On writing a PDF reader

In reading about John von Neumann, I was reminded that I've never found a PDF-reading system that's truly comfortable to me. So I made my own Web-based PDF reader. It is far from perfect, but is already my favorite PDF reader. Notes: There are many fine PDF readers out there, but I've never found one that (i) is very fast, (ii) handles note-taking, bookmarking, and highlighting comfortably, and (iii) makes file navigation easy. I also want keyboard-driven navigation and highlighting, so I implemented a bunch of Vim or Vim-inspired keybindings.1 This is a good example of "home-cooked software" in Maggie Appleton (et al.)'s sense, though with a different emphasis from most of the home-cooked-software crowd. Part of making software for a smaller audience is, of course, being very attentive to that audience. But it also involves not being attentive to other audiences, and also not worrying about regulatory issues that come up only in non-local contexts. A home-cooked meal can have…