diff options
Diffstat (limited to '')
| -rw-r--r-- | 2024/captions/emacsconf-2024-casual--reimagining-the-emacs-user-experience-with-casual-suite--charles-choi--main.vtt | 757 |
1 files changed, 757 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/2024/captions/emacsconf-2024-casual--reimagining-the-emacs-user-experience-with-casual-suite--charles-choi--main.vtt b/2024/captions/emacsconf-2024-casual--reimagining-the-emacs-user-experience-with-casual-suite--charles-choi--main.vtt new file mode 100644 index 00000000..26187e17 --- /dev/null +++ b/2024/captions/emacsconf-2024-casual--reimagining-the-emacs-user-experience-with-casual-suite--charles-choi--main.vtt @@ -0,0 +1,757 @@ +WEBVTT captioned by sachac, checked by bhavin + +NOTE introduction + +00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.079 +Hello, my name is Charles Choi and welcome to my talk: + +00:00:05.080 --> 00:00:11.359 +"Reimagining the Emacs user experience with Casual Suite." + +00:00:11.360 --> 00:00:14.919 +Casual Suite is a set of opinionated user interfaces to + +00:00:14.920 --> 00:00:18.399 +different modes offered in Emacs. Before I get into + +00:00:18.400 --> 00:00:22.199 +describing Casual in detail, let's first talk about the + +00:00:22.200 --> 00:00:27.039 +existing Emacs user experience. To make Emacs go, people + +00:00:27.040 --> 00:00:31.079 +can either invoke commands by name with + +00:00:31.080 --> 00:00:34.081 +execute-extended-command, + +00:00:34.082 --> 00:00:36.403 +run a command directly with a pre-assigned + +00:00:36.404 --> 00:00:43.799 +key binding, finally, use a mouse menu if it's available. + +NOTE Recall vs recognition + +00:00:43.800 --> 00:00:46.719 +From human-computer interface research, there is a + +00:00:46.720 --> 00:00:50.799 +concept of recall versus recognition in user interface + +00:00:50.800 --> 00:00:56.599 +design. Let's show their distinction by example. A common + +00:00:56.600 --> 00:01:00.839 +recall interface is password entry. Absent any historical + +00:01:00.840 --> 00:01:04.639 +affordances, a user must directly remember information to + +00:01:04.640 --> 00:01:09.839 +succeed with this interface. In contrast, menus offer + +00:01:09.840 --> 00:01:13.439 +immediate visual cues on what commands are available. This + +00:01:13.440 --> 00:01:16.839 +allows a user to recognize familiar behavior to support + +00:01:16.840 --> 00:01:21.879 +successful selection of it. From user interface research, + +00:01:21.880 --> 00:01:26.119 +the key finding is this. Interfaces emphasizing + +00:01:26.120 --> 00:01:29.999 +recognition are much easier to use than those relying on + +00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:35.799 +recall. In this light, we see that the Emacs user experience + +00:01:35.800 --> 00:01:41.279 +leans too much towards recall. Completion in history can + +00:01:41.280 --> 00:01:44.479 +help tip the scales towards recognition, but only by a + +00:01:44.480 --> 00:01:47.959 +little bit. + +00:01:47.960 --> 00:01:52.399 +This reliance on recall is discouraging to users both new + +00:01:52.400 --> 00:01:56.839 +and old, and that's a shame because Emacs has so many useful + +00:01:56.840 --> 00:02:00.759 +commands. But the kicker is that most of them are + +00:02:00.760 --> 00:02:05.239 +infrequently used. You can't recall them all. At least I + +00:02:05.240 --> 00:02:11.239 +can't. So, a conundrum. While I've been using Emacs since + +00:02:11.240 --> 00:02:15.159 +the early 90s, truthfully, it's been only in this past + +00:02:15.160 --> 00:02:19.679 +decade that I've leveled up in using it. Org Mode, Magit, + +00:02:19.680 --> 00:02:23.199 +Eglot, Avy, and many other packages have transformed how I + +00:02:23.200 --> 00:02:28.639 +use it. I can only deal with so much cognitive load and + +00:02:28.640 --> 00:02:34.799 +physically straining key bindings. So, what to do about it? + +NOTE Emacs with keyboard-driven menus + +00:02:34.800 --> 00:02:36.159 +Let's bring back an old ideal. + +00:02:36.160 --> 00:02:42.359 +Keyboard-driven menus have been around since TTY video + +00:02:42.360 --> 00:02:47.359 +terminals with mainframes. If you're old enough to recall + +00:02:47.360 --> 00:02:50.079 +working with such interfaces, these terms will seem + +00:02:50.080 --> 00:02:53.239 +familiar. They all worked with the limitations of + +00:02:53.240 --> 00:02:57.639 +text-based video displays. + +00:02:57.640 --> 00:03:01.599 +With keyboard-driven menus, if a command exists but nobody + +00:03:01.600 --> 00:03:05.519 +can find it, it's not really useful. A well-designed menu + +00:03:05.520 --> 00:03:09.719 +can make a command discoverable. If the command is + +00:03:09.720 --> 00:03:15.199 +infrequently used, making it recognizable helps a lot. And + +00:03:15.200 --> 00:03:18.679 +for working primarily with text, having keyboard-only + +00:03:18.680 --> 00:03:24.119 +interactions encourages flow. Given the above, the next + +00:03:24.120 --> 00:03:28.479 +steps seem natural: + +00:03:28.480 --> 00:03:32.759 +augment Emacs with keyboard-driven menus. This is not + +00:03:32.760 --> 00:03:36.639 +saying that I want to obsolete name commands, keybindings, + +00:03:36.640 --> 00:03:41.079 +and mouse menus. They all can happily coexist. Emacs is + +00:03:41.080 --> 00:03:43.399 +large. It can contain multitudes. + +NOTE Transient + +00:03:43.400 --> 00:03:49.879 +Conveniently, Emacs has a built-in library for building + +00:03:49.880 --> 00:03:53.839 +such menus. It's called Transient, and it's been around + +00:03:53.840 --> 00:03:59.319 +since Emacs 28. Developed primarily by Jonas Bernoulli as a + +00:03:59.320 --> 00:04:03.199 +UI toolkit for Magit, Transient has an essential feature + +00:04:03.200 --> 00:04:08.199 +for building great keyboard-driven interfaces. + +NOTE A Transient menu can be pinned + +00:04:08.200 --> 00:04:11.919 +A transient menu can be pinned and their state updated as + +00:04:11.920 --> 00:04:15.239 +commands are issued from them. This lets us build + +00:04:15.240 --> 00:04:18.399 +interfaces that reflect internal state changes made by + +00:04:18.400 --> 00:04:21.919 +commands issued from the user. This is great because many + +00:04:21.920 --> 00:04:26.599 +modes have stateful behavior, and guess what? Emacs has a lot + +00:04:26.600 --> 00:04:29.302 +of modes. + +NOTE Modes are apps, really + +00:04:29.303 --> 00:04:31.999 +If you think about it, Emacs modes are akin to the + +00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:35.079 +ecosystem of apps that we see today, but with far less + +00:04:35.080 --> 00:04:39.319 +structure and packaging. A mode, like an app, focuses on + +00:04:39.320 --> 00:04:42.959 +delivering specific behavior to the user. There are many + +00:04:42.960 --> 00:04:45.999 +built-in modes in Emacs, and these modes are complex with + +00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:50.679 +dozens, if not hundreds, of commands. Calc itself has over + +00:04:50.680 --> 00:04:54.879 +1,000 of them. It's frustrating to know that these commands + +00:04:54.880 --> 00:04:59.526 +are there, but I really can't access them via recall. + +NOTE Transient all the modes! + +00:04:59.527 --> 00:05:05.079 +So I decided to do something about it, and that was to transient + +00:05:05.080 --> 00:05:09.999 +all the modes, or at least the most major ones. This past + +00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:12.679 +summer, I had the time and resources to start building + +00:05:12.680 --> 00:05:15.799 +Transient interfaces for modes that I wanted to more + +00:05:15.800 --> 00:05:22.319 +elegantly use. I decided to call this work Casual. Given its + +00:05:22.320 --> 00:05:25.519 +definition, it seemed like a good fit for the vibe that I + +00:05:25.520 --> 00:05:28.039 +wanted these interfaces to embody. + +NOTE Casual design principles + +00:05:28.040 --> 00:05:34.999 +Design principles that I embraced up front were + +00:05:35.000 --> 00:05:38.239 +handcrafted information architecture and layout. This is + +00:05:38.240 --> 00:05:41.799 +largely an exercise in mapping a mode's command set to a + +00:05:41.800 --> 00:05:47.119 +hierarchical menu structure. I wanted these menus to make + +00:05:47.120 --> 00:05:50.719 +sense to most people. Ideally, users would not have to read + +00:05:50.720 --> 00:05:55.839 +documentation to get at the command that they wanted. Early + +00:05:55.840 --> 00:05:59.359 +on, I quickly learned that it was impossible to maintain the + +00:05:59.360 --> 00:06:02.479 +existing default key bindings when mapping them over to a + +00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:06.759 +hierarchical menu. Also, some bindings I just flat out + +00:06:06.760 --> 00:06:10.199 +disagreed with. I resolved to be friendly, but not + +00:06:10.200 --> 00:06:14.919 +beholden to them. In all of the above, I've gone out of my way + +00:06:14.920 --> 00:06:17.959 +to make clear that my design decisions are opinionated. + +NOTE Casual design conventions + +00:06:17.960 --> 00:06:21.719 +Using casual. + +00:06:21.720 --> 00:06:30.039 +To reinforce habit, a common key binding is used per mode to + +00:06:30.040 --> 00:06:33.799 +raise a main menu. This key binding is left to user + +00:06:33.800 --> 00:06:36.719 +preference. For me, that binding is C-o. + +00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:44.639 +Command bindings are mnemonic when possible. + +00:06:44.640 --> 00:06:49.559 +Mode-specific settings are given their own menu. Since + +00:06:49.560 --> 00:06:53.319 +transient menus can be pinned, we can support repeat or + +00:06:53.320 --> 00:06:58.479 +stateful behavior in a mode. + +00:06:58.480 --> 00:07:02.319 +As of this writing, there are 11 modes supported by Casual, + +00:07:02.320 --> 00:07:04.365 +with several more on the way. + +NOTE Casual Dired + +00:07:04.366 --> 00:07:05.719 +Let's look at the Casual menu + +00:07:05.720 --> 00:07:12.479 +for Dired to highlight the design conventions previously + +00:07:12.480 --> 00:07:13.559 +mentioned. + +00:07:13.560 --> 00:07:17.719 +In a Dired Emacs window, the user can invoke their preferred + +00:07:17.720 --> 00:07:22.279 +key binding to call a top-level Casual main menu. This main + +00:07:22.280 --> 00:07:27.919 +menu is displayed at the bottom of the Emacs frame. Zooming + +00:07:27.920 --> 00:07:30.839 +into this menu, we see the commands offered in it + +00:07:30.840 --> 00:07:34.559 +categorized into different sections. Each command has a + +00:07:34.560 --> 00:07:38.039 +key binding, usually a single character shown before its + +00:07:38.040 --> 00:07:42.599 +label. The File section holds commands that act upon the + +00:07:42.600 --> 00:07:47.559 +currently selected item or marked items. The Directory + +00:07:47.560 --> 00:07:50.319 +section holds commands that affect the current directory + +00:07:50.320 --> 00:07:55.599 +or its subdirs within it. The Mark section has marking + +00:07:55.600 --> 00:08:00.279 +commands that allow for aggregate operations. The + +00:08:00.280 --> 00:08:03.399 +Navigation section shows commands that move the point in a + +00:08:03.400 --> 00:08:09.559 +direct buffer. The quick section provides access to + +00:08:09.560 --> 00:08:14.519 +bookmark and buffer list commands. Search and replace + +00:08:14.520 --> 00:08:19.119 +commands are grouped in the search section. New directory + +00:08:19.120 --> 00:08:24.079 +and file creation are given their own section. Finally, at + +00:08:24.080 --> 00:08:27.599 +the bottom of the menu are commands dedicated to Casual menu + +00:08:27.600 --> 00:08:28.439 +navigation. + +00:08:28.440 --> 00:08:34.079 +Casual is conformant to Transient conventions where the + +00:08:34.080 --> 00:08:39.479 +key binding C-g for dismiss one and C-q to dismiss all + +00:08:39.480 --> 00:08:43.639 +menus are honored. Another transient convention is to + +00:08:43.640 --> 00:08:49.519 +reserve the key binding q to quit the current mode. For most + +00:08:49.520 --> 00:08:53.959 +main menus, casual uses the , key binding to invoke a + +00:08:53.960 --> 00:08:58.999 +mode-specific settings menu. Casual also adopts the + +00:08:59.000 --> 00:09:02.039 +common UI convention of using ... > + +00:09:02.040 --> 00:09:05.879 +symbols to denote required input and submenus + +00:09:05.880 --> 00:09:06.639 +respectively. + +NOTE Casual EditKit + +00:09:06.640 --> 00:09:13.919 +Some commands are more global or non-mode specific in + +00:09:13.920 --> 00:09:18.039 +nature. A great deal of these commands relate to editing, + +00:09:18.040 --> 00:09:23.239 +which I find to be a prime motivation for using Emacs. Let's + +00:09:23.240 --> 00:09:25.559 +examine one such menu that supports this. + +00:09:25.560 --> 00:09:31.599 +The main menu for Casual EditKit is designed to provide easy + +00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:36.279 +access to editing and editing-related commands. Like the + +00:09:36.280 --> 00:09:39.959 +previous Dired menu, it organizes commands into different + +00:09:39.960 --> 00:09:40.679 +sections. + +00:09:40.680 --> 00:09:45.999 +Commands related to file and buffer operations are in the + +00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:50.519 +File section. Commands for editing text are in the Edit + +00:09:50.520 --> 00:09:55.599 +section. S- or balanced expression commands are given a + +00:09:55.600 --> 00:09:59.439 +dedicated section for their own. More often than not, in + +00:09:59.440 --> 00:10:02.159 +many modes, I find them to do what I want. + +00:10:02.160 --> 00:10:08.879 +The tools section provides access to common tools. + +00:10:08.880 --> 00:10:13.719 +Bookmarks I consider to be an essential feature. If you + +00:10:13.720 --> 00:10:18.439 +haven't used them, it's never too late to start. Emacs + +00:10:18.440 --> 00:10:20.799 +window management commands are given this section. + +00:10:20.800 --> 00:10:25.799 +Commands for search and replace, macros, and projects can + +00:10:25.800 --> 00:10:32.199 +be accessed from here. Finally, the menu navigation + +00:10:32.200 --> 00:10:35.719 +section. Note that register commands can be accessed from + +00:10:35.720 --> 00:10:36.199 +here. + +NOTE EditKit demo + +00:10:36.200 --> 00:10:42.439 +Okay, enough screenshots. Let's look at Casual in action + +00:10:42.440 --> 00:10:48.439 +with a demo of the EditKit menus. Let's start our demo of + +00:10:48.440 --> 00:10:54.439 +casual-editkit with raising the menu, which is bound to + +00:10:54.440 --> 00:10:58.919 +C-o. You'll see the menu pop up here. In + +00:10:58.920 --> 00:11:02.519 +particular, we want to look at the edit operation. We'll + +00:11:02.520 --> 00:11:08.679 +press e and we'll see a number of menu items that allow you to + +00:11:08.680 --> 00:11:16.239 +make editing transformations to the text, be it