ijkl

It was possible to code a small program that draws on the screen (with ijkm [ijkl])in several minutes.

Why would one choose wasd over ijkl if foreign keyboard layouts aren't going to be supported.

Honestly, 'ijkl' and 'hjkl' doesn't seem to make much of a difference to me.

The one advantage of 'ijkl' that I see is that it forms a basis for the quaternions:-).

I would have found taking up 'ijkl' equally awkward, since either case I would have to retrain my muscle memory.

It's just not a problem, because the real arrowkeys on the keyboard are in the arrangement you're used to using on the ijkl keys.

I wrote a windows keyboard hook that users caps lock with ijkl for arrows u->home;->end and space bar fort modal select.

Then in addition to that ijkl is more logical than hjkl.

I'm an Emacs user and yet it's 'ijkl' for me (it's Emacs heresy of course).

It seldom makes sense - why hjkl and not ijkl?

Upsides: - ijkl is easier for users learning vim.

In ijkl, it's middle finger doing up down.

One thing I do is configure my keyboard so that "modifier+{ijkl}" mimicks the inverted T arrows key cluster.

Inverted 'T' arrows on 'ijkl' ("jkl" being, for a touch typist, the default position for already three of four fingers of the right hand).

Note that lately there seem to be a regain in interest in alternate setups and alternate mappings: for example the "SpaceFN" layout uses the space bar as an additional modifier (when it is held down) and ijkl to move the cursor around (once again: ijkl and not vim's hjkl and a strong finger, the thumb, to press the modifier).

Many of us remap the "arrowkeys on the home row" to the standard inverted-T of ijkl (and remap i, for insert left, to h, reach left instead of reaching up), so that both sets of arrowkeys on the keyboard match each other and match their arrangement in every other app we use.