nvi2 VS quickjs

nvi2 [0]: I got to like the simplicity of nvi when installing Void Linux on my laptop, but it had some annoying bugs that made me switch to nvi2. In general, it feels like `good' software; powerful enough by virtue of being a 1:1 vi clone with a few crucial improvements (multibyte, multi-undo, etc.), but simple enough to hack on if I miss some feature. Though no autocomplete means it's not suitable for more verbose languages, like Java.

QuickJS [1]: qjscalc is my go-to scientific calculator, and qjs my go-to JavaScript implementation for simple programs. The C interface is very nice to use, too. All in all, it feels very much like a "complete" engine, even if not quite as fast as one with JIT.

w3m [2]: Somewhat lacking as a web browser, but a very good pager. Would take it over less any day. Also has the best table display of any text-mode browser, supports inline images, and is rather extensible.

Wine [3]: It's gotten so good that I no longer have to dual boot Windows. Still not perfect, but definitely on my list of "good software".

[0]: https://github.com/lichray/nvi2

[1]: https://bellard.org/quickjs/

[2]: https://github.com/tats/w3m

[3]: https://www.winehq.org/

Don't confuse OpenVi/OpenBSD-vi, nvi1, and nvi2. These are all different programs that share the same heritage.

OpenVi is derived from OpenBSD vi, which derives from nvi version 1.79, released in 1996. There has been 25+ years of independent development as part of the OpenBSD base system and has diverged greatly in that time, with the development going in a different direction.

Nvi1, currently on version 1.8x, is maintained at https://repo.or.cz/nvi.git - I believe the latest version of this editor does have multibyte support, but this is not the OpenVi/OpenBSD version of the editor.

Nvi2 shares heritage as well but also, quite far removed from the original code, is actively maintained at https://github.com/lichray/nvi2 and also includes multibyte support.

(IIRC) the multibyte support in both Nvi1 and Nvi2 derives from nvi-m17n, developed as part of the KAME project by the late itojun - http://www.itojun.org/itojun.html ... the last update to nvi-m17n was about 3 years ago, and is available at https://cgit.freebsd.org/ports/tree/editors/nvi-m17n/files

Currently, optimizing for size using link-time garbage collection with GCC 11.2 on an x86_64 glibc Linux system gives a good idea of the changes over time and the different direction these editors have taken. OpenVi is also simplified in structure and does not have the three levels of abstraction of Nvi 1.8x - there is no library interface layer.

For OpenVi, the compiled binary is 280K, and for Nvi1 (nvi-1.81.6-45-g864873d3) the compiled binary is 528K (36K for vi, 528K for libvi).

OpenVi has a single configuration standard with no dependencies beyond curses.

Nvi1 has many options beyond trace/debug ("widechar" "gtk" "motif" "threads" "perl" "tcl" "db3/4" "internal-re") - so at least 255 different build variations are possible.

(I've not yet built Nvi2 myself on Linux so I can provide an actually fair comparison yet, but I will, and I'll summarize the data in an FAQ section of the README)

Nvi1 (https://repo.or.cz/nvi.git) looks like:

It uses service workers to cache static files, by the time it opens up you already free to be offline, try toggle network switch to verify.

It has download link at bottom of the about page ([accdoo.app/about]) which you could then self host it by dropping into any static hosting services.

btw, the Pi feature was by-product from the original App but I won't expand here, if you'd like to learn more, please checkout its two Show HN post (39115559 and 39138957) previously.

[wiki]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chudnovsky_algorithm

[quickjs/pi]: https://bellard.org/quickjs/pi.html

[pi_bigint.js]: https://github.com/bellard/quickjs/blob/master/examples/pi_b...

[accdoo.app/about]: https://accdoo.app/about#releases

[39115559]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39115559

[39138957]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39138957

Just go with quickjs, I think this is what you are looking for.

https://bellard.org/quickjs/

QuickJS

I think QuickJS, written in C, is a user-"friendly" starting point for implementing ECMA-262. Documentation QuickJS Javascript Engine.

There is a readme on the project's main page: https://bellard.org/quickjs/

The newsworthy bit here is that the activity seemed to have stalled for year or two and now Fabrice pushed a few fixes and made a new release.

Just to demonstrate GitHub repositories do not necessarily reflect upon a programmers' body of work, Fabrice Bellard has one (1) repository published on GitHub, quickjs. Compare the list of work on Bellard's home page https://bellard.org/.

> I am still confused, it's a JavaScript runtime intended to be deployed to JavaScript/Wasm runtimes?

Seemingly.

> Why does a JavaScript runtime need a JavaScript runtime?

Because if you want to create a Service Worker server for CloudFlare Workers and other JavaScript/Wasm runtimes, that's the only option for doing that AFAIK.

FWIW, this isn't a new idea. For example, Figma uses QuickJS (https://bellard.org/quickjs/) for their plug-in runtime: https://www.figma.com/blog/an-update-on-plugin-security/