IDE Nostalgia (2022) | Hacker News Reader

IDE Nostalgia (2022)

davidsmaynard.com

55 pointsdmaynard3 comments

Interesting discussion of a chorded input device alongside modal editing of code.

Modal editing is quite prominent in vim and vim-flavoured tools. So, I don't think model editing's lack of popularity is due to people not knowing about it.. although it's definitely a power-user way to drive a tool.

I wonder if a whole external device is really necessary for the one-handed device for chords. I think with a customisable keyboard, you'd be able to chord.

Seems that the idea is to use the mouse to point at the noun, then use one-handed chord to drive actions? Interesting idea.. some use cases still benefit from one hand on keyboard and one on mouse.

> I wonder if a whole external device is really necessary for the one-handed device for chords. I think with a customisable keyboard, you'd be able to chord.

Not with a normal keyboard (though there do exist specialized keyboards for gamers with which this might be possible). The reason lies in the key rollover, which is very limited for many off-the-shelf keyboards:

> https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Key_rollover&oldi...

"To reduce cost and design complexity, most computer keyboards do not isolate all keys. Instead, they use a matrix of key switches, without any isolation diodes, that assumes that only a limited number of keys will be held down at any given time. With these keyboards, pressing as few as three keys can cause ghosting effects, although care is taken when laying out the matrix arrangement that this does not happen for common modifier key combinations."

I used to be a heavy player of MMOs, and most of the time I used a Razer Orbweaver (1 handed keyboard with chording for more keys) and a mouse. It was perfect for WoW which required something like 50 different keys to be pressed with one hand.

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