vim mode/key bindings support

[Julien-cpsn]

Hello!

Thank you for this lib, it looks really great :)

I was wondering if vim-like mode and key bindings are going to be supported?
I really want to replace rhysd's tui-textarea by yours in ATAC because it is not very flexible and does not support syntax highlighting, but the blocking point for yours is the support of vim/emacs mode which is really great in his lib but abstent here.

Don't get me wrong, I just genuinly think that it could be a great feature!

Have a great day

[vipmax]

Hi Julien,

Thanks a lot, this is really valuable!

From what I can see in your code, you already have a Vim mode implementation, you already have vim mode implementation. On my side, the Editor already exposes a public apply method that can take any Action. That means you can already call it to modify the editor state directly, for example:

editor.apply(MoveLeft { shift: false });
editor.apply(Cut {});
editor.apply(InsertText { text: "hello".to_string() });
 

If any specific actions are missing for full Vim support, i can easily add more actions — it’s not a problem.

[Julien-cpsn]

Hello @vipmax !

The `Vim struct and related methods from ATAC are not from me sadly, they originate from tui-textarea which I copy-pasted. But you can look at his implementation!

The main problem with this approach is that it mimics it kind of poorly... Mainly because it does not properly implement each mode, and does not use a "command-like" based approach instead of my current keybinding-based approach. Since I am not a vim/emacs user myself, I was wondering if you can do better and add it directly to the lib.

Have a great day

[vipmax]

Hi Julien,

Thanks for the clarification!

I should probably clarify my side as well: I’m also not an active Vim user. I know and use only a very minimal subset, and Vim is not something I use daily. Because of that, I don’t feel confident implementing a proper and complete Vim command-based model directly in the library.

For now, my idea was more pragmatic: expose editor-level actions (cursor movement, selection, insert/delete, cut/copy/paste, undo/redo, etc.) so that an external Vim layer (like the one you already have in ATAC) can drive the editor cleanly. This should already work today, and if some actions are missing, I’m happy to add them.

A more complete and idiomatic Vim mode would probably be best done by someone who actively uses Vim and knows its model well. If such a contributor appears in the future, I’d definitely be open to reviewing and merging a PR.

Have a great day 🙂