88 lines
3.4 KiB
Markdown
88 lines
3.4 KiB
Markdown
# Project Guidelines
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kte is Kyle's Text Editor — a simple, fast text editor written in C++17. It
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replaces the earlier C implementation, ke (see the ke manual in `ke.md`). The
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design draws inspiration from Antirez' kilo, with keybindings rooted in the
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WordStar/VDE family and emacs. The spiritual parent is `mg(1)`.
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These guidelines summarize the goals, interfaces, key operations, and current
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development practices for kte.
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Style note: all code should be formatted with the current CLion C++ style.
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## Goals
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- Keep the core small, fast, and understandable.
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- Provide an ncurses-based terminal-first editing experience, with an optional ImGui GUI.
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- Preserve familiar keybindings from ke while modernizing the internals.
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- Favor simple data structures (e.g., gap buffer) and incremental evolution.
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## Interfaces
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- Command-line interface: the primary interface today.
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- GUI: planned ImGui-based interface.
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## Build and Run
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Prerequisites: a C++17 compiler, CMake, and ncurses development headers/libs.
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- macOS (Homebrew): `brew install ncurses`
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- Debian/Ubuntu: `sudo apt-get install libncurses5-dev libncursesw5-dev`
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- Configure and build (example):
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- `cmake -S . -B cmake-build-debug -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug`
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- `cmake --build cmake-build-debug`
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- Run:
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- `./cmake-build-debug/kte [files]`
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Project entry point: `main.cpp`
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## Core Components (current codebase)
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- Buffer: editing model and file I/O (`Buffer.h/.cpp`).
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- GapBuffer: editable in-memory text representation (`GapBuffer.h/.cpp`).
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- PieceTable: experimental/alternative representation (`PieceTable.h/.cpp`).
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- InputHandler: interface for handling text input (`InputHandler.h/`), along
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with `TerminalInputHandler` (ncurses-based) and `GUIInputHandler`.
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- Renderer: interface for rendering text (`Renderer.h`), along with
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`TerminalRenderer` (ncurses-based) and `GUIRenderer`.
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- Editor: top-level editor state (`Editor.h/.cpp`).
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- Command: command model (`Command.h/.cpp`).
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- General purpose editor functionality (`Editing.h/.cpp`)
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## Keybindings (inherited from ke)
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kte aims to maintain ke’s command model while internals evolve. See `ke.md` for
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the full reference. Highlights:
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- K-command prefix: `C-k` enters k-command mode; exit with `ESC` or `C-g`.
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- Save/Exit: `C-k s` (save), `C-k x` or `C-k C-x` (save and exit), `C-k q` (quit
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with confirm), `C-k C-q` (quit immediately).
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- Editing: `C-k d` (kill to EOL), `C-k C-d` (kill line), `C-k BACKSPACE` (kill
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to BOL), `C-w` (kill region), `C-y` (yank), `C-u` (universal argument).
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- Navigation/Search: `C-s` (incremental find), `C-r` (regex search), `ESC f/b`
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(word next/prev), `ESC BACKSPACE` (delete previous word).
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- Buffers/Files: `C-k e` (open), `C-k b`/`C-k p` (switch), `C-k c` (close),
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`C-k C-r` (reload).
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- Misc: `C-l` (refresh), `C-g` (cancel), `C-k m` (run make), `C-k g` (goto line).
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Known behavior from ke retained for now:
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- Incremental search navigates results with arrow keys; search restarts from
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the top on each invocation (known bug to be revisited).
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## Contributing/Development Notes
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- C++ standard: C++17.
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- Style: match existing file formatting and minimal-comment style.
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- Keep dependencies minimal; ImGui integration will be isolated behind a GUI
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module.
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- Prefer small, focused changes that preserve ke’s UX unless explicitly changing
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behavior.
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## References
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- Previous editor manual: `ke.md` (canonical keybinding/spec reference for now).
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- Inspiration: kilo, WordStar/VDE, emacs, `mg(1)`.
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