---
.title = "Editor",
.date = @date("2025-10-19T00:00:00"),
.author = "Igor Támara",
.layout = "tutorial.shtml",
.draft = false,
.custom = { .githubedit = "https://github.com/neurocyte/flow-website/tree/master/content/docs/architecture/editor.md"},
---

The `editor` coordinates visualization and modification of
buffer contents, multiple cursors, selections and marks.

To get the most of this section, it's recommended to have
read the [architecture briefing](/docs/architecture), about
[commands](/docs/architecture/command) and
[keybinds](/docs/architecture/keybind).

## Some concepts

The `primary Cursor` is presented always in the `Editor`,
signaling the part of the `Buffer` that can be modified and
manipulated as you see it. It scrolls on the current visible
portion of the buffer.

Other cursors can be in the `View` or in regions outside the
current view, depending on the size of both the buffer and
the editor view.

A `Selection` has two cursors that are not visible, they mark
the begin and the end of the selection, and CurSels are actually
what allow to have the concept of a cursor with a selection. A
`Cursel` has a cursor and optionally a Selection.

Most of editor operations act on the set of CurSels, the Primary
Cursor is in fact a CurSel, as opposed to what we previously
mentioned.

To complete the editor scenario, `Marks` have the potential
to become selections, and behind the scenes CurSels and are
evident to the eye when in search mode, they are seen as
the primary cursor is positioned over an occurrence with a
different color according to the theme.

The Editor will be acting on Buffer.Root which is the root of
the tree representing the document that is being edited. The API
of the Buffer.Root is stable and offers the necessary to insert,
delete and move along the buffer, knowing if the end, the
beginning has been reached when interacting with a Cursor.

## Editor Commands

We mentioned earlier that most of the operations work on all
the cursors and selections, there are various commands that
will use functions that iterate over cursors, selections, cursels
or marks. Given said this, we will be using functions as
parameters in most of the situations. Functional programming
languages are popular in these scenarios, to name a prominent
one, Emacs and emacs lisp.

If the buffer is not to be modified, we will be using `` to
get the root of it to find and position the cursors. While
we will use `` when the buffer is to be modified.

## Moving



## Selections

## Modifying the buffer


[Discord](https://discord.com/invite/4wvteUPphx) and
[Github issues](https://github.com/neurocyte/flow/issues) are the
main channels to do so.