I was reading about vim the other day and found out why it used
hjkl keys as arrow keys. When Bill Joycreated the vi text editor he used the ADM-3A terminal, which had the arrows on hjkl keys. Naturally he reused the same keys and the rest is history!
Here is how the
hjkl keys looked:
ADM-3A keyboard's hjkl keys with arrows.
And here is the whole terminal that vi was created on:
Lear Siegler's ADM-3A computer terminal.
Since vim is derived from vi, it uses the same
hjkl keys.
And while we're at it, notice where the
ESC key is positioned:
Lear Siegler's ADM-3A computer terminal's full keyboard.
That's why the
ESC is used to change between vi modes! Because it's so close and easy to reach.
Also ever wondered why home directory is
~ in UNIX? Look at the HOME key in upper right corner!HJKL T-Shirt!
I just got a deal with Teespring for a
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