Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!usc!bbn!bbn.com!cosell
From: cosell@bbn.com (Bernie Cosell)
Newsgroups: comp.editors
Subject: Re^2: vi (vs VMS/EDT)
Keywords: DEC bashing
Message-ID: <48360@bbn.COM>
Date: 16 Nov 89 21:59:49 GMT
References: <1989Nov14.223604.17418@cs.eur.nl> <1989Nov15.202718.12762@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> <5593@ethz-inf.UUCP>
Sender: news@bbn.COM
Lines: 41

wyle@inf.ethz.ch (Mitchell Wyle) writes:

>In article <1989Nov15.202718.12762@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
>mcdonald@aries.scs.uiuc.edu (Doug McDonald) is really asking for a flame,
>when he writes:

>>>the basic principle of input/command/line mode, it's not so bad at
>>>all.  
>>>
>>in something (after hitting "i" of course) then step mout for a Coke. 
>>Come back: your cursor is in the middle of the page. Are you in 
>>insert mode or not? Start typing - DAMMIT - oops, I forgot that
>>I really DID hit escape before going for that Coke. Utter mess
>>ensues.

>... During the second week (around hour 25) of using
>vi, most users, when in question about which mode they are in, hit the ESC
>key to get into command mode, even when they are already in it.  This action
>is almost subconscious.  In command mode vi might beep (depending on
>settings).  From insert mode, you'll go back into command mode whence you
>may, if so desired, go back into insert mode.

Another approach, which is far too underused by most folk, is to make
liberal use of "map!"s to rationalize the while-in-input-mode environment.
What I've done is put all of my "normal editing" commands in reasonable
places in input mode.  So I can use the arrow keys to move around, ctrl-E
to move to the end of the line, word forward and word backward, etc.
Basically, the only time I really have to leave input mode is when I'm really
DONE with some input... as I make a cognitive shift to being working on
another thing [e.g., editing the NEXT compiler error or fixing the NEXT
broken paragraph], going into command mode, getting myself set up in the
right place, and then diving into input mode not to emerge until I'm
locally-done is just not a big deal.  In many ways, it beats out the EMACS
model of the world hands down.  If I happen to hit the key-sequence that
says "run the compiler" or "run this paragraph through troff" while I'm
trying to type in input, it is *probably* a mistake; I rather like having my
world somewhat heuristically tuned so that thte things that make sense for
what I'm doing are ready at hand, and i have to do something to "enable" a
richer repertoire when I decide I need to.

  /Bernie\