[geeks] vi vs. emacs - rational discussion

[Brian Dunbar]

On Apr 5, 2004, at 9:48 AM, David L Kindred (Dave) wrote:

>>>>>> "Bill" == Bill Bradford <mrbill at mrbill.net> writes:
>
>     Bill> I learned vi when I first touched a unix box.  I now use VIM,
>     Bill> solely for color syntax highlighting.
>
>     Bill> Why (if any reasons), should I consider learning Emacs?
>
> Actually they are different beasts.  Comparing vi to emacs is akin to
> comparing apples to supermarkets.
>
> Whereas vi is pretty much just an editor, emacs is a complete
> environment.  For software development I believe the way emacs couples
> with the compilers, assemblers, debuggers, and other tools is in direct
> competition to any of the high-priced Integrated Development
> Environments (IDEs) on the market.

Speaking only for myself - I don't code (excepting scripts), but I do 
admin 100+ boxes in a mixed Unix/Win32 environment.  What 
tools/techniques are hidden within emacs that can make my life easier?

Learning anything is a worthy ideal but I need a _goal_ to prod me up 
the learning curve.

~brian