Add "Why Emacs?" section to intro, and restructure
This commit is contained in:
TEC
parent
21721be483
commit
bc1bff3355
154
config.org
154
config.org
|
|
@ -46,6 +46,134 @@ settled by the day. This is my config, and also a cautionary tale (just replace
|
|||
|
||||
[[xkcd:456]]
|
||||
|
||||
** Why Emacs?
|
||||
# https://github.com/esac-io/eos
|
||||
# https://github.com/remacs/remacs
|
||||
# https://www.eigenbahn.com/2020/01/12/emacs-is-no-editor
|
||||
|
||||
Emacs is not a text editor, this is a common misnomer. It is far more apt to
|
||||
describe Emacs as Lisp machine providing a generic user-centric text
|
||||
manipulation environment.
|
||||
In simpler terms one can think of Emacs as a platform for text-related
|
||||
applications. It's a vague and generic definition because Emacs itself is
|
||||
generic.
|
||||
|
||||
Good with text. How far does that go? A lot further than one initially thinks:
|
||||
+ [[https://orgmode.org/][Task planning]]
|
||||
+ [[https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/emacs/Dired.html][File management]]
|
||||
+ [[https://github.com/akermu/emacs-libvterm][Terminal emulation]]
|
||||
+ [[https://www.djcbsoftware.nl/code/mu/mu4e.html][Email client]]
|
||||
+ [[https://www.gnu.org/software/tramp/][Remote server tool]]
|
||||
+ [[https://magit.vc/][Git frontend]]
|
||||
+ Web [[https://github.com/pashky/restclient.el][client]]/[[https://github.com/skeeto/emacs-web-server][server]]
|
||||
+ and more...
|
||||
|
||||
Ideally, one may use Emacs as /the/ interface to perform =input → transform →
|
||||
output= cycles, i.e. form a bridge between the human mind and information
|
||||
manipulation.
|
||||
|
||||
*** The enveloping editor
|
||||
Emacs allows one to do more in one place than any other application. Why is this
|
||||
good?
|
||||
+ Enables one to complete tasks with a consistent, standard set of keybindings,
|
||||
GUI and editing methods --- learn once, use everywhere
|
||||
+ Reduced context-switching
|
||||
+ Compressing the stages of a project --- a more centralised workflow can progress
|
||||
with greater ease
|
||||
+ Integration between tasks previously relegated to different applications, but
|
||||
with a common subject --- e.g. linking to an email in a to-do list
|
||||
|
||||
*** Some notably unique features
|
||||
+ Recursive editing
|
||||
+ Completely introspectable, with pervasive docstrings
|
||||
+ Mutable environment, which can be incrementally modified
|
||||
+ Functionality without applications
|
||||
+ Client-server seperation allows for a daemon, giving near-instant perceived
|
||||
startup time.
|
||||
|
||||
*** Issues
|
||||
+ Emacs has irritating quirks
|
||||
+ Some aspects are showing their age (naming conventions, APIs)
|
||||
+ Emacs is ([[https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/elisp/Threads.html][mostly]]) single-threaded, meaning that when something holds that
|
||||
thread up the whole application freezes
|
||||
+ A few other nuisances
|
||||
|
||||
*** Teach a man to fish...
|
||||
#+BEGIN_QUOTE
|
||||
Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed
|
||||
him for a lifetime. --- Anne Isabella
|
||||
#+END_QUOTE
|
||||
|
||||
Most popular editors have a simple and pretty [[https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/getstarted/settings][settings interface]], filled with
|
||||
check-boxes, selects, and the occasional text-box. This makes it easy for the
|
||||
user to pick between common desirable behaviours. To me this is now like /giving
|
||||
a man a fish/.
|
||||
|
||||
What if you want one of those 'check-box' settings to be only on in certain
|
||||
conditions? Some editors have workspace settings, but that requires you to
|
||||
manually set the value for /every single instance/. Urgh, [[https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/issues/93153][what]] [[https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/issues/93628][a]] [[https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/issues/5595][pain]].
|
||||
|
||||
What if you could set the value of that 'check-box' setting to be the result of
|
||||
an arbitrary expression evaluated for each file? This is where an editor like
|
||||
Emacs comes in.
|
||||
Configuration for Emacs isn't a list of settings in JSON etc. it's *an executable
|
||||
program which modifies the behaviour of the editor to suit your liking*.
|
||||
This is 'teaching a man to fish'.
|
||||
|
||||
Emacs is built in the same language you configure it in (Emacs [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisp_(programming_language)][Lisp]], or [[https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/eintr/][elisp]]).
|
||||
It comes with a broad array of useful functions for text-editing, and Doom adds
|
||||
a few handy little convenience functions.
