michaelm@bcsaic.UUCP (michael maxwell) (10/02/86)
In article <791@mtund.UUCP> adam@mtund.UUCP (Adam V. Reed) writes: >Larry Tesler: >> .... A useful definition >> of mode is a state of a user interface that affects the interpretation of >> subsequent inputs without obvious indication. It is possible on the Macintosh, >> using clover keys, to bring up a dialog box and thus enter a mode unknowingly. >> But it is exceedingly rare compared with systems like vi that overload the >> typing keys with functional meanings. > >Although I enjoy the relative orthogonality of vi, I think that some >visible indication of whether one's input will be interpreted as text >or commands might be very desirable. But would it really be enough to >make vi "modeless"? It seems the difference between the two modes of an editor like 'vi' and the modes of one like 'emacs' (excluding the command line modes in each case) is that in vi, you type and *then release* the keys that shift mode (a, i, <esc> etc.), whereas in emacs, you hold down the keys (<ctrl>, <meta>; the use of <esc> for <meta> is an exception to this). While I haven't used a mouse based editor (I refuse to use Sun's new mouse based editor until it has regular expressions, paren balancing, and automatic indenting for Lisp), I would suspect that mouse based editors more resemble emacs: if your hand is on the mouse or the <ctrl><meta> keys, you're in one mode; if both your hands are on the (alphabetic) keys, you're in another mode. In other words, we've substituted tactile feedback for memory, a very good substitution in my mind. (Two years on my vi--now my favorite editor--and I still forget which mode I'm in. That just can't happen when you get tactile feedback.) The problem with tactile feedback, often commented on, is that it makes it harder to type alphabetic characters (just try typing "JAKE'S WISH" without a shiftlock key; worse yet, try typing the same thing with the <ctrl> key held down, assuming your keyboard has only one <ctrl> key!) The solution, it seems to me, is to use something else to give you the tactile feedback. Like your feet. A recent of Byte (?) reviewed a foot mouse, and a foot pedal that would send your keyboard a control key signal--i.e. as long as you held your foot down, any keys you typed were interpreted as control keys (or shift keys, or alt keys--but only one of these, depending on how you set up the system). This sounds like the way to go, although the price (~$60) for the foot pedal was rather steep (I can buy a whole keyboard for not much more than that!) Thoughts? -- Mike Maxwell Boeing Advanced Technology Center ...uw-beaver!uw-june!bcsaic!michaelm