Re: Emacs Culture?


Subject: Re: Emacs Culture?
From: John Canning (john@pcc.com )
Date: Fri Jun 22 2001 - 22:33:36 MDT


On Fri Jun 22 10:06:10 2001 Ted Goranson wrote:
>
> >Real Men Use vi.
> >
> >...let the flames begin....<g>
>
> Okay, I'll bite. I know there'll be lot's of yelling, but before
> that, can you advise a newbee on just why vi over emacs?

    I can't really advise you, but maybe my story will help you out.

    Eighteen years ago, when I first got started with Unix, I played
    around with emacs and vi. emacs is very flexible, powerful, and
    programable through LISP. It has always been more advanced than
    vi. For example, it offered split screens long before vim was even
    a thought.
    
    While emacs was and is really cool, I prefered the simplicity of vi
    at the time. While I enjoyed programming in LISP, it was like
    thinking backwards to me. Since I was in the middle of a big C
    project, this was not a good idea. Once my fingers learned the key
    strokes for vi, I was hooked/stuck.

    Today, I use the Mac, Linux, AIX, Mac OS X, etc. On the Mac I
    use and enjoy BBEdit, but really wish it paid attention to vi
    commands... In a native Unix environment, I can write and move
    text and code around faster than anyone with a mouse in any other
    editor. But, this is because I know vi inside and out, not because
    it's better than emacs or BBEdit.

    Good luck!



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