Xi-editor: Multiple frontend instances

[leonardohn]

I'm currently working on a minimal TUI frontend for Xi, but I don't want to implement tabs or split view to manage the different views. In other words, I would like to have multiple frontend instances, each of it handling a single view, but connected to the same backend. Then, the backend would be initialized when the first frontend comes online, and terminate with the last frontend. I think it would be useful for different purposes to have this feature implemented into the core even for GUI frontends, if the user wants to have multiple windows opened at once, or maybe want each view to be handled by a separate process.

[ryukinix]

I would love that feature since this is the way that I use emacs as daemon. Basically I don't have any similar editor that works this way as emacs works for me. Nano is not a option. Vim neither. Emacs is... emacs, I love emacs, but it's emacs. Having a great alternative would be really awesome. Xi-editor can be a thing here.

Looking forward here on this thread.

[cmyr]

This would be a fairly large architectural change, and is not currently planned. There are no current expectations that a client be able to display multiple buffers simultaneously, but there is an expectation that a client can open a new file or buffer if requested, although this isn't currently used.

The idea of connecting to a remote instance of the editor _has_ been discussed and _is_ in the long term plans, but this would involve core-to-core sync; the local client would still have a local core, but that core would communicate with a remote peer.

[Superpat]

I'd like to show support for this kind of functionality as well. I've been considering building an acme-like frontend for xi, but my ideal workflow would require every buffer to be open in their own x window.