Difference between x and X

[yusuphgammut]

Hi folks.

I've been working a bit with Helix and I still can't tell the difference between x (extend_line_below) and X (extend_to_line_bounds) other than just extending to the next line in the case of x. Is there a use case were any of you use X which can't be resolved using x just once? I mean, if I can press x one time and it's the same as pressing X, there's no reason to have X IMHO.

[CptPotato]

One difference is that extend_line_below will extend to the next line if your cursor is on an empty line (since the whole line is already "selected").

[CptPotato]

i.e. if you want to delete the current line, Xd will always work. With xd on the other hand you may accidentally delete two lines if your cursor is on an empty line.

I personally have x and X swapped in my config for convenience.

[David-Else]

But if you want to delete an empty line just press d? I don't really get the use case for x vs X, do you have any more examples?

Regarding your swapping, do you not find yourself using X a lot more, I would imagine I would, but maybe I should use the [ ] selectors more...

[CptPotato]

My reasoning is that I can always delete a line with xd (using my swapped bindings) regardless of the lines content.

But if you want to delete an empty line just press d?

If a line happens to contain whitespace (such as indentation) this will not work. I also don't like the inconsistency of doing this differently depending on the line's content.

Regarding your swapping, do you not find yourself using X a lot more [...]

I use both frequently. But usually when I extend I do so multiple times, so I can just hold the Shift with my bindings. And xd for a single line is much less awkward than the default bindings Xd.

(also see #835)

[David-Else]

Good points, I will have to experiment. I try to stick to the defaults where I can as I assume the person who made them has some knowledge I don't and there is a way of doing things that I don't yet know about... apart from these non negotiable essentials :)

[keys.normal]
G = "goto_file_end"          # vim
Z = { Z = ":wq", Q = ":q!" } # vim, save and quit, quit without saving
"#" = "toggle_comments"

[keys.insert]
j = { k = "normal_mode" }

[yusuphgammut]

Thanks for the answers. I now have at least 1 fairly valid use case for X.

I did notice that there's a chance that the x and X keymaps change in the future if a more robust visual/select mode is implemented as per this wiki page. I miss a lot the line-wise visual selection in Vim where you can extend up or down using k and j. Helix's x only flowing downwards seems a bit restrictive to me but I think I should get used to use more complex object selection.