marking, + +00:11:16.240 --> 00:11:20.239 +copying, killing, transposing, transforming, moving, or + +00:11:20.240 --> 00:11:24.279 +deleting the text. You'll see also that there is a submenu + +00:11:24.280 --> 00:11:31.996 +for rectangle operations. Let's first... + +NOTE Marking and moving + +00:11:31.997 --> 00:11:37.406 +Let's actually dig through and look at what's in the Mark submenu. + +00:11:37.407 --> 00:11:42.039 +You'll see that there are increments of text in which you can + +00:11:42.040 --> 00:11:45.239 +mark. You can mark a word, a sentence, a paragraph, and + +00:11:45.240 --> 00:11:49.559 +balanced expression. If we go back, you'll see a similar + +00:11:49.560 --> 00:11:57.339 +pattern for copying as well as killing. Transposing. + +00:11:57.340 --> 00:12:02.879 +Let's go and try to move a sentence. We have the point there at + +00:12:02.880 --> 00:12:07.119 +hello there. We'll move that sentence around. If we + +00:12:07.120 --> 00:12:12.119 +press s, we can move it backward or forward. In this case, + +00:12:12.120 --> 00:12:16.279 +let's move it forward. We'll press f. You'll see hello + +00:12:16.280 --> 00:12:21.639 +there move up a sentence. Then we can also press b to move + +00:12:21.640 --> 00:12:29.879 +it back. Then press RET to dismiss. Also, if we wanted + +00:12:29.880 --> 00:12:35.199 +to, we can... In this menu particularly, you'll see that we + +00:12:35.200 --> 00:12:38.839 +also have cursor navigation, so we can move the point there. + +00:12:38.840 --> 00:12:43.039 +That's not in all the menus, but in a good part number of the + +00:12:43.040 --> 00:12:47.919 +menus in Casual Edit Kit, you'll see that here. Let's press + +00:12:47.920 --> 00:12:53.139 +RET to dismiss that. + +NOTE Rectangles + +00:12:53.140 --> 00:12:58.643 +Let's actually look at some rectangle operations here. + +00:12:58.644 --> 00:13:01.759 +In this case, we have a list with + +00:13:01.760 --> 00:13:08.519 +items x, y, and z. Let's say we wanted to prefix each item + +00:13:08.520 --> 00:13:14.239 +here with a string. We'll say we want to put in there + +00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:21.159 +hello. One way of doing that is to make a rectangle. So + +00:13:21.160 --> 00:13:25.719 +if we go into our rectangle menu, first off, what we need to do + +00:13:25.720 --> 00:13:31.199 +is define that rectangle region. We'll press m to mark + +00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:35.439 +where the point is right there. Then we can use our cursor + +00:13:35.440 --> 00:13:39.559 +operation to move the point to define the rectangle. In this + +00:13:39.560 --> 00:13:43.839 +case, it's right at the start there. We can use the string + +00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:49.679 +insert command, i, to insert hello, colon, and then we'll + +00:13:49.680 --> 00:13:54.799 +put a space there to make it look a little nicer. Sure + +00:13:54.800 --> 00:13:58.119 +enough, that's in there. + +00:13:58.120 --> 00:14:04.975 +We can have access to a number of rectangle commands here. + +NOTE Numbering + +00:14:04.976 --> 00:14:11.599 +If we wanted to, let's say, number, we can go through that same + +00:14:11.600 --> 00:14:16.719 +operation here, define a region, a rectangle region that + +00:14:16.720 --> 00:14:22.679 +is, and press n. You'll see that it has incremented a + +00:14:22.680 --> 00:14:28.639 +number for each item in that rectangle region. We can also + +00:14:28.640 --> 00:14:32.468 +tap u to undo these operations + +00:14:32.469 --> 00:14:36.599 +and leave that at that. + +NOTE Sorting + +00:14:36.600 --> 00:14:47.239 +Sorting. If we select a region here, And we go back. You'll + +00:14:47.240 --> 