Discussion

Task-oriented vs. Sequence-oriented Filenames

Duane: I think we should use a sequence of files, not a list of things that you can do. So, vim_1.practice, not vim_patterns_5.practice, for example. My reasoning for this is that as a new vim user, most people will not even know what is possible in Vim, so we shouldn’t organize things by what you can do. It’s a master/student relationship, like karate, so by default, we will tell the students what they will be learning. Of course, if they are beyond that stage, then more power to them—they can go ahead and find the files they want or create their own.

Additionally, we might be able to create a helptags-like system that indexes the lessons by task (something to think about for later).

File Naming Scheme

Duane: I think we should combine the numbers and colors idea for levels. So for example, we could have 6 practice files:

• vim_kata_1_white.practice
• vim_kata_2_yellow.practice
• vim_kata_3_green.practice
• vim_kata_4_blue.practice
• vim_kata_5_red.practice
• vim_kata_6_black.practice

My reasoning here is that some people (including myself at first) do not know the order of the “belt colors” and so it would be confusing at first (confusion should be minimized). But I also really like the idea of having a kind of “story” going here… we could introduce each file with a little pat on the back and “Congrats, you made it to a vim kata blue belt!” or something like that. A light narrative always helps a beginner.

Folding

Duane: I think we should have the answers folded by default, but none of the questions. The reason for folding the answers is obvious (we don’t want to give the answer away since it defeats the purpose). The reason for NOT folding the questions, however, is less obvious. Basically, I think users will be more involved in the narrative if the exercises are visible and open. A closed fold makes it feel like you have to take an extra step to get the “master” (vim kata practice file) to speak to the “student” (vim user).