Edbrowse: an editor and web browser with a UI based on /bin/ed

edbrowse.org

22 points·blindgeek··7 comments

Hey, sounds cool.

I think ed's interface is a great model for providing user-friendly experiences.

It's like chatting with the computer. In comparison, "WYSIWYG" editors are like a difficult game of coordination.

Granted, the original Unix ed is somewhat difficult for beginners.

But if Siri would edit files for you, she might do it with ed commands.

This website we're on would be much better with an ed-like interface: a command for listing, a command for visiting, a command for posting, a command for commenting, a command for deleting, a command for editing.

The only question is how to present these commands to the user, which is what /bin/ed doesn't do, because back in the days people read the f'ing manual.

It's supposed to be Hacker News, why do I have to reach for my trackpad? Why is everything so lame? Get with the future, people. Get with ed.

Why do I love that web page. Nothing but black text on white, few red links. Amazing.

Ed is the standard text editor!

(if you can remember how to use it each time)

Ed is actually really easy to use once you understand that it's a small command set. a,c,i,d are all you need.

and that it is very similar to ex's command set

Guess nobody else reads GNU humor.

https://www.gnu.org/fun/jokes/ed.msg.html

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