| Author: | Maxime Coste |
| Programming Language: | C++, KakouneScript |
| Operating System: | Unix-like, macOS |
| Genre: | Text editor |
| License: | Unlicense |
Kakoune is a modal screen-based text editor program created in 2011 by French programmer Maxime Coste. The editor is heavily inspired by the classic vi by Bill Joy, as well as its successor Vim by Bram Moolenaar.[1] [2]
The primary focus of the Kakoune editor is efficiency, which it achieves by making heavy use of a multi-cursor workflows. By default a user always has one selection, which can be widened or shortened through the use of commands and regular expressions. This allows Kakoune to behave like a structured editor despite having no knowledge of the semantics of the underlying programming language.[3] The editor also features a modal workflow with a insert and a normal mode reminiscent of other editors based on vi. The insert mode allows for the insertion of text into the document, whereas in the normal text input is interpreted as commands.[4] A digital assistant represented as an ASCII art of a paper clip is also integrated into the editor which helps guide users through the keybindings, features and workflows provided by the editor.
The editor is primarily written in C++ and makes heavy use of templates and classes which results in a discrepancy in the number of lines of code and the instructions generated for the project using LLVM.[5]