Filed under: Software, Cool tools, Hacks, Open Source, Developer
Vi Input Manager
Okay, this one is going to appeal to a very small audience (command line jockeys), but I suspect it will make those few people very happy. Vi Input Manager is, well, an OS X Input Manager that "patches the Cocoa Text System to add a Vi-like command mode." So in any Cocoa application with a text field (e.g. a form in Safari) you can enter "command-mode (typically, by hitting escape in Vi), [and] ordinary Vi commands can be typed and the text field will be updated accordingly." So basically, if you've invested years getting all those Vi commands in muscle-memory now you can capitalize on it in your favorite Cocoa applications (emacs fans don't shoot the messenger).
Vi Input Manager is Open Source and a free download, but donations are requested.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
soho said 4:23PM on 2-04-2007
wow I really have to test this, but if it works as advertised, it's really helpful for me.
Reply
Nick said 5:08PM on 2-04-2007
Ah, yes, the InputManager functionality, otherwise known as the InputManagers Hole.
The InputManagers Hole was used by Inqtana and by Leap-A. Kevin Finisterre warned Apple about it so long ago it's just not funny;
http://digitalmunition.com/InqTanaThroughTheEyes.txt
The "functionality' should not be there. It's damn dangerous. And if it stays then sooner or later something will use it -- not for an intentionally harmless POC like Inqtana but in earnest.
Reply
Mo said 5:51PM on 2-04-2007
Even without the ‘Input Manager Hole’ there are plenty of ways to get your dylib loaded along with applications on pretty much any UNIX-based system. The bottom line is that once you have let a piece of code onto your system and run it, you've already placed the trust in it. Closing these alleged holes doesn't actually solve anything, because in order to take advantage of them you must already have the same degree of privilege that you require in order to do any damage.
(By this classification of a hole, Solaris, Linux and the BSDs are all ‘vulnerable’).
Reply
Matt said 7:54PM on 2-04-2007
Vi this, emacs that...us poor pico slackers can't get a break, en ? ;-)
Reply
michel said 8:35PM on 2-04-2007
do NOT "close" inputmanagers
I use it from Nextstep era and I love it.
just put security in Mail, in Login, in Safari, in whatever to prevent anything beyond ME to put some code in ~/Library/InputManagers
you should also think every cocoa applications use a runtime with introspection and class loaders. yes you could put in there some Bad Bad ugly bad software stuff..
in ~/Library/codecs too, to crash quicktime
in fact, if someone got in the computer with yours privileges you're dead. whatever you "close", it will open
so : do NOT DARE to remove theses functionnalities , or I go back to linux so fast you will not see my blaze.
just : continue on the good work to keep os X secure.
people : do not never "install" or put files in weird directories if you do not have _absolute_ trust.
never and never.
Reply
sm2sj said 1:05AM on 2-05-2007
The source code is available....you can check yourself for some malicious code.
Ah, there was a nice day when people trusted each other.
Reply
Cheston said 10:05AM on 2-05-2007
All security concerns aside this is amazing, I am a huge vi user and this could make my life so much better.
Reply
Fred Blasdel said 4:15PM on 2-05-2007
This implements such a simplistic subset of functionality as to be pointless. Everything you can use it for has an easy and obvious existing shortcut without the pointless modality. All it’s doing is changing the existing keybindings when you enter command mode. It implements no new functionality.
This isn’t even a ghost’s shadow of vi.
Reply
Matt O'Brien said 10:38AM on 3-29-2007
you vi user out there might also want to check out viAllOver, http://www.dabble.org/viallover/. does the same thing as the above mentioned, just a little differently. just released a new version witch adds find, line find, undo, and visual mode to name a few. quite handy, u use it everyday. enjoy.
Reply