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emacs vs vs.net
From: |
Gian Uberto Lauri |
Subject: |
emacs vs vs.net |
Date: |
Wed, 29 Oct 2003 09:56:36 +0100 |
>>>>> "WS" == William Shieh <gwshieh@hotmail.com> writes:
WS> hi,
WS> i'm very new to email and the system i'm using most of the time is win32.
WS> could someone give me some example why emacs is so powerful?
I think I'll write a speech sooner or later about this.
You use Win32, true ?
Each time you have to work on a different type of source (or text)
Windows people tends to use a different tool. Each tool does one
thing. Each tool has its own interface (CUA -common user access, a
standard for user interfaces - can do little, even between MS Visual C
ide and MS Visual Basic ide differences are heavy). All the tool
ignore the others.
And finally, even if you have some hook to extend the tool the process
is anything but easy.
CUA itself offers a quite minimal set of operation. Move of one
character, word or line. Copy a region or paste.
Emacs has a much richer set of commands. Cut&Paste is not more
difficult than with CUA interface even if the keystrokes can be
different.
And you have paragraph oriented moving and selecting (for text),
function oriented moving and selecting (for programs)
But while Emacs can get CUA compliant (even if CUA standard is much
younger than Emacs) while a CUA editor can't get more commands than
those shipped within.
Emacs power comes from being a programmable editor. Each time you
press a key there's a function invoked under the hood.
Therefore, for each new kind of source there'll be some new code (a
mode) that will deal with that source with indentation, highligting
and even more: java oriented JDEE can do such things like creating the
skeletons of the functions to implement an interface, or insert the
import statement for a certain class whose name is under the cursor.
And another thing.
Emacs is large and Emacs become the editor of choice even for such
things like writing usenet posts and e-mail messages, it's editing
command are very powerful (you can transpose two character or two
words with a simple keystroke). But it goes a litte further. It
_reads_ usenet and e-mail, so that you have not to use two different
programs.
Emacs reads and writes files on remote machines using either ftp or
ssh.
Emacs can be a www browser. One of the few friendly with blind people.
Tell the same for Internet Exploder that sometimes is unfriendly with
the most skilled user :)
/\ ___
/___/\__|_|\_|__|___Gian Uberto Lauri_____________________
//--\ | | \| | Integralista GNUslamico e fancazzista
\/