|
||||
|
||||
Want to add a keybinding to delete the previous line? It's as easy as
|
||||
#+NAME: Keybinding to delete the previous line
|
||||
#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp :tangle no
|
||||
(map! "C-d"
|
||||
(cmd! (previous-line)
|
||||
(kill-line)
|
||||
(forward-line)))
|
||||
#+END_SRC
|
||||
|
||||
How about another example, say you want to be presented with a list of currently
|
||||
open /buffers/ (think files, almost) when you split the window. It's as simple as
|
||||
#+NAME: Prompt for buffer after split
|
||||
#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp :tangle no
|
||||
(defadvice! prompt-for-buffer (&rest _)
|
||||
:after 'window-split (switch-to-buffer))
|
||||
#+END_SRC
|
||||
|
||||
Want to test it out? You don't need to save and restart, you can just /evaluate
|
||||
the expression/ within your current Emacs instance and try it immediately! This
|
||||
editor is, after all, a Lisp interpreter.
|
||||
|
||||
Want to tweak the behaviour? Just re-evaluate your new version --- it's a
|
||||
super-tight iteration loop.
|
||||
|
||||
** Editor comparison
|
||||
|
||||
[[xkcd:378]]
|
||||
|
||||
Over the years I have tried out (spent at least a year using as my primary
|
||||
editor) the following applications
|
||||
- Python IDLE
|
||||
- Komodo Edit
|
||||
- Brackets
|
||||
- ;VSCode
|
||||
- and now, Emacs
|
||||
|
||||
I have attempted to quantify aspects of my impressions of them below.
|
||||
|
||||
#+PLOT: transpose:yes type:radar min:0 max:4 ticks:4 file:"misc/editor-comparison.png"
|
||||
| Editor | Extensibility | Ecosystem | Ease of Use | Comfort | Completion | Performance |
|
||||
|-------------+---------------+-----------+-------------+---------+------------+-------------|
|
||||
| IDLE | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
|
||||
| ;VSCode | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3.5 | 4 | 3 |
|
||||
| Brackets | 2.5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2.5 | 2 |
|
||||
| Emacs | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3.5 | 3 |
|
||||
| Komodo Edit | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
|
||||
|
||||
#+attr_html: :class invertible :alt Radar chart comparing my thoughts on a few editors.
|
||||
[[https://tecosaur.com/lfs/emacs-config/editor-comparison.png]]
|
||||
|
||||
** Notes for the unwary adventurer
|
||||
If you like the look of this, that's marvellous, and I'm really happy that I've
|
||||
made something which you may find interesting, however:
|
||||
|
|
@ -71,6 +199,7 @@ this whole thing is a hack job? If you can suggest any improvements, please do
|
|||
so, no matter how much criticism you include I'll appreciate it :)
|
||||
|
||||
[[xkcd:1513]]
|
||||
|
||||
*** Extra Requirements
|
||||
The lovely ~doom doctor~ is good at diagnosing most missing things, but here are a
|
||||
few extras.
|
||||
|
|
@ -96,6 +225,7 @@ cargo install git-delta
|
|||
#+BEGIN_SRC shell :eval no
|
||||
cargo install cargo-script
|
||||
#+END_SRC
|
||||
|
||||
** Current Issues
|
||||
*** Magit push in daemon
|
||||
Quite often trying to push to a remote in the Emacs daemon produces as error like this:
|
||||
|
|
@ -119,31 +249,7 @@ change the action to open the Emacs daemon, but it should be possible.
|
|||
This would probably involve hooking into the daemon's modeline update function
|
||||
to write to a temporary file, and having a file watcher started in other Emacs
|
||||
instances, in a similar manner to [[*Rebuild mail index while using mu4e][Rebuild mail index while using mu4e]].
|
||||
** Editor comparison
|
||||
|
||||
[[xkcd:378]]
|
||||
|
||||
Over the years I have tried out (spent at least a year using as my primary
|
||||
editor) the following applications
|
||||
- Python IDLE
|
||||
- Komodo Edit
|
||||
- Brackets
|
||||
- VSCode
|
||||
- and now, Emacs
|
||||
|
||||
I have attempted to quantify aspects of my impressions of them below.
|
||||
|
||||
#+PLOT: transpose:yes type:radar min:0 max:4 ticks:4 file:"misc/editor-comparison.png"
|
||||
| Editor | Extensibility | Ecosystem | Ease of Use | Comfort | Completion | Performance |
|
||||
|-------------+---------------+-----------+-------------+---------+------------+-------------|
|
||||
| IDLE | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
|
||||
| VSCode | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3.5 | 4 | 3 |
|
||||
| Brackets | 2.5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2.5 | 2 |
|
||||
| Emacs | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3.5 | 3 |
|
||||
| Komodo Edit | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
|
||||
|
||||
#+attr_html: :class invertible :alt Radar chart comparing my thoughts on a few editors.
|
||||
[[https://tecosaur.com/lfs/emacs-config/editor-comparison.png]]
|
||||
* Rudimentary configuration
|
||||
Make this file run (slightly) faster with lexical binding (see [[https://nullprogram.com/blog/2016/12/22/][this blog post]]
|
||||
for more info).
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
Loading…
Reference in New Issue