# To emacs Or Not...



## Majorix (Sep 24, 2012)

Not sure if this is the correct forum.

So I am learning emacs for use in the classes at the college.

One thing got me though: Since emacs is like "the editor" for GNU, is it considered good using this editor on FreeBSD? Both morally and physically (support for it, stability, updates).

Thanks!


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## SirDice (Sep 24, 2012)

Majorix said:
			
		

> One thing got me though: Since emacs is like "the editor" for GNU, is it considered good using this editor on FreeBSD? Both morally and physically (support for it, stability, updates).


You're setting yourself up for a vi vs. emacs flamewar.

Use what ever you like.


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## Majorix (Sep 24, 2012)

No I wasn't flame-baiting, sorry. I have not even mentioned vi and don't want it mentioned. I only asked about emacs.


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## graudeejs (Sep 24, 2012)

Majorix said:
			
		

> Not sure if this is the correct forum.
> 
> So I am learning emacs for use in the classes at the college.
> 
> ...



What's the difference what do you use for editing as long as it makes you happy (and productive)?


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## Uniballer (Sep 24, 2012)

I use it and like it.


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## jrm@ (Sep 24, 2012)

With some minor exceptions, Emacs works equally well on FreeBSD as it does on GNU/Linux.  Sometimes the port lags a bit behind the official releases.


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## drhowarddrfine (Sep 24, 2012)

I don't know anybody who wouldn't use emacs if they knew how to use it but the only problem is the investment in time to learn it which is why vi/vim exists. Emacs has a far longer learning curve because there is just so much it can do that it takes a longer time to learn it enough to where you get all its advantages. That's why more people stick to vi/vim, and it might be the only reason, but that's not a bad thing.


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## Majorix (Sep 24, 2012)

I am working with my emacs now. Finished the tutorial, made some enhancements/tweaks. So fun this is!


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## UNIXgod (Sep 25, 2012)

ed, ex, vi and emacs came from TECO =)

DMR: An incomplete history of the QED Text Editor 
ftp://cm.bell-labs.com/who/dmr/qed.html

RMS on emacs and lisp:
https://www.gnu.org/gnu/rms-lisp.html

~


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## UNIXgod (Sep 25, 2012)

Majorix said:
			
		

> I am working with my emacs now. Finished the tutorial, made some enhancements/tweaks. So fun this is!



I wanted to add. As you begin to gain some skills in languages and shell you'll begin to gain what is called flow. Not universal to using either vi or emacs but how you work with the tools which you adopt over time to develop your own software.

There is not a "right" choice. Only your preference on evaluation. Anything else is just bikeshedding.

The concept of flow can be seen in artisans who may paint or musicians who can improvise.

Here is a technical overview:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)

On a side note. I have begun to study scheme, a lisp dialect, from the purple wizard book SICP.

Though I considered learning emacs in conjunct with the language I decided that I have already hit a proper `flow` after 12+ years of using vi and vim. I leave my shell bindings at default which is emacs. It is funny when you drop down into ex from vi and the cursor control is defaulted to emacs bindings. When a religious debate ever occurs you can always point out that the deeper you get into the guts of vi and it's core you'll find, well at least the bindings of... emacs =)


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## kr651129 (Sep 27, 2012)

SirDice said:
			
		

> You're setting yourself up for a vi vs. emacs flamewar.
> 
> Use what ever you like.









sirdice means use vi 


(sorry had to do it)


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## throAU (Sep 27, 2012)

I would recommend using whichever editor you are comfortable with that is included in the base install.

Because one day, you'll need to fix something that needs you to edit a file manually on a machine that won't have emacs or some other editor on it.

Well, if you're a unix "admin" as opposed to a unix user, you will anyway.  If you don't or aren't planning to do unix admin as a day job, use whatever you like.


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## Uniballer (Sep 27, 2012)

I know enough about vi to get the system configured far enough that I can install emacs.  On FreeBSD, ee is an OK option for simple configuration changes.


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## SirDice (Sep 27, 2012)

throAU said:
			
		

> Because one day, you'll need to fix something that needs you to edit a file manually on a machine that won't have emacs or some other editor on it.


Yep, for this reason alone it's helpful if you know a few basic vi(1) commands. Vi is nearly universally available. I haven't worked on a unix(-like) system that didn't have it. Emacs or any other editor is usually a hit or miss, sometimes it's there, most of the time it isn't.


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