ergoemacs-mode VS hydra

It's a tiny tweak that gives something like 1% of the functionality.

The real, useful, working CUA mode for Emacs is here:

https://ergoemacs.github.io/

If you start with framework you might not learn enough to solve problems later, but using it later to simplify your config should be ok. For example ergoemacs http://ergoemacs.github.io/ is a nice way to make Emacs more ergonomic and easier to use(if having problems with default configuration).

For example I use https://github.com/ergoemacs/ergoemacs-mode, with some commands that I have acquired as muscle memory from using Emacs/mg for long. And still I use nano when I need to do small edits to a file. I also do it almost without thinking about it, especially when doing "sudo nano whatever". Mg should be better for me, but nano is engraved into my palms for some reason.

That documentation seems very outdated. The changelog is from 2013 and that function was removed (according to an issue) before 2015.

Xah Lee and friends maintains a mode called ErgoEmacs that implements most of the changes he proposed: https://github.com/ergoemacs/ergoemacs-mode

You can also use Hydra for Emacs.[1] Once I discovered how to configure Hydra, I made it a habit to make one for every new major mode I need to use.

[1] https://github.com/abo-abo/hydra

Have you considered a hydra?

An Emacs specific example: I'm working on a few go projects at the moment and go requires recompilation after changes. Step one was finding auto-recompilers for my projects (I'm using both air and reflex in various projects). Step two was realizing that I spent a lot of time switching to the buffer where the output is printed, so I wrote a little hydra menu to make that easier. Then I found myself having to restart those processes each time I restarted Emacs, so I went digging and found detached to manage the processes. Then I got tired of having to hunt for where the detached output was displayed in my frame so dug into sidebars to manage the windows more effectively.

I think the goal of the hydra package is to provide such functionality.

I would I also encourage anyone who does not want to use modal editing to look into repeat-mode, hydras, and key-chord.

The C-c prefix is designed for you, the user, to use for your nefarious deeds. Some things that may help with both binding and knowing what key does what would be a menu such as hydras or transient menus (which apparently are part of Emacs now so that's new).

For the very same reason, I started to use hydras: https://github.com/abo-abo/hydra - see my config at https://github.com/novoid/dot-emacs/blob/master/config.org

Hydra lets you define mini-modes with limited scope.

general.el also works well with hydra.el. Here's my hydra for window operations - it activates when I press ,w: