[Fwd: [SC.LUG] Meeting

[robert]

I said I'd send out a quick version of my notes from last night so here it
is!

- Probably easiest to grow into emacs - I started using it 13+ yrs ago so
  I acquired the features as they happened rather than now being
  confronted with the kitch skink++ (maybe I'll leave that!)
  Comes with the distro, but you can also get it via cvs and the latest
  version includes gtk support

- Portable - I use it with Linux and Windows, so I have the same editing
  enviroment at work and home (as well as the same email and news s/w!)
  It runs on most o/s's

- Modes - language sensitive for most languages 

- Big!!!!

- Xemacs - split back in late 80's Xemacs has friendlier package system

- Extensible - you can  write emacs Lisp files to add features

- Interfaces to version control - so I can checkin/out files to RCS,
  CVS,SCCS, SourceFace using the identical emacs commands

- shell-command (in lisp) allows you to do almost anything

- there's a nethack mode.... (and tetris, morse...)

- gnus - usenet and email reader www.gnus.org though a version comes with
  it, but I run a later version!

- vm (http://www.wonderworks.com/vm/) my email reader of choice 

- shell mode - you don't need an [xawe]term!

- even a built in webbrowser(!)

- auto-image-file-mode for displaying images within emacs windows

- dynamic abbreviation (M-/) allows auto completion of long variable names

- ediff - for displaying differences between files/parts of files and
  merging those differences (also works with patches and previous version
  control checkins)

- tramp (and its predecessor ange-ftp) allow editing, copying of files across
  networks - uses rcp/ssh/scp

- pretty colours (M-x global-font-lock-mode)!

- desktop for restarting sessions with _all_ the files you had loaded last
  time, recentf is a lighterweight alternative

- Info (C-h i) for documentation - as long as you like gnuplot!

- isearch (C-s) incremental search

- folding mode (another external, though selective display on which its
  based is built in) for hiding parts of files- you can descend through
  the folds

- M-x compile (and grep) for compiling code/LaTeX/almost anything and then
  stepping through and errors/hits

- www.emacswiki.org for resources

That was about it!

(M- in the above means the esc key and then the next key or the alt at the
same time as ... assuming alt is set up ok - it wasn't last night. C-
control and the following key)

R
-- 
Robert Marshall