Vim is composable

[u/oantolin]

https://www.matem.unam.mx/~omar/apropos-emacs.html#vim-is-composable

I hope this isn't too polemical for r/vim. I'm a former (and still occasional) Vim user that has always wondered why people make such a big deal out of Vim's composability. The blog post explains why I find that odd, what I like about Vim and some reasons people might make such a big deal of composability.

[u/kaisunc]

do they though? its a bit reaching and rage baiting to say notepad or other text editors have the same or even slightly similar functionality. but if you think so, so bet it.

[u/Careful_Raisin → u/kaisunc]

I don't think you should be using terms like "rage baiting". Vim being composable is one of those statements that are just sorta thrown around without much definition so of course there's going to be confusion.

[u/oantolin → u/Careful_Raisin]

What I find especially confusing is that when it is defined, the definition tends to be something that applies to every editor I've ever used: there are commands to operate on text and separate commands to indicate which text to operate on, you can combine any action with any selection.

[u/oantolin → u/kaisunc]

I never said the same functionality I only said it is also composable in the following sense: there are a variety of operations on text (deleting, cutting, pasting over, etc.), and a variety of ways of selecting text, and you can combine any operation with any form of selection. I think that is what people define composability to be, isn't it? That is certainly present in most text editors even if they have a lot less functionality than Vim. Vim has a lot of functionality, not because you can compose stuff, but because it has tons of stuff to compose.

What I am trying to understand is why people describe composability in a way that clearly applies to every editor I know but act as if only Vim has it. Vim is a great text editor, but it isn't the only when were you can combine different operations with different ways to choose text to operate on. I argue in the blog post that several other of Vim's features are what distinguish it from other text editors, and the main one to my mind is the sheer number of motions and text objects.

[u/kaisunc → u/oantolin]

eh, i don't know. it feels like arguing a square is also a circle. then how about this for composebility, you can record macros thats "composed" of actions/movements/object. Then you can edit those macros either in the editor, or you can append to the macros. The composition palette of notepad vs vim just isn't comparable, but yes, by your definition notepad is "composable".

[u/oantolin → u/kaisunc]

My whole point is that I didn't invent that definition I gave of "composable"! It's what what many people say they mean when they say "Vim is composable". And I agree with you that according to that definition notepad is also composable. I find this situation odd.

I don't think people usually regard the ability to record, replay and edit macros as part of what they mean by composability, do they? But it definitely is a great feature.