Wordstar-keys: Implement wordstar cursor control keys in Linux using xkb

https://github.com/berwynhoyt/wordstar-keys

by Tomte • 3 years ago

45 26 3 years ago

github.com

Affric• 3 years ago

Interesting.

I think I might be I interested if I weren’t a vi-mapping kinda guy. The ubiquity is good.

tinkrr• 3 years ago

I use vi frequently, but I would be interested if the Wordstar mappings provide a speed benefit. They do seem to be easier to type.

optimalsolver• 3 years ago

I only know Wordstar as being the text editor GRR Martin uses to write on his DOS machine:

https://www.theverge.com/2014/5/14/5716232/george-r-r-martin...

LeoPanthera2• 3 years ago

Wordstar was the dominant word processor because it was designed from the ground up to be as portable as possible, which made it available on a wide variety of 80s home computers, particularly those running CP/M.

Eventually that portability came to hurt it, because eventually everyone was running DOS, and Wordstar couldn't take advantage of DOS's unique environment, and so WordPerfect came along and ate its lunch.

deepspace2• 3 years ago

couldn't take advantage of DOS's unique environment

In what sense? I came from a CP/M environment, and Wordstar transferred just fine to DOS.

Funnily enough, I tried Word Perfect and Word for DOS at about the same time. Word's way of doing things just made sense to me, while Word Perfect was always 'that weird word processor'. At the time, I was in the minority, but I guess I've been vindicated by history.

briantakita• 3 years ago

Arrow keys are the bane of keyboard life. You constantly have to lift your hands off the touch-typing home keys to move around your software file

Or you can purchase a programmable keyboard with customizable chords such as an Ergodox keyboard.

914c90bd• 3 years ago

with kmonad you don't even need a programable keyboard.

pmontra• 3 years ago

Not on laptops unless you use them with an external monitor and mouse.

yjftsjthsd-h• 3 years ago

In theory you might be able to remap things in software using ex. keyd, though I haven't played with it enough to comment with confidence. Though I do agree that programmable keyboard firmware would be better.

aitk• 3 years ago

i like how macos does it with separating the ctrl key from most actions with command key. so we can use ctrl in gnu readline style freely on all text areas natively.

for example to find in document, you press cmd-f and you can use ctrl-f to move cursor forward in text (or ctrl-option-f to jump to the next word etc.)

anthk3• 3 years ago

GTK can do that too with a gsettings command.

mirchiseth• 3 years ago

Wow - wordstar makes a mention on HN. During the college days mid 90s some of the admins in our lab used Wordstar. For us kids it was Framemaker or Word. We couldn't convince the admins to move to a Windows 3.1 based hot modern UI :-)

tedunangst• 3 years ago

^QJ is goto line

How does that work in every program?

SloopJon• 3 years ago

I believe that "^" in this context signifies Caps Lock as its own modifier, distinct from Control. If you've already remapped Caps Lock to Control (or Esc if that's your thing), this scheme won't work without some modification.

LukeShu• 3 years ago

It remaps it to Ctrl-G, which won't work in every program, but is a fairly standard shortcut in text editors.

xkb: https://github.com/berwynhoyt/wordstar-keys/blob/main/xkb/ws...

xremap: https://github.com/berwynhoyt/wordstar-keys/blob/main/xremap...

eviks2• 3 years ago

Would be nice if you could send universal text editing commands like "go to line" to any app instead of trying to guess which keybinding it has mapped to it

virgulino• 3 years ago

From my memory: ^Y delete line / ^KB & ^KK block begin & end / ^KC & ^KY block copy & delete / "c^PH," for the "ç" character / etc.

I started using these keys on WordStar 3.3 and TurboPascal 3. I probably haven't used these keys for decades, but it's funny how they're engraved in my brain.

deepspace2• 3 years ago

I have been stubbornly avoiding 'vi' and have been using 'joe' as my main *nix editor for the past 30 years. Because I cut my computing teeth on Wordstar and Turbo Pascal, and those key sequences are hardwired in my brain.

anthk3• 3 years ago

You can always use jmacs from joe, as you already know the emacs key bindings for either GTK or from the shell shortcuts such as Ctrl-a or Ctrl-e.

hulitu• 3 years ago

Wordstar-keys: Implement wordstar cursor control keys in Linux using xkb

You can do this in fvwm too.

eviks2• 3 years ago

Wordstar cursor control keys are the answer. They let you move your cursor all around your file using intuitive motion keys that are activated simply by holding down capslock while you press them.

They aren't a good answer, we can do better

Capslock is a bad prefix, it's a lateral pinky key, why not use a thumb key like right alt?

^Q acts as a prefix,

That's another pinky bad one

^E/^X moves up/down

But JK exist and are on the home row! Or use inverted T, that's still be better as for 3 cursor keys out of 4 you wouldn't need to shift fingers

^KY yank (i.e. cut) block

Parenthesesized explanation suggests little benefit from this unclear naming mnemonic, so better to either use the more widespread X to rely on muscle memory or a better located key vs a diagonal one (which X also accidentaly is)

self_awareness• 3 years ago

As a Vim user, I use hjkl as left/down/up/right. HL is beginning of line/end of line. ^H moves the cursor to a buffer to the left, ^L moves the cursor to a buffer to the right.

throwaway18636• 3 years ago

Colemak folks have been using similar things and beyond for years. They are so sophisticated in the endless search for the perfect layout, it’s sad to see people unaware of existing solutions.

  * Is Extend "just another layer"?

  Extend, at its core, is a way of bringing navigation/editing to the home position. To do that really well you have to be able to chord modifiers and nav/edit keys easily from the home position. If you can do that with a layer, I'll consider it an Extend-type layer. Many laptop Fn layers, for instance, have only nav/edit and not accessible modifiers so they fail to meet my definition.
  I also have multimedia, system and mousing keys in my basic Extend layer. There may be other layers too, such as a NumPad layer and string/symbol/command layers.
  An Extend key is a layer modifier that lets you select these layers. You may have both Hold-Extend where you hold the Ext key like a Shift key, and Tap-Extend where you tap it like a dead key. Tap-Extend is best for one-shot stuff like strings/symbols, whereas Hold-Extend is brilliant for nav/edit and NumPad layers.
   …

  * ... Why?

  > Living without Extend at this point would seem like some kind of perverse hell imposed as punishment for terrible crimes committed in numerous past lives.
  ~ SteveP, creator of the Colemak-DH mod
  …

https://dreymar.colemak.org/layers-extend.html

anthk3• 3 years ago

The Joe editor has a jstar binary/setup to run it with Wordstar key set.

Jmacs from Joe it's a must too if you are used to Emacs keybindings but you don't want the slight slowness of Emacs, even with "emacs -nw -q". Or basically you can't sand the Vi keyset.

heroprotagonist• 3 years ago

I guess when vi and emacs mode are just too mainstream, you have no choice but to try reviving some other keyboard navigation scheme as a niche and convince other people to use it.

Wordstar-keys: Implement wordstar cursor control keys in Linux using xkb

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