Ask YC: Why is emacs a great editor? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask YC: Why is emacs a great editor?

#81

Post by JoeBlu » Wed, Sep 24, 2008, 8:17 PM UTC

rbanffy wrote: post #73

johnm wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That makes sense if you're using Emacs on a laptop. However, when you're at your desk, the most awesome Emacs upgrade is to buy a Kinesis Ergo "Contoured" keyboard ( http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/ ). It moves all of the control/alt/Apple/Meta keys from all of the random locations to your thumbs and so once you get used to it, it's way, way better than anything else. The only downside is that it only comes in one size s…

There has been some discussion on the importance of a good chair. I find the keyboard a very important component, perhaps as much as good office furniture. I use to half joke that my disdain for Microsoft is not as extensive as it may appear from one reading what I post (I got a -8 mod a couple days back for saying no real programmer would accept programming under Windows). In fact, I love several Microsoft products…

MSFT does not get enough credit for its peripherals. The keyboards aren't pretty, but they are some of the most comfortable I've ever worked on.

Re: Ask YC: Why is emacs a great editor?

#82

Post by ragnemalm » Thu, Sep 25, 2008, 12:23 AM UTC

ihartley wrote: post #78

ragnemalm wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many are a fan of using the Caps Lock key as Control. While better than the insane standard positioning, it's still not optimal: it's not symmetrical between your hands (you're not going to remap Return as another Control) and it still makes for a lot of awkward pinky use. (Imagine playing a piano piece all with your 3rd, 4th and 5th fingers.) The optimal solution I've come up with is to use the two keys adjacent to…

or if you're on a mac you can just use your .emacs file: (custom-set-variables '(mac-command-modifier (quote control)) '(mac-option-modifier (quote meta)) ) And now your command key is a control and your option key is a meta.

Sounds like the best thing to do for a mac (although it wouldn't fix the problem in tty mode). On other operating systems, it's nice to make the change globally, since all other programs seem to use control pretty regularly too.

Re: Ask YC: Why is emacs a great editor?

#83

Post by ragnemalm » Thu, Sep 25, 2008, 12:34 AM UTC

spinonethird wrote: post #62

ragnemalm wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many are a fan of using the Caps Lock key as Control. While better than the insane standard positioning, it's still not optimal: it's not symmetrical between your hands (you're not going to remap Return as another Control) and it still makes for a lot of awkward pinky use. (Imagine playing a piano piece all with your 3rd, 4th and 5th fingers.) The optimal solution I've come up with is to use the two keys adjacent to…

Another solution is to keep the Ctrl keys where they are (note the plural), but hit them with the side of your hands: you just need to roll you hand a little bit to the outside. It takes a little practice to do this reliably, but it cures pinky pain (at least for me). Use the hand that is not hitting the key: for C-s use your right hand for the Ctrl, and left for s. C-n the other way round. For Meta, make sure that b…

I can see that this might work with some keyboards, but I think the Apple one is too low-profile.

Also, if you're not using C-M-... shortcuts, you're missing out:

C-M-{s,r} isearch-{forward/backward}-regexp (indispensable)

C-M-% query-replace-regexp (indispensable)

C-M-\ indent-region (indispensable for when M-q would mess up your line breaks)

C-M-x eval-defun (for running changes to your .emacs without restarting)

C-M-q indent-pp-sexp (pretty-print and reindent sexp at point)

C-M-{f,b,u,d,a,e,k,t} forward/back/up/down/beginning/end/kill/transpose sexps

C-M-{n,p} {forward/backward}-list

C-M-v scroll-other-window

And so on. C-h k (describe-key) is your friend.

Re: Ask YC: Why is emacs a great editor?

#84

Post by rbanffy » Thu, Sep 25, 2008, 6:40 PM UTC

JoeBlu wrote: post #81

rbanffy wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There has been some discussion on the importance of a good chair. I find the keyboard a very important component, perhaps as much as good office furniture. I use to half joke that my disdain for Microsoft is not as extensive as it may appear from one reading what I post (I got a -8 mod a couple days back for saying no real programmer would accept programming under Windows). In fact, I love several Microsoft products…

MSFT does not get enough credit for its peripherals. The keyboards aren't pretty, but they are some of the most comfortable I've ever worked on.

It's because they decided to focus on their more profitable software business, where they are marginally competent, while their core competency, the one they are unanimously praised for, is hardware gizmos.