Hello to all, My name is Andy. I'm seeking direction on a project which I've had in mind for years but don't have the ability (as yet) to do, since I am not (as yet) a programmer, though I've dabbled some. The problem my project seeks solution for is my notes and writings, accumulated over years and still ongoing. I've gradually developed a vision for an application to suit my eccentricities when it comes to writing. I'll try to splatter out some of my vision here, without effort to be thorough.
I've used Vim for a few years, switching a couple of years ago to Spacemacs. I prefer keyboarding to mousing and like the minimalist interface, not a fan of menus and toolbars. The single feature I like most with Spacemacs is the ability to display several buffers as 'columns'. I like some aspects of Gingko, in the way the 'columns' behave. I want those functionalities and more. I want outlining capability, both Gingko style and conventional. Other uses of 'columns': simply to have multiple files open and be able to see a handful of them at once; to collect text blocks from various files and 'stack them up' in columns to work with, to be able to move text block around easily without fuss. I want various search capabilities. Since I have a few thousands of files of notes, I want ready access through searches and a file viewer... Optimally my backlog of notes will eventually form an organized/ordered database of sorts, searchable by keywords, by date, by category... Projects will form. I have a wacky idea I'd like to try: an on screen, keyboard-simulation console in place of menus. We see a foreground keyboard on screen showing key bindings for the mode we're in (there will be a handful of modes). One objective is to reduce keystrokes, and make this more steamlined than the mouse-driven menu, hopefully more streamlined than even the keystroke-driven menu, although of course this is a form of keyboard-driven menu. It may not work out at all, but I want to try something with it. When in edit/insert mode the on screen keyboard of course dissappears (or any time you tell it to). I want this to be un-clunky, intuitive, flowing, quick, capable. It could also be adapted to serve as a PIM, GTD, even something like a screenwriter, a planner… Flexibility is nice. Hopefully this ramble gives a bit of flavor of the thing. Lots more detail but hopefully this is enough to give a glimpse of the kinds of functionalities I’m thinking about. My programming-related experience (mostly years ago): A course in digital logic, a couple of Fortran courses, read a brief book on Assembly. Never programmed in it but it gave me a good glimpse of the low level stuff. I stumbled onto Forth, read a couple of articles, played around with it slightly. The approach makes sense to me; it seems closer to the way the mind works (at least mine). Hence my interest in Factor. I've also dabbled in Lisp, though Racket, which is supposed to be good for developing specialized languages (is that what I need?). A few years ago I wrote a small program in VBA, a risk calculator for forex trading. I did it in Excel and actually did sell it online. So programming does hold a bit of fascination for me, and I've read and dabbled some but haven't chosen to make it my livelihood nor dug in very deeply, and I'm too old now to go that direction professionally even if I wanted to (I don't). BUT, I do want this program, badly enough to take a stab at it just for the sake of having this program. If what I want were already available I'd buy it in a heartbeat and then wouldn't need to develop it myself. But since it seems I’ll have to develop it myself, then I want to be able to extend and improve it myself, as I see fit, in the future. So I want to be in control of it and be capable of maintaining and improving it myself. Am I thinking of marketing it? Well sure, if any interest is there. To me it's a very interesting idea, but perhaps not to many others. So I'm not counting on that at all and doubt it’s a possibility. I expect it’s too wacky an idea for anyone but myself. By the way, I'm a farmer, in Indiana. I've seen mention of non-programmers who ended up, with help of course, writing their own software out of frustration, finding nothing to their liking so they write their own. Isn’t frustration the drive for a lot of software? That's where I am. My questions: Am I crazy to even think about such a project, even with good help? If I'm not crazy, what's the best language for this project? I feel drawn to Factor but it may not be the best option. And if I'm not crazy, how could I find the right mentor, guide, consultant, co-programmer for such a project? Could something like Vis be embedded as the editor for this? It’s on my computer but I haven’t gotten it running. I may be interested in the SAM functionalities, plus it’s a pretty compact editor I think. But I know nothing of C. And little of Unix/Linux. I’m on a Mac, having fled Microsoft after they forcibly installed Win10 on my computer without my consent. Warm regards and thanks to anyone who read this far. Andy _______________________________________________ Factor-talk mailing list Factor-talk@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/factor-talk
