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submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by verstra@programming.dev to c/programming@programming.dev

When I was in high school I found Sublime Text and learned "multiple cursors". Since then, I've transitioned to vscode, mainly because I need LSP (without too much configuration work) for my work.

I keep hearing about how modal editing is faster and I would like to switch to a more performant editor. I've been looking at helix, as the 4th generation of the vi line of editors. Is anyone using it? Is it any good for the main code editor?

The problem that I have is that learning new editing keybindings would probably take me a month of time, before I get to the same amount of productivity (if I ever get here at all). So I'm looking for advice of people who have already done that before.

My code editing does involve a lot of "ctrl-arrow" to move around words, "ctrl-shift-arrow" to select words, "home/end" to move to beginning/end of the line, "ctrl-d" for "new cursor at next occurrence", "shift-alt-down" for "new cursor in the line below", "ctrl-shift-f" for "format file" and a few more to move around using LSP-provided "declaration"/"usages".

I would have to unlearn all of that.

Also, I do use "ctrl-arrow" to edit this post. Have you changed keybindings in firefox too?

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[-] dep@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Dev of 25 years here: Cursor, for the LLM integration. It's based on VSCode, just way tighter AI integration. It's so good.

[-] Eheran@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

Spyder (with conda) Arduino IDE

[-] AbelianGrape@beehaw.org 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I use vim, or spacemacs with evil mode (emacs distribution with sensible shortcuts and vim emulation). Or VSCode with spacemacs emulation.

You will pass your current productivity in less than a month. All of the things you describe are easily done in VSCode with vim emulation (I prefer the full spacemacs emulation but it's not actually a huge difference). You won't have to move your hands away from the normal typing spot on your keyboard -- no home and end, just 0 and $. No control+arrow keys, just w and b (or e or even more motion options). Highlighting is as easy as v and then motion commands. And there are so many more useful things that vim (and vim emulation) make simple and fast. Orthogonal VSCode features like multi cursors still work.

[-] mrkite@programming.dev 1 points 1 week ago

I switched to helix last year after over twenty years of vim. I really like helix, but it did take some getting used to. Using multiple cursors instead of repeated commands etc

[-] mbirth@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 week ago

Panic Nova on macOS, VSCode on Windows, neovim in the Shell.

[-] qaz@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

I mostly use Jetbrain's IDE's and NeoVIM when changing configs through the terminal.

[-] gamer@lemm.ee 1 points 1 week ago

I switched to and exclusively used vim for about a year. I switched back to Sublime one day, and found I was like 10x more productive and comfortable.

Just use the editor you like. There's no right or wrong answer!

... And btw, Sublime 4 has improved LSP support. Just install the base LSP plugin + plugins for the languages you want. Some even give the option to install the LSP server automatically if if's not detected.

[-] Eyedust@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 week ago

I used to use VSCodium, but in my quest to touch the mouse as little as possible I switched to Neovim.

[-] meldrik@lemmy.wtf 1 points 1 week ago
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[-] pancake@lemmygrad.ml 1 points 1 week ago

I use either the default GUI text editor from each distro or Vim with stock configuration. I must say it does take surprisingly little to get up to speed with Vim, but I still struggle with specific things like moving code across files.

I haven't changed any keybindings in firefox, but heard qutebrowser is nice for such use case.

[-] RedSeries@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 week ago

I personally enjoy using pycharm and vscode, depending on what I'm working on and what tools I need/want.

[-] Arghblarg@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 week ago

MicroEmacs http://www.jasspa.com/

No unicode support though. For that try

https://bionic.bloovis.com/cgit/microemacs/

.. but for work I still use Eclipse (sigh)

[-] d00ery@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

I use the vi option or plugins for Sublime, PHPStorm, and Pycharm or whichever IDE I'm using. Works for chrome and Firefox too.

[-] adrianhooves@lemmy.today 1 points 1 week ago

xfce text editor and sublime text, and vim but only when i want to work within the terminal

[-] benjhm@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 week ago

Zed, for the last few months, and happy with it (previously vscode) - I code in Scala, so Metals provides the complex hints / actions.

