Please see http://kate-editor.org/kate-vi-mode/ for an updated overview of the Kate VI mode project.
Dear “Katevim” users. Kate’s Vi Mode is steadily improving and I want to take a moment to tell what’s on the horizon for KDE 4.4. There has been quite a few bugs fixed since 4.3, but some major new features have also been introduced:
The Comma Text Object
This is something that I have been missing in Vim. The comma text object makes it easy to modify parameter lists in C-like languages and other comma separated lists. It is basically the area between two commas or between a comma and a bracket. In the line below, the three ranges this text object would cover is highlighted in red.
This has actually been in Kate’s Vi Mode for a while now, but since it has not been announced until now, I guess I am the only one using it. :-)
Limited Normal Mode Mapping Support
It is now possible to add mappings in normal mode (:nnoremap in Vim). There
are still some flaws, such as the fact that one cannot map a keypress to
“:somecommand
Command Line Mode Commands
Yes, really! Kate’s Vi Mode finally support some of the most command commandline mode commands from Vim. What can be done from the Kate editor part is limited by the fact that it can’t control its hosting application, but Kate – the application – has now gotten support for the following commands:
q,qaw,wq,wa,wqax,xabn,bpnew,vnewedit
