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Aquamacs on OSX for Ruby on Rails Development? Yep, we’re going Emacs status.

danielfischer.com

11–20 of 25 posts

Re: Aquamacs on OSX for Ruby on Rails Development? Yep, we’re going Emacs status.

#11

Before I get flamed out of existence - I use a Mac, and I use TextMate, and I use Emacs. With that disclaimer out of the way - This guy bought a whole different platform just so that he could run a different text editor? This feels like putting the wrong cart in front of the wrong horse.

This guy bought a whole different platform just so that he could run a different text editor?

Well, yeah. Sure. If I saw someone running TextMate, and I didn't know enough about emacs to realize that it's a legitimate alternative, dropping everything to run TextMate would be a very smart move. Your editor is a really important tool!

There's no question that I would switch platforms for emacs. Not that the issue ever comes up, because emacs is open-source, and cross-platform, and (for better and for worse) is not tightly integrated with any particular GUI library. So once you learn it you never have to stop using it for any reason other than personal preference. Which is probably one of the reasons why all of these folks are abandoning TextMate for it.

Re: Aquamacs on OSX for Ruby on Rails Development? Yep, we’re going Emacs status.

#12
post #8
post #2

Hrm, interesting, but I write Ruby on emacs all the time. Except mine doesn't need a long post, just: Open Terminal, type "emacs -nw".

i recommend people always use -nw, it will ensure that on the client or remote, you always use emacs the same way. now kill all the menubars and other stuff too...if you are going to use emacs, use the keyboard and the help system. that is the emacs-way

Agreed. On my gentoo systems, I just compile emcs without X support. Makes life easy. Also, one critical skill when using emacs is learning to modify the .emacs.el file as time goes on. Over the years, the little things I accumulated in this file make using emacs a much more pleasant experience.

Re: Aquamacs on OSX for Ruby on Rails Development? Yep, we’re going Emacs status.

#15
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i recommend people always use -nw, it will ensure that on the client or remote, you always use emacs the same way. now kill all the menubars and other stuff too...if you are going to use emacs, use the keyboard and the help system. that is the emacs-way

Agreed. On my gentoo systems, I just compile emcs without X support. Makes life easy. Also, one critical skill when using emacs is learning to modify the .emacs.el file as time goes on. Over the years, the little things I accumulated in this file make using emacs a much more pleasant experience.

Rather than use .emacs, use .emacs.d/init.el. Put any extra modes or Emacs apps