Difference between revisions of "Yi"
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+ | [[Category:Applications]] |
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− | == Yi ideas == |
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+ | [[Image:Yi-logo.png]] |
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− | This page is meant to gather ideas people have for |
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− | [http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~dons/yi.html Yi], an extensible editor |
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− | written in Haskell. |
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+ | == About == |
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− | Coming from an Emacs background, the current version of Yi lacks a few |
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− | things I think are essential, mainly the introspection capabilities |
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− | of Emacs. One of the main problems is that Yi is based on purely |
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− | compiled code --- there is little or no interaction with the run-time |
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− | system. |
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+ | Yi is a text editor written in Haskell and extensible in Haskell. |
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− | Ideally, the next version of Yi would be based on a (modified?) |
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− | version of GHCi, maybe taking advantage of package GHC. |
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− | + | == External links == |
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+ | * Website: http://yi-editor.github.io/ |
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− | The following are things I like about Emacs, as an extensible |
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+ | * Repository: https://github.com/yi-editor/yi |
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− | environment: |
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+ | * Hackage page: http://hackage.haskell.org/package/yi |
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− | ; Really good online documentation |
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+ | * IRC channel: #yi on Freenode |
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− | : Emacs can tell you a lot about a function or variable with a |
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− | : keypress--- the current value, where it is declared, and a hypertext |
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− | : information string |
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− | ; Extensibility |
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− | : All (good) apps allow users to extend, through, e.g., hooks --- a |
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− | : list of functions that are run before/after some event (like saving |
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− | : a file) |
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− | ; Integration |
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− | : It is really easy in Emacs to have one package interact with |
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− | : another. Thus, I can, e.g., insert a new appointment from my mail app into |
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− | : the diary. |
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− | ; Everything is Lisp |
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− | : Ignoring the actual language, everything is handled in a uniform |
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− | : language --- from binding keys to writing apps. |
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− | ; Easy to start hacking |
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− | : I can start playing with the system from the second I start up, and |
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− | : things pretty much work as expected. I.e., I can type a bit of code |
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− | : in, execute it, and the result is displayed in the minibuffer. The |
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− | : good docs help immeasurably. |
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− | ; Written for the frequent user |
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− | : Lots of key shortcuts (and famous for it). There are still menus, |
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− | : for those who like em, but you aren't forced to pretend you just |
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− | : started using it. |
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− | ; A tonne of code |
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− | : Well, Haskell has this to some degree. Haskell is (IMHO) much |
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− | : easier to write than ELisp, so maybe people will be encouraged to contribute. |
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− | |||
− | === Emacs badness === |
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− | |||
− | So, why replace it?: |
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− | ; ELisp |
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− | : Dynamically scoped, Dynamically typed, ugly, old. 'Nuff said |
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− | ; What's a Parser? |
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− | : A lot of apps in emacs do stuff with text, usually text that is in |
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− | : some language. There is no standard parser (like, e.g. parsec), so |
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− | : a lot of it is ugly handwritten spaghetti. This also means that |
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− | : adding analysis tools isn't really done (or done nicely). |
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− | ; ELisp again |
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− | : Haskell is a lot cleaner to write, especially because of the large |
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− | : number of libraries. |
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− | |||
− | === Emacs maybeness (?) === |
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− | |||
− | Some things that are sometimes bad, sometimes good: |
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− | ; Everything is a buffer |
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− | : Makes some sense, but sometimes doesn't. It is nice to have uniform |
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− | : key bindings do the right thing (e.g., C-Space sets the mark, and |
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− | : the region can then be used, e.g. to delete a sequence of emails in Wl) |
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− | : Sometimes, however, you just want some sort of GUI widget. |
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− | : |
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− | : OTOH, having the minibuffer be a special kind of buffer is a good idea. |
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− | ; Properties |
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− | : It is possible to associate arbitrary properties with symbols. This |
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− | : means you can annotate a symbol and then use that information at a |
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− | : later date |
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− | |||
− | === Ideas === |
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− | |||
− | An extension to GHCi to support documentation of symbols. |
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− | |||
− | - This seems to be (reasonably) straightforward, as GHCi already has :info. It would mean hacking the type environment (what about values?) to add documentation information. The main problem would seem to be populating this --- maybe hack haddocl to produce something from the library docs? I assume that using package GHC uses the parent RTS (package GHC seems to be the way to go, but more investigation is required --- don?) |
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− | |||
− | Intermixed compiled/interpreted code (for speed/hacking) |
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− | |||
− | GUI abstraction --- want it to work on terminals as well as X |
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− | |||
− | Views on data? Rather than just editing a file, you would open a view |
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− | onto the file, i.e. there is no longer a 1-1 correspondence between |
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− | buffers and files. Why? Well, for aggregate buffers (i.e., |
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− | editing multiple files in the one view), or for multiple views of a |
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− | file (e.g. AST and source-level). There would be some primitive ops |
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− | for editing a buffer (insertChar, delete, etc.), which would then |
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− | call update functions on anything observing that file. |
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− | |||
− | Remote attach so I can work from home, but still use a remote machine |
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− | |||
− | Haddock documentation (no brainer), maybe associate with .hi files for |
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− | binaries. |
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− | |||
− | A class MiniBufferRead (or PromptingRead) which allows the user to |
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− | invoke a function similar to M-x in Emacs, but without requiring |
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− | (interactive) |
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− | |||
− | Maybe a class YiShow, which all config items must be a member of? This is to emulate describe-variable |
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− | |||
− | == Implementation == |
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− | |||
− | Considerations: |
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− | ; Configuration |
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− | : Per mode/file/buffer/whatever Monads, or reload/recompile? Or some hybrid? How does this interact with the documentation aspects? Do we want to have separate sorts of symbols ala emacs (describe-function, describe-variable), or is everything a function? I would think that configuration info doesn't change that frequently --- is this globally true though? |
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− | ; Interface to the runtime |
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− | : The scheduler, docs, etc. |
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− | ; Introspection of e.g. what processes are running. |
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− | : There are already libraries in Haskell for processes, but they don't give Yi any extra information --- we really want a layer on top. |
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− | |||
− | ... |
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− | |||
− | [[User:Sjw|Sjw]] 09:15, 2 June 2006 (UTC) |
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− | |||
− | [[Category:Applications]] |
Latest revision as of 17:29, 28 June 2016
About
Yi is a text editor written in Haskell and extensible in Haskell.
External links
- Website: http://yi-editor.github.io/
- Repository: https://github.com/yi-editor/yi
- Hackage page: http://hackage.haskell.org/package/yi
- IRC channel: #yi on Freenode