How Affine classifies editors

Posted 2022-07-13 张驰Terry

Terry Zhang June 27, 2022

There are so many editors today that users find difficult to select. Nevertheless, there is still no clear method to classify them. Many editors share very similar functions and even UIs, whilst only having difference in nuance. Words like "Notion-like editor" may tell you what an editor is like, but does little help for recognizing the editor's position in the market and history. The lack of generic terms is not convinent neither for users nor developers. For a better understanding of the current world of editors, we propose a four-tier classification system which is defined by the editors' capability.

A0 Editor

Due to the low technical threshold, the development time of an A0 Editor‘s is short. The early CKEditor was a standard A0 Editor.

However, A0 Editor lacks room for customization. Using the obsolete document.execCommand, it is difficult to iterate and certainly not a good idea if you are going to build your business on it.

A1 Editor

A1 Editor makes full use of a web browser and meets most business scenarios. Quill, Slate, and other mainstream open-source editors fall into this category.

However, the capability of A1 Editor is limited by the browser. It is difficult for an A1 Editor to excute layout and selection.

A2 Editor

A2 Editor is A1 Editor with selection area or so called blocks that implements one-way data flow. In this case, you will be able to jump out of the limitations of your browser on selection. Affine is currently an A2 Editor.

A3 Editor

A3 Editor has fulfilled all the needs about selection and layout. It is like developing a browser within a browser. Google Docs and Office Online are A3 Editors and probably the only two A3 Editors so far.

Developing A3 Editor is not easy. It is costly in terms of both money and time, and definitely not a good idea for any startup company.

About Terry Zhang

Affine Cofounder & Head of engineer

https://blog.affine.pro/posts/how-affine-classifies-editors