Mail Archives: djgpp/1997/08/05/18:00:47
Orlando Andico wrote:
>
> On 1 Aug 1997, Paul Derbyshire wrote:
> [much crap about Emacs deleted]
[and flame deleted as well]
Let me throw my two cents in here in a non-flame fashion, however well
you put it in your reply to Paul. :)
I use Emacs for several reasons that have only become stronger the more
I come to know it. First and foremost is the support for unlimited
numbers of buffers open simultaneously; I set up a batch file for each
of my large projects that automatically loads all necessary files into
Emacs with a single command. Actually, being the automation nut that I
am, I made the batch file generic, placed it in my PATH, and now use
only a list file for each project that specifies the files to load.
Second must be the editing modes. In no other editor that I am aware of
can you work on C code, Makefiles, text, and assembly _all at the same
time_. Nor can you have dynamic color syntax highlighting customized
for each mode, as well as distinct editing commands that you can
customize.
Third must be the online compilation. I can write my makefile in a
buffer right along with the C code, save it, type M-c compile, and a few
seconds later have the entire output from the compilation session
sitting in a separate buffer, with errors and warnings highlighted.
With a few more keystrokes, or by clicking on the error, I go straight
to the indicated line in the source file, which is loaded into a buffer
if not present already. I realize that one can do all this with RHIDE
as well, but it's a powerful feature no matter what editor it's in.
Also, the compilation buffer is a separate buffer that can be edited or
saved as necessary.
Fourth must be the customizability. I can change the entire appearance
of the editor with a few keystrokes, and have even written my own
functions in Elisp. Once you get used to it, "there's no going back to
pastes or powders." ;)
To answer the facetious comment about Emacs' consumption of resources,
it is a fairly big memory hog, and uses a fair portion of HD space if
you get the full source and build it yourself. But it's been sitting on
my hard drive for well over a year, and doesn't seem to be growing
spontaneously. Nor does it show any signs of infecting my disks.
Besides, when you use an operating system like Windows, where each new
program adds its own set of DLLs to the system folder, you don't have
any cause to complain about Emacs growing.
I like Emacs a great deal. Whether or not it's added anything to my
worth as a programmer, it certainly hasn't hurt.
--
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