.
- PhantomGremlin 7y ago
  I'm puzzled by this claim. The keyboard for the ADM-3A shows a Ctrl key to the left of A. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADM-3A#Hardware https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADM-3A#Hardware The VT100 shows CAPS LOCK to the left of A. https://vt100.net/docs/vt100-ug/chapter1.html#S1.1 https://vt100.net/docs/vt100-ug/chapter1.html#S1.1 So on which visual terminal was ESC to the left of A? Or are you perhaps referring to ex, an antecedent of vi, which was designed for hardcopy terminals? If so, which hardcopy terminal had ESC to the left of A? I've looked at the images for some and can't find that.
  - projektfu 7y ago
    You’re right. Next to Q is correct, still more reachable than it is now. Now Tab is in that position and we’re used to that.

Real Vi/emac users don’t use the esc key. It’s way too far frome home row.

buttsu_ 7y ago

i am a real vi user its not too far I use esc

pfranz 7y ago
I think the parent was a bit tongue-in-cheek. It's in reference to the keyboard layout vi was developed with and the fact many vi users are obsessed with keeping their fingers on/near the home row (much like, "a /real/ vi user doesn't use the mouse"). Ctrl-[ is an equivalent to ESC on American English keyboards. https://dave.cheney.net/2017/08/21/the-here-is-key https://dave.cheney.net/2017/08/21/the-here-is-key https://vim.fandom.com/wiki/Avoid_the_escape_key#Avoiding_the_Esc_key https://vim.fandom.com/wiki/Avoid_the_escape_key#Avoiding_th...

mellavora 7y ago

Right! Real vi users have a foot pedal for escape. :__) *yes, fingers pointing at me

chrischen 7y ago
I think most people actually remap to the ~ key, or if they're extreme they'll use tab. On my keyboard Escape already came as the ~ key and you have to use fn to access ~ or `. The ergonomics of moving it closer far outweigh any benefits from it being physical vs touchscreen.
- tcoff91 7y ago
  Remap caps-lock to escape and you're good to go! Or remap capslock to control and use Ctrl-[. Or use karabiner and remap capslock to control-when-held and escape-when-pressed-quickly.
  - thedirt0115 7y ago
    AutoHotkey can do this "caps lock as both escape and control" thing too. I use this, from http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Map_caps_lock_to_escape_in_Windows http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Map_caps_lock_to_escape_in_Windows : ; Author: fwompner gmail com #InstallKeybdHook SetCapsLockState, alwaysoff Capslock:: Send {LControl Down} KeyWait, CapsLock Send {LControl Up} if ( A_PriorKey = "CapsLock" ) { Send {Esc} } return
dhosek 7y ago
When I first started using Emacs, I used to joke that with all the various modifiers and prefix keys for escapes that it was just a generation away from needing foot pedals.
1337shadow 7y ago
Or they use ctrl+c
- elliotlarson 7y ago
  Right. I've been a long time vim user and I don't really use the escape key while vim-ing. I use ctrl+c.
m463 7y ago
don't you mean toe pedal?

james-mcelwain 7y ago

Some of us just have big hands. :3

liamdiprose 7y ago

Mapping the sequence 'jk' to Esc supercharged vim for me. Faster, but also helps me stay in the flow longer. Run `:inoremap jk <Esc>` to try it out.

chrischen 7y ago
I wonder if any people remap hjkl to jkl;. Having to shift my hands one key over always annoyed me.
- liamdiprose 7y ago
  I just use my index finger for both j and h. Are you used to the arrow keys? I noticed with jkl;, my fingers line up with the arrow-key directions.
- NoodleIncident 7y ago
  'jk' are on the strongest two fingers on the right hand home row, since that's what you'll be doing the most. 'h' can be hit once or twice with no real effort, but there are better ways to move left and right within a line, such as `bBeEfFwWIA`. I also remap `H` and 'L' to move all the way to either end of the line, but I might be doing it wrong
weaksauce 7y ago
add in kj too and you can just press both keys at the same time and it will work like it was just one key press. the added benefit is that it's basically a no-op from the standpoint of vim too just in case you were already in normal mode.

derefr 7y ago

On the keyboards vi was designed for, Escape was positioned where the Caps Lock key is now on modern US-101 keyboards. May as well just map it there.

PhantomGremlin 7y ago
I'm puzzled by this claim. The keyboard for the ADM-3A shows a Ctrl key to the left of A. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADM-3A#Hardware https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADM-3A#Hardware The VT100 shows CAPS LOCK to the left of A. https://vt100.net/docs/vt100-ug/chapter1.html#S1.1 https://vt100.net/docs/vt100-ug/chapter1.html#S1.1 So on which visual terminal was ESC to the left of A? Or are you perhaps referring to ex, an antecedent of vi, which was designed for hardcopy terminals? If so, which hardcopy terminal had ESC to the left of A? I've looked at the images for some and can't find that.
- projektfu 7y ago
  You’re right. Next to Q is correct, still more reachable than it is now. Now Tab is in that position and we’re used to that.