nearing completion of cli renessance.

content/posts/clirenaissance/index.md

@@ -80,9 +80,9 @@ ls specifically can trace its history to 1961
 -->
 
 Take a look at this [table](#appendix-the-tools) at the bottom of the page.
-Ill wait.
+I'll wait.
 Notice the relative scarcity between ~1995 and ~2015?
-Id like to talk about a trend Ive seen these past few years,
+Id like to talk about a trend I've seen these past few years,
 where people are rewriting and rethinking staples of the command line interface,
 why I think this trend might be happening,
 and why I think this trend is a good thing.
@@ -214,7 +214,7 @@ but its an extremely usable IDE out of the box thanks to having all of its featu
 
 ### Concise and discoverable documentation
 
-In my nvim config, I use [which-key](https://github.com/folke/which-key.nvim),
+In my Nvim config, I use [which-key](https://github.com/folke/which-key.nvim),
 a plugin that displays available keybindings as you type.
 I've been using vim for almost a decade, including a long time without which-key,
 so its not like I never learned the keybindings, but I still find which-key useful.
@@ -225,7 +225,7 @@ Naturally, when you go months without using certain parts of a program, you tend
 Which-key solves that handily, by offering quick, non-intrusive reminders of what is available.
 Here's what my which-key config looks like:
 
-![Which-key.nvim](nvim_which_key.png)
+![Which-key.nvim, showing contextual key hints](nvim_which_key.png)
 
 Now, which-key and its like have been around for a while,
 but other TUI programs have integrated contextual hints without the need for a plugin.
@@ -236,15 +236,16 @@ The two that I am aware of are zellij and helix.
 Helix both has autocompletion for its built in command line and a contextual hint that appears when you press the first key in a multi key combo.
 This drastically helps both new and experienced users learn and remember keybinds without making the editor any less powerful.
 
+![Zellij's hint bar](zellij_hints.png)
+
 Zellij has a bottom bar displaying keybindings available in the current mode.
 This has proven invaluable for me, as I don't use a terminal multiplexer much
 (On GUI systems, I use the window manager for managing multiple terminals), and as such tend to forget the keybinds.
-
-<!-- look at zellij and helix and their built in keymap cheatsheets-->
+Though it does take up screen space, and a person who used Zellij every day would most likely disable it,
+the hints bar is more than worth it for new and occasional users.
 
 ### Common usecases should be easy
 
-<!-- look at sd, rg, and fd-->
 Where possible, documentation should not even be required for the most common use cases.
 Whenever I want to use `find`, I almost always have to first look at the man page,
 as I don't use it quite often enough to memorize it.
@@ -290,15 +291,34 @@ However, Just was designed from the outset to be a command runner, and as a resu
 it is much easier to pick up the just language and make a quick set of commands that can be run.
 By leaving behind the old tool, a new tool can be made that better fits the tasks that people use the tool for.
 
-## The trendsetter
-
-<!-- did neovim kick this all off?-->
-
 ## The languages
 
-<!-- most of the new tools are written in rust and go.-->
+Now, looking back at that table, one might notice a pattern in the languages used.
+While almost all tools before 2010 or so were written in C,
+the language selection after that are dominated by Rust and Go.
 
-<!-- rusts clap and gos cobra, CLI argument parsing libraries, help with this.-->
+Of course, there are exceptions to the pattern.
+TeX was written in pascal, Neovim kept C as its primary language,
+and there is the occasional new tool written in C or C++.
+But there is still a clear pattern in the language choice for newly written tools.
+
+Now, why do you think that pattern has changed?
+And have these new languages led to an increase in the number of tools being written?
+I think so, and I don't actually think its the languages itself, so much as the libraries surrounding them.
+
+Both Rust and Go have healthy package ecosystems surrounding interaction with the terminal.
+Rust has Clap for argument parsing, TODO for dealing with ANSI escape codes,
+and Ratatui and TODO for making TUIs.
+Go has a similar set of tools, with Cobra for CLI argument parsing, TODO
+
+These libraries combined with the extra ergonomics offered by the languages themselves,
+make the barrier to entry lower,
+allowing for more people to experiment with the design and ergonomics of CLI tools.
+
+## Conclusion
+
+<!-- emphasize that the new tools are not 'better' just because they are new,
+but because they take the old tools and learn what did and did not work for them. -->
 
 ## Appendix: the tools