“In the last Linux editor article, Easing Into Editors: vim, we
took a look at some of the basics of using one of the “standard”
text editors, vim, that is available by default on most Linux/Unix
systems. We started off by discussing the fact that a lot of the
work done in Linux is done in an editor of some sort. This makes it
imperative that users jump into learning how to use those editors
with both feet. We also learned that, despite appearances, vim is
relatively straightforward, and after some practice, becomes quite
easy to use while remaining a very powerful text editor. Working
with text files is its sole job, and it does it very well.”
“In this article, we are going to be discussing the emacs
editor. While we learned that the vim editor is primarily concerned
with unadorned text files, the emacs editor is capable of a lot
more than simple text file editing. Emacs can do virtually
anything that you would want to do on a computer without having
launch a separate program (I am sure that someone has even
customized a “butter your toast” meta-function). It is that
powerful! It can check, display, and manage your email, and keep
you up to date on the latest network newsgroup postings. You
can also use it to issue commands to the command shell, compile and
debug programs, and play games without ever having to leave the
editor’s workspace.”
“Because of all of this functionality and versatility, mastering
the emacs editor can be akin to mastering calculus or trigonometry.
It is not impossible, but it can take a lot of time and trial and
error. However, if in the end, you want something that can do it
all (maybe you want to slip the surly bonds of straight text
editing), then emacs is just what you ordered.”