BetterThanVim

BetterThanVim (BTV) is an ed-inspired command-based command line text editor. Made for queer_hack 2020.

(This image is not made by me and is licensed under CC-BY. Unfortunately there is not a bisexual version.)

Is BTV really better than Vim?

Yes.

Let me explain:

1. BTV, like ed, allows you to edit using an older interface like a printer or typewriter. Yes, actually.
2. BTV is relatively lightweight, whereas Vim is highly complex and includes many unnecessary features like a built-in scripting language and syntax highlighting.
3. BTV has less commands/symbols to memorize.
4. BTV is written in Rust. You might be wondering: why does this make BTV better? Well, just take a look at this crab.
5. BTV doesn't steal you data. Not saying that Vim does, I'm just saying that BTV doesn't.

Installation

BetterThanVim can be installed by doing the following:

1. Cloning this repo (git clone https://github.com/eric-unc/queerhack2020.git).
2. Entering the directory (cd queerhack2020) and installing through Cargo (cargo install --path .).
3. Optional, but recommended: Creating an alias (alias btv='better_than_vim' on Linux).

Running

To run BTV, you can do btv file.md (or if you didn't create an alias, better_than_vim file.md). Here, file.md is the file you want to edit (if the file does not exist, then BTV will create an empty file).

After starting, BTV will act as a REPL, asking for commands.

Some terminology:

• The current address is a specific line number that BTV is pointing at. This is similar to a cursor in an interactive text editor. BTV will start with the current address pointed to the last line of the file. Note that the line numbers (for now) start at 0, as is customary in programming.
• The buffer is the modified contents of your file stored in memory. Keep in mind, the buffer will not be saved to disk until you, well, save it to disk (you can do this using w as noted below).

Commands

Command	Description
.	Prints the line at the current address.
.<n>, where <n> is a number	Prints the line at the given address.
r	Prints the current address.
^	Set the current address to the first line.
$	Set the current address to the last line.
+	Increment the current address by one line.
-	Decrement the current address by one line.
<n>, where <n> is a number	Sets the current address to the line at the given <n>.
a	Enters insert mode, appending after the current address. Inputting . on a new line will exit insert mode. Note that with each line inserted, the current address will increment.
A	Enters insert mode, prepending before the current address. Inputting . on a new line will exit insert mode. Again, with each line inserted, the current address will increment.
c	Enters insert mode, replacing the line pointed to by the current address. Inputting . will exit insert mode without changes.
d	Deletes the line pointed to by the current address. If this at the end of the file, then this will decrement the current address.
y	Yanks (copies) the line pointed to by the current address. This will put the line in an internal buffer rather than the clipboard.
x	Cuts the line pointed to by the current address, deleting but placing it in the internal buffer.
p	Pastes whatever was last yanked after the current address, assuming that the internal yank buffer isn't empty.
P	Pastes whatever was last yanked before the current address, assuming that the internal yank buffer isn't empty.
w	Saves the buffer to disk.
q	Quits BTV.

Technologies used

• Rust
  • Cargo
  • structopt
  • regex

Demos

• Short demo
• Longer demo

Note these demos were made during or directly after the hackathon, thus only basic functionality is shown.

Authors

1. Eric Schneider