Kakoune: Replace `*!` commands by a -force switch? (i.e. write! -> write -force)

Created on 28 Apr 2018 · 4Comments · Source: mawww/kakoune

There are several commands that are also available in bang versions (more destructive):
edit[!], write[!], kill[!], quit[!], write-quit[!], delete-buffer[!].

I think this terminology came from vim legacy where commands tend to be agglutinations of chars whereas Kakoune uses more explicit arguments / switches. Example: vim's nmap vs Kakoune's map normal.

What about removing the bang versions in favor of a descriptive -force switch?
Example edit! … becomes edit -force …

Pros

reduce commands clutter in autocompletion https://github.com/mawww/kakoune/issues/1081
users can't create custom commands ending with a ! so it will improve consistency.

Cons

users who use :wq! frequently will need to add it to their kakrc.

design

Source

Delapouite

👎3 👍2 😕1

Most helpful comment

Between :q! and :quit -force, I'll pick the first any day, even with completion. The first syntax is too convenient to disappear over night, it should stay.

lenormf on 4 Jun 2018

👍3

All 4 comments

This is a good candidate for the big-breaking-tidy-up. I am wondering about that, I think we need at least to have switch completion so that -force is easy to write.

The other problem is that its actually not possible for users to create those back, aliases are limited to command names, they cannot contain switches, and defining a custom wrapping command will not be able to use !. I think we cannot make this change before we have a nice way to users to put that back in their config easily.

mawww on 4 Jun 2018

Between :q! and :quit -force, I'll pick the first any day, even with completion. The first syntax is too convenient to disappear over night, it should stay.

lenormf on 4 Jun 2018

👍3