Defending the Python lanuage...

[Martijn Faassen]

David Bolen <db3l at fitlinxx.com> wrote:
> Alex Martelli <aleax at aleax.it> writes:

>> If you have to *think* about it, as "memorization" would suggest, then
>> you'll probably be happier going with the rodent.  The power of vi, for
>> me (and most other vi-enthusiasts I've known) is that the *fingers*
>> learn the patterns -- sort of like in needlepoint; your conscious brain
>> can focus on higher-abstraction stuff.  (...)

> As an Emacs-die-hard, I'll also agree strongly with this. The way I
> like to put it is that I touch type Emacs editing commands nearly as
> quickly as I touch type normal text.  Most of the time, I'm rarely
> even conscious of the mechanics of achieving an edit - rather I know I
> want to "move that line over there" or something, and my fingers just
> perform the right operations.  And whether it's vi or Emacs, I find
> not having to leave the home keys and reach for a mouse (with all the
> associated eye hand coordination involved) is an enormous time saver
> for most editing tasks.

As a vi and emacs user (is this rare?) and a rather fast typer I agree that
it's very much worth it not having to leave the home row so often. Pretty 
much the same argument applies to the commandline; the commandline to me is
really easier on my hands than a lot of mouse usage. Even though I do
use the mouse fairly commonly, mostly it's more for 'browsing' types of
activity (switching and moving windows, clicking links, etc) than for
actually *doing* stuff, like writing code, or copying files. The one
thing that I do use a mouse for (in inconsistent X..) is for copy and
paste, but usually I only revert to that only when there's long chunks of
text involved; retyping is often easier if it's a short piece of text.

Perhaps I can use emacs and vi because I use them in different settings
always. I use vi for writing mail and news, and quick file editing tasks. 
I use emacs when I write code or longer texts. In effect the whole thing
is modal and I only rarely get deluded into thinking I'm in vi while 
I'm in emacs and vice versa as my mind knows what mode it is in.

I suppose it might be a brain thing. I use my left hand for writing and
drawing while I use my right hand for more coarse-grained tasks, like
throwing a ball and such. I wouldn't count myself as ambidextrous though.

Regards,

Martijn
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