From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: (qmail 8858 invoked by alias); 6 Dec 2014 22:09:35 -0000 Mailing-List: contact zsh-workers-help@zsh.org; run by ezmlm Precedence: bulk X-No-Archive: yes List-Id: Zsh Workers List List-Post: List-Help: X-Seq: 33888 Received: (qmail 29683 invoked from network); 6 Dec 2014 22:09:34 -0000 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.3.2 (2011-06-06) on f.primenet.com.au X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,RCVD_IN_DNSWL_NONE autolearn=ham version=3.3.2 X-CMAE-Score: 0 X-CMAE-Analysis: v=2.1 cv=MJ3XQ3dg c=1 sm=1 tr=0 a=FT8er97JFeGWzr5TCOCO5w==:117 a=kj9zAlcOel0A:10 a=q2GGsy2AAAAA:8 a=oR5dmqMzAAAA:8 a=-9mUelKeXuEA:10 a=A92cGCtB03wA:10 a=4ZcEhayoebnu3LvtsLoA:9 a=CjuIK1q_8ugA:10 From: Bart Schaefer Message-id: <141206140938.ZM2298@torch.brasslantern.com> Date: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 14:09:38 -0800 In-reply-to: <548215B2.50108@eastlink.ca> Comments: In reply to Ray Andrews "vi mode question." (Dec 5, 12:29pm) References: <17052.1417717710@thecus.kiddle.eu> <141204231735.ZM9532@torch.brasslantern.com> <21098.1417785962@thecus.kiddle.eu> <5481EF6D.4060800@eastlink.ca> <548215B2.50108@eastlink.ca> X-Mailer: OpenZMail Classic (0.9.2 24April2005) To: zsh-workers@zsh.org Subject: Re: vi mode question. MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Anyone who knows vi(m) will already know this, but for Ray et al.: The "insert mode" in vi is for exactly that and only that: inserting new text. You can backspace over mistakes to erase them but you can't move back and forth over words or lines to make other kinds of changes. "Command mode" has to be entered (by pressing the ESC key) any time you want to move around or do any kind of complex editing. While in the command mode, you can copy and paste text, but not insert brand new text (to do that you have to drop back into insert mode again). You might be fooled by the illusion that arrow keys or page up/down seem to work in insert mode, but really what those keys are doing is leaving insert mode to enter command mode, moving the cursor, and then dropping back into insert mode at the new location. Emacs is "modeless" which basically means it is in command mode all the time, except that one of the possible commands is for the most recent key press to insert itself at the current cursor position. Either editor could mimic the basic functions of the other (in fact for the first few years that I used emacs, I used it only with the "evi" emulator), but that becomes increasingly difficult for the specialized features.