[-] jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 1 points 1 week ago

I use pycharm at work for most things. Work paid for it. It has some nice stuff i like. I'm sure other editors do all of this, too, but nothing's been causing me enough pain to switch

  • Database integration. Little side panel shows me the tables, and I can do queries, view table structure, etc, right here
  • Find usages/declaration is pretty good. Goes into library code, too.
  • The autocomplete is pretty good. I think they have newfangled AI options now, but the traditional introspection autocomplete has been doing it for me.
  • Can use the python interpreter inside the docker container
  • The refactor functions are pretty good. Rename, move, etc
  • Naive search is pretty good. Can limit it to folders, do regex, filter by file name, etc

It does have multiple cursors but I've rarely needed that.

I use sublime for quick note taking. Mostly I like that it has syntax highlighting, and it doesn't require me to explicitly save a tab for it to stay open

[-] GissaMittJobb@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 week ago

Android Studio or VSCode usually.

But really, there's no single best option here - use whatever works the best with you and the tech you're targeting. The same advice applies for programming languages, libraries and just about everything in tech

[-] Sickday@kbin.earth 1 points 1 week ago

Depends on what device I'm using. On my tower(s), I'm typically reaching for Rider, Pycharm, or Zed. On my laptop(s) it's pretty much always Helix or Zed. On servers it's vim 100% baby. I've gotten pretty comfortable working with theses tools, so I haven't really needed to look into alternatives at all.

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[-] TypicalHog@lemm.ee 1 points 1 week ago

I use VSCodium atm.

[-] Shareni@programming.dev 0 points 1 week ago

Doom Emacs and lazyvim nvim.

Don't know about helix, and don't really care.

Modal is incomparably more comfortable, that's the main benefit.

The problem that I have is that learning new editing keybindings would probably take me a month of time, before I get to the same amount of productivity

Do you imagine vi-based editors don't let you use your mouse or what? Go through vim-tutor, learn the basic shortcuts you need, and you're back to your old productivity in a few days. You don't need to learn vi" to select a string, you can just use your mouse.

No offense to you or your habits, but C-arrow is an idiotic movement scheme. If you have to leave the home row to move around the text, you fucked up.

Just go through vim tutor...

[-] yournamehere@lemm.ee 0 points 1 week ago

seeing mscode/codium/vswhatever makes my brain hurt. geocities of code. now i am using Zed. problem solved.

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[-] shortrounddev@lemmy.world 0 points 1 week ago

I used to use vim but imo it's not worth the time it requires to configure to get working properly. These days I don't code without a debugger so if there's not a good way to set breakpoints I don't even start

[-] TrickDacy@lemmy.world 0 points 1 week ago

Vscode. I am surprised to see a lot of people still use sublime text. I was a long hold out on that one but it's just so much worse than vscode in every way.

[-] FizzyOrange@programming.dev -2 points 1 week ago

I've tried to learn Vim in the past but IMO it is not worth it at all. In a world without multiple cursors... sure, maybe. With multiple cursors? No way. I can can edit just as fast as I've seen any Vim user do it, and without having to remember a gazillion mnemonics and deal with the silly modal thing.

Multiple cursor editing even has some significant advantages over Vim style, e.g. it's interactive, so you can do your edit gradually and go back if you make a mistake. Rather than having to write a complex command and only finding out it if works at the end. (If you've used regex find & replace you'll understand that problem.)

I'll probably get downvoted for this since Vim is kind of a cult, and Vim users get a sense of superiority from it. Kind of like audiophiles - they don't appreciate it if you tell them their £10k valve amp doesn't actually sound any better than your £1k digital amp.

For editing on remote computers I use VSCode remote or Micro for quick tasks.

[-] prettybunnys@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 week ago

vi WAS almost ubiquitously installed on any host you’d connect to, so it was worth learning.

The reason we like it is because it’s been iterated over to be useful for modifying the types of files you’d be editing. It has a significant plugin ecosphere and does its job well.

For editing on remote computers I use VSCode remote or Micro for quick tasks.

and vim is the 10k amp in your analogy … huh.

[-] melezhik@programming.dev -2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

nano is the best (imho) for up to medium size files. It’s preinstalled in most Linux boxes , it’s simple and flexible enough, takes a minimal amount of time to learn basic for keys and then use them all the time

[-] Rogue@feddit.uk 1 points 1 week ago

You should check out Micro. It's a slightly more sane alternative to nano:

https://micro-editor.github.io/

[-] melezhik@programming.dev 1 points 1 week ago

Thanks, will take a look

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this post was submitted on 09 Feb 2025
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