WordGrinder, Word Processor

An interesting successor to bygone document editors.

At first I was rather underwhelmed by my experiment with WordGrinder; however, after digging a bit deeper, I found WordGrinder to possess a certain charm.

I don’t see myself switching over to it in any dedicated sense but it’s really not bad. The main problem I face in converting over to WordGrinder is that I’ve already learned Vim, and I am forced to compare the two. While there is admittedly little competition in the terminal-based-word-processor space, what competition there is happens to be quite stiff.

Although apps like Vim and Emacs are not true word processors they are capable of performing the same function[¹]. WordGrinder is more “word processor–like” and may be easier to transition to for those familiar with software like Microsoft Word, Word Perfect, and other such Word* applications. When confronted with a properly configured Vim or Emacs instance WordGrinder does not really pose a challenge, but to the uninitiated, WordGrinder presents a more accessible terminal-based writing environment. That seems to be its winning pitch: install it and start writing. It’s streamlined and distraction-free.

The learning curve is relatively minimal; especially when compared to the aforementioned titans of text editing — Vim and Emacs —…