Re: Vim Help on IME

On 26/07/10 21:50, Sean wrote:
> Hi Tony,
>
> Everything from your message are clear except the following:
>
>> To input multibyte characters *by means of an Input Method* on Windows,
>> you have to use an Input Method Editor (IME). (etc.)
>
> As a matter of fact, I can take VimIM as one "Input Method". I am on
> Windows, and I can input multibyte characters (Chinese in my case)
> without using the system IME on Windows. I even know some VimIM users
> can type as many as 100 Chinese per minute, making VimIM qualified as
> one full-fledged IM.
>
> How about this statement?
> To input multibyte characters on Windows, you can use Input Method
> Editor (IME).
>
> Also, it looks like the term "IME" is only used in MS Windows, after
> reading
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Input_Method_Editor
>
> My whole point is that we do have choice and we should avoid using
> "have to" ...
>
> Sean
>

Yes, IIUC Windows calls it an "Input Method Editor" or IME (and WinXP
and later include a "Global IME" even in non-CJK-localized versions)
while the equivalent software item for Unix-like systems is called an "X
Input Method" or XIM and (in Vim) is a different feature: a Windows user
would typically see "+multi_byte_ime/dyn" as one item in his ":version"
listing while I (a Linux user) see "+multi_byte" and "+xim" as two
distinct items.

I think the guy who wrote that help paragraph may have wanted to say "In
order to input multibyte characters not present on your keyboard to most
Windows applications, you must use an IME. But when the IME is active,
it handles _all_ your keyboard input, so to use it with Vim it has to be
switched on for Insert mode (to type, e.g., Asian text) and off for
Normal mode (e.g. to move about with hjkl). The +multi_byte_ime feature
handles this. [...]" IOW the "must" does not necessarily apply to Vim.

I still believe that that whole help section would deserve rewriting by
someone not only knowing the ins and outs of input methods, but also
speaking English "like a native".

Best regards,
Tony.
--
"Two sure ways to tell a sexy male; the first is, he has a bad memory.
I forget the second."

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