[ale] [Slightly OT] Emacs question.

[Jeff Lightner]

Most Linux commands are either clones of or derived from UNIX commands of the same name.   Since UNIX has been around for more than 30 years most of your favorites predate Linux.  I will say that for the most part the features in the Linux versions of commands are broader than those of their UNIX counterparts.  (Of course even the UNIX variants don't always have the same options for the same named commands.)

-----Original Message-----
From: ale-bounces at ale.org [mailto:ale-bounces at ale.org] On Behalf Of Michael B. Trausch
To: ale at ale.org
Sent: Wednesday, October 18, 2006 2:19 PM
To: Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts
Subject: Re: [ale] [Slightly OT] Emacs question.

Bj?rn Gustafsson wrote:
> 
> Not only is Emacs available for other UN*Xes (and other OSes), it 
> actually predates Linux by a number of years.  I first used it on the
> original sparc boxes and some other workstations about 20 years ago,
> and it was already on version 18 at that time.
> 

Hrm.  I knew that it predated Linux (as did most of the GNU utilities),
but I didn't realize that it predated it by that much...

>
> It's the original IDE: in fact, it almost integrates the whole 
> operating system.  :)  The advantage it offers is to provide a single
> unified(-ish) interface to everything you do.  It's not just that
> you can open multiple files in the same address space, you can open a
> shell, a (lame) browser, help system, compiler, debugger, etc, etc.
> 

That's the biggest thing I like -- it is simply the most butt-kicking
programmer's editor I have ever used.  I have not ventured into some of
the other things that people have made Emacs do, including web browsing,
e-mail, and instant messaging, but only because I already had systems in
place for those tasks when I started using Emacs.  If I would have
started using Emacs in 1996 when I started Linux, I very well might use
Emacs for everything -- it would likely save me a ton of memory and let
me use this system without wishing I had money to upgrade the RAM in it...

	-- Mike

-- 
Michael B. Trausch <fd0man at gmail.com> - Jabber: fd0man at livejournal.com

Demand freedom: Use open and free protocols, standards, and software.