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How is using text find to move to where you want "tricking" the program? With Easy Motion that type of cursor movement becomes even easier. Using a mouse just s

by brodney 14y ago

How is using text find to move to where you want "tricking" the program? With Easy Motion that type of cursor movement becomes even easier. Using a mouse just slows a vim/emacs user down.

nsmartt 14y ago
Exactly, but it isn't just vim and emacs. Using the mouse is terribly inefficient for any typing-oriented endeavor.
- lutusp 14y ago
  > Exactly, but it isn't just vim and emacs. Using the mouse is terribly inefficient for any typing-oriented endeavor. That depends -- how far do you need to move, and how much text do you need to select? For large moves, and for large text selections, using a pointing device is often much easier than using the keyboard. Modern editors auto-scroll to keep the mouse cursor in view, which means I can select an arbitrary, and huge, block of text in seconds. And I do, regularly.
  - nsmartt 14y ago
    Shift + page down allows you to select entire pages of text, cut it, and move it to whatever other position. It's also probably faster given that autoscrolling moves at a slower speed than page down.
    - Shorel 14y ago
      Put the cursor at the start of the desired selection. Move the window with the scrollbar (faster than anything else, actually), then shift click at the end of the desired selection. Bam! Just as fast if not faster.
      - nsmartt 14y ago
        Sure, but now you're utilizing the keyboard and mouse together, and, as you said, it isn't necessarily faster. That's an argument for sticking to the mouse. It's mostly justification. It isn't an argument in favor of consistently preferring the mouse to the keyboard.
lutusp 14y ago
> How is using text find to move to where you want "tricking" the program? It's a trick because it uses one function (locating text) to accomplish another (navigation). Modern editors don't need to be tricked into cooperating with their users. > With Easy Motion that type of cursor movement becomes even easier. Ah, an add-on tool to get around vim's built-in inefficiencies. Guess why modern editors don't need Easy Motion to improve their usability? The answer is that they were pre-improved by their creators, who (among other things) eliminated modes as a design goal. No modes, no need for Easy Motion.
- brodney 14y ago
  Do you get upset when someone uses a flat head screwdriver to open a paint can? Surely that was not its intended use, but tools can be used to accomplish a larger set of tasks than the original itch they scratched.

by brodney 14y ago

How is using text find to move to where you want "tricking" the program? With Easy Motion that type of cursor movement becomes even easier. Using a mouse just slows a vim/emacs user down.

nsmartt 14y ago

Exactly, but it isn't just vim and emacs. Using the mouse is terribly inefficient for any typing-oriented endeavor.

lutusp 14y ago
> Exactly, but it isn't just vim and emacs. Using the mouse is terribly inefficient for any typing-oriented endeavor. That depends -- how far do you need to move, and how much text do you need to select? For large moves, and for large text selections, using a pointing device is often much easier than using the keyboard. Modern editors auto-scroll to keep the mouse cursor in view, which means I can select an arbitrary, and huge, block of text in seconds. And I do, regularly.
- nsmartt 14y ago
  Shift + page down allows you to select entire pages of text, cut it, and move it to whatever other position. It's also probably faster given that autoscrolling moves at a slower speed than page down.
  - Shorel 14y ago
    Put the cursor at the start of the desired selection. Move the window with the scrollbar (faster than anything else, actually), then shift click at the end of the desired selection. Bam! Just as fast if not faster.
    - nsmartt 14y ago
      Sure, but now you're utilizing the keyboard and mouse together, and, as you said, it isn't necessarily faster. That's an argument for sticking to the mouse. It's mostly justification. It isn't an argument in favor of consistently preferring the mouse to the keyboard.

lutusp 14y ago

> How is using text find to move to where you want "tricking" the program? It's a trick because it uses one function (locating text) to accomplish another (navigation). Modern editors don't need to be tricked into cooperating with their users. > With Easy Motion that type of cursor movement becomes even easier. Ah, an add-on tool to get around vim's built-in inefficiencies. Guess why modern editors don't need Easy Motion to improve their usability? The answer is that they were pre-improved by their creators, who (among other things) eliminated modes as a design goal. No modes, no need for Easy Motion.

brodney 14y ago
Do you get upset when someone uses a flat head screwdriver to open a paint can? Surely that was not its intended use, but tools can be used to accomplish a larger set of tasks than the original itch they scratched.