Are questions about `bvi` on-topic?

Question

bvi is a vi-like hex editor. Are questions about bvi on-topic?

1. It's an editor
2. I'm not sure how compatible it is, but AFAIK it's mostly compatible with vi
3. It's a standalone program

So it seems to meet the criteria; but it's also quite different ... Should we make this an exception to the rule?

Also see: What is considered to be vi?

Answer 1

I would say yes. The site says, "If you are familiar with vi, just start the editor and begin to edit!" This, to me, implies that the program is "vi-like" enough that, as a user, I'd expect to find usable information about bvi by learning more about vi.

That said, perhaps I'm thinking this way because my attitude toward the scope of "vi-knowledge" is apparently more along the lines of "vi is (or at least represents) a user interface that has been adopted for many programs, some of them text editors" than "vi is an old text editor." Carpetsmoker's answer to the "What is considered to be vi" question explicitly stated that only text-editors are on-topic. My impulse is to disagree, but I have no principled reason for doing so; it's just a knee-jerk reaction.

Answer 2

I would say no.

• It's an editor, but you can't edit text with it. It's not a text editor.
• It's roughly compatible, but some things are rather different (for example, ranges work on bytes, not lines). I would say it's not compatible enough.