00:14:52.399 +see that the sort submenu is now enabled. Sorting won't work + +00:14:52.400 --> 00:14:56.239 +unless you have a region started. That's one of the nice + +00:14:56.240 --> 00:15:01.679 +things about transient is that it allows you to visually + +00:15:01.680 --> 00:15:09.079 +enable or disable command items with regards to whatever + +00:15:09.080 --> 00:15:12.559 +the current state or context is here. In this case is + +00:15:12.560 --> 00:15:17.359 +whether or not you have a region highlighted. Let's say we + +00:15:17.360 --> 00:15:22.879 +want to sort these two columns of numbers and so there's a + +00:15:22.880 --> 00:15:29.759 +command called n here which is numeric fields. Let's choose that + +00:15:29.760 --> 00:15:35.919 +here. Sure enough we get that. But there's a nice twist + +00:15:35.920 --> 00:15:39.679 +there. Let's say we wanted to sort on the second column. + +00:15:39.680 --> 00:15:48.919 +Let's move our point back up to here and we'll mark that. + +00:15:48.920 --> 00:15:52.799 +Since everything is in a continuous line, we can sort of + +00:15:52.800 --> 00:15:55.948 +pretend that this region is actually a paragraph + +00:15:55.949 --> 00:15:59.359 +and mark that. + +00:15:59.360 --> 00:16:06.999 +We'll go and select our sorting routine. But now we need to + +00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:11.319 +figure out how to make numeric fields sort on the second + +00:16:11.320 --> 00:16:16.359 +column. In transient, if we press a ?, that + +00:16:16.360 --> 00:16:21.439 +gives us basically a intermediate help section where, if we + +00:16:21.440 --> 00:16:27.279 +press a key binding, it will tell us or load the docstring for + +00:16:27.280 --> 00:16:33.039 +the command that's there. That command in this case is + +00:16:33.040 --> 00:16:40.039 +sort-numeric-fields. It requires an argument. That + +00:16:40.040 --> 00:16:44.079 +argument can be passed using the prefix argument, + +00:16:44.080 --> 00:16:52.119 +C-u. Press q. Let's do that. In this case, we + +00:16:52.120 --> 00:16:58.679 +want to check or use the value 2 and press n. Sure enough, + +00:16:58.680 --> 00:17:04.339 +that region is sorted with respect to the second column. + +NOTE Casual has transformed my user experience with Emacs + +00:17:04.340 --> 00:17:12.159 +Before Casual, so many powerful Emacs commands were not + +00:17:12.160 --> 00:17:15.559 +available to me because they were too hard to recall or I + +00:17:15.560 --> 00:17:19.879 +could not discover them. Making Casual has changed that, + +00:17:19.880 --> 00:17:24.359 +letting me reimagine more positively my user experience + +00:17:24.360 --> 00:17:29.199 +with Emacs. If you're interested in any of what I've shown + +00:17:29.200 --> 00:17:34.450 +today, I invite you to try out Casual. + +NOTE Thanks and acknowledgements + +00:17:34.451 --> 00:17:37.032 +Before I leave, my thanks and acknowledgments + +00:17:37.033 --> 00:17:38.679 +go out to the following people. + +00:17:38.680 --> 00:17:43.399 +First, to Jonas Bernoulli for making Transient and Magit. + +00:17:43.400 --> 00:17:49.319 +Casual would not be possible without your work. Next, to + +00:17:49.320 --> 00:17:54.399 +Psionic-k for writing Transient Showcase. It showed me how I + +00:17:54.400 --> 00:17:59.439 +could build casual. To all the casual users and their + +00:17:59.440 --> 00:18:05.319 +support, I am genuinely appreciative. Finally, to Jon + +00:18:05.320 --> 00:18:08.759 +Snader for writing the kind posts on Casual on the Irreal + +00:18:08.760 --> 00:18:10.519 +website. Thank you. + +00:18:10.520 --> 00:18:15.797 +Casual can be found on MELPA, + +00:18:15.798 --> 00:18:23.720 +and its repository is hosted on GitHub. |