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What is a modal editor?
A modal text editor is a, nowadays rare, text editor that offers multiple interaction modes which are optimized for specific types of action and interaction. The rationale is that each mode is a finely-tuned tool which allows the user to realize their objectives in an efficient and powerful manner.
What does Kakoune mean?
hard blow
Kakoune (pronounced “KAK-oon”) is a New Caledonian word based on French meaning a hard blow or heavy punch.
What is Kakoune written?
Available—for reasons that will later become clear—only on Unix-like systems, it was written in C++ by Maxime Coste, has a clean code base and runs like the wind in a terminal. It is released under the Unlicense, which is compatible with the GPL. Skip ahead to Using Kakoune if you just want to get stuck in right way.
Why is kakoune the quest for a better code editor?
I have been working, for the last 5 years, on a new modal editor called Kakoune. It first started as a reimplementation of Vim (the most popular vi clone) whose source code is quite dated. But, I soon realized that we could improve a lot on vi editing model.
What kind of grammar does kakoune use?
Kakoune’s grammar is object followed by verb, combined with instantaneous feedback, that means you always see the current object (In Kakoune we call that the selection) before you apply your change, which allows you to correct errors on the go. Kakoune tries hard to fix one of the big problems with the vi model: its lack of interactivity.
What happens if you use delete verb wrong in kakoune?
If you express your object wrongly with a delete verb, the wrong text will get deleted, you will need to undo, and try again.
Is there such thing as a global replace in kakoune?
For example there is no such thing as a “global replace” in Kakoune. What you would do is select the whole buffer with the % command, then select all matches for a regex in the current selections (that is the whole buffer here) with the s command, which prompts for a regex.