Ask HN: Why is there so many different text editors?

3 points by routeroff 4 years ago | 10 comments

Hi HN,

I wonder why there is so much different text editor/IDE on the market.

In my daily job, I only use Emacs to develop in Fortran, write small script in python/bash and write documents/presentations in LaTex. I don't see the point to switching to different editors/IDE for each use case.

IMHO, it is has much more value to always keep the same shortcuts and macros than switching to a specialized IDE for each language, and loosing this consistency just to have one or two special features.

Does anyone here use multiple specialized IDE/editors ? If so why did you make that choice ?

Someone 4 years ago |

Why are there so many different hammers? Why don’t we use a single handle to which you can attach different heads, maybe even click on additional weight to a head, if needed?

That works for drills and drill bits because it’s relatively easy and because we don’t want to have 20+ drills each for a given drill bit, but even there, it only works to a given extent.

We have different versions of tools not only because we can, but sometimes because they work (sometimes slightly) better for the job at hand.

Also, editor shortcuts often are fairly standardized on an OS and for many users keeping the same macros isn’t worth much because they don’t have many. That makes the special features worth switching sooner.

In some sense, heavy macro users have climbed a hill that it’s hard to get off, if it turns out to be only a local optimum, and they spot a significantly higher hill.

Now, why do we have more editors than, say, spreadsheets or movie editors? I guess that’s because programmers use them more, making them think they can do better.

eimrine 4 years ago |

> In my daily job, I only use Emacs to develop in Fortran

Emacs is not so deliberately shaped for touchtyping as vim and it uses only one CPU core unless everything else (correct me, I really want to be wrong). But I want to switch to Emacs because of I've heard about org-mode.

> IMHO, it is has much more value to always keep the same shortcuts and macros than switching to a specialized IDE for each language, and loosing this consistency just to have one or two special features.

You are so right! What a pity that our text editors were written by people not by gods, and QWERTY layout was composed by Satan itself who can bother even those people who do not use QWERTY (like having not so handy navigation in vim whose navigation is somewhat QWERTY-shaped).

johntdaly 4 years ago | |

The alt keyboard layout thing was once appealing but I’m over it for two reasons.

1) I don’t think it is useful to write faster than I can ‘think’. What I like about writing is that I can hone my thoughts to be sharper than they would in everyday speech by reworking them over and over.

2) I grew up bilingual and learned another language to some degree along the way. Most alt keyboard layouts are optimized towards typing in a specific language and might not be “the best” for me. I am happy enough with an international english layout keyboard that allows me to type any extra character I might need.

This sort of mirrors my view on editors. Good enough now is better than the pursuit of perfection and comfort counts for more than purity.

P.S.: Doom Emacs might be interesting to you

eimrine 4 years ago | | |

Thank you for advice, I am tinkering with Emacs rn.

> I don’t think it is useful to write faster than I can ‘think’. What I like about writing is that I can hone my thoughts to be sharper than they would in everyday speech by reworking them over and over.

Sorry for an offtopic but a decent layout is not so much about speed, it is about helping to get rid of some needness to watch the keyboard. If you can not enter your password without looking at the buttons than the honing of your thoughts gets obstructed with needness to look at elsewhere except of the thoughts has been written already.

> Good enough now is better than the pursuit of perfection

Definitely not working about choosing right layout (because of changing a layout is way harder than changing a text editor). But as another bilingual I am sure your choice works best for your languages and hands/fingers.

johntdaly 4 years ago |

I used mainly Sublime Text the last years and I know enough vim that it is the most comfortable editor for me on the linux command line. I currently also use Visual Studio Code because my coworkers use it and next month when I switch Jobs I am expected to use IntelliJ.

Using Sublime as my main editor was my choice.

Using vim as my main editor on the linux command line was practical, since it is the default.

Using Visual Studio Code or IntelliJ is a choice that my employer makes for me.

We have so many editors because computers are old and we condensed the number of mainstream operating systems down significantly from what is was in the past so now people that came in contact with various editor traditions are trying to bring those features together in new text editors.

routeroff 4 years ago | |

I understand that employers' choices are not really yours. But why did you choose to use Sublime Text for developing and vim for the command line ?

I don't know very much of vim but I think it is very extensible and can be used as a complete IDE for most of languages. Wouldn't it be more convenient to always use vim over switching between vim and Sublime ?

johntdaly 4 years ago | | |

Vim is more of an investment and I tried to really get into vim over the years but I didn’t. I did get good enough with it to use it when sshing into a server. Sublime just clicked. It worked for me from the start. I bought an IntelliJ license at the same time I got my Sublime license and Sublime just worked so much better for me that I never looked back.

So while you might be right from a “logical” standpoint that learning one editor in and out might be the “better” choice, you overlook that I “feel” way more comfortable in Sublime Text and that matters way more for something you use on a daily bases.

jleyank 4 years ago |

Why are there so many religions? Car manufacturers? Coffee brands? …. I think it was Rands who went on about what pen and maybe even paper to use when taking notes. Sure beats actually working.

georgia_peach 4 years ago |

I don't know if this is true or not, but I once read that during the last California gold rush, there was more money in selling tools to miners than in the gold itself.