The Real Reason I Like niri and Vim
They're both completely different tools but they share a common trait which is being able to do something multiple ways.
Choice is really powerful and it’s the main reason I like these tools.
For example with niri to switch workspaces, I can hit Mod + D/U but I can
also choose to hold Mod + Shift and then scroll up or down on my mouse wheel.
If I’m using my laptop I can do a 3 finger swipe up or down instead. All of
these shortcuts are configurable too.
To switch focus on windows sometimes I click them with my mouse, other times I
press Mod + Left or Mod + H. Once in a while I hold Mod and scroll my
mouse wheel. On a laptop I do a 3 finger swipe to the left or right.
To move windows sometimes I hit Mod + Ctrl + Left or Mod + Ctrl + H, other
times I hold Mod and click + drag the window with my mouse. It really
depends!
To jump between monitors sometimes I hold Mod and hit my mouse’s thumb back
or forward button, sometimes I just flick my mouse across. Other times I’ll hold
Mod + Ctrl + Shift + Right to both move the focused window to my other
monitor and bring focus there. Once in a while I’ll hit Mod + W to fuzzy find
the app name on the other monitor.
With Neovim, if you want to jump to the end of the line you can hit A in
normal mode to jump right there and be ready to type within insert mode, but
you can also hit $ to jump to the end of the line while staying in normal
mode. You can also click there with your mouse, or maybe in the spur of the
moment you tap e a few times to jump words.
There’s a million other examples with these tools.
All of this might seem minor but it’s not. These are things that keep you in a flow state while allowing you to move at the speed of thought. They make you feel like you’re in control of how you want to use your computer by removing friction. It’s optimized for you.
It also puts you in a better mood because you’re not constantly feeling like you’re limited by the tools you use at every corner. Instead, you have dozens or hundreds of these positive interactions a day.
This applies to other things too.
# Programming Languages, CLIs and APIs
Not all choice is created equal. Sometimes too much choice can be bad or confusing but not always. Like a lot of things, it depends on the context.
You often hear this with programming languages. Languages that have one way to do something vs many ways of doing something are often compared. Python vs Ruby is a text book example.
I see this as much different because you’re not making instant decisions based on how your brain decided it wanted to do it in the moment. Usually you think about how you want the logic to work and then you write the code to do it.
At this point it usually comes down to personal style opinions on how you want the code to look or read. I like both languages and have written a ton of code in both.
APIs (CLIs, web, etc.) are another area where this applies. I have stronger opinions here, I like less choice because it’s less surface area to remember. It lets me memorize one path to get somewhere instead of having a split brain situation where maybe you can run 4 different commands to do the same thing.
But there’s a lot of nuance here because having aliases or shortcuts to run a
command can be very helpful. I really like the kubectl CLI for example.
Python’s arg parse is also really neat where if you have an --output flag you
can type --output, --out or any short abbreviation as long as it’s unique
across your flags. This is quite helpful for flags where sometimes you forget
if it’s --file or --files.
Really, all of this boils down to 1 simple thing. “Just do the thing I’m trying to do”.
The next time you have a thought around whether or not you like or dislike using something, run it through the “is this letting me do what I want?” filter.
# Demo Video
Timestamps
- 0:05 – A few niri examples
- 2:09 – A Neovim example
- 3:07 – Choice is really important
- 3:39 – Applies to programming languages
- 4:23 – Applies to CLI tools
- 5:50 – Just do the thing I want
What are some examples where this applies to the tools you use? Let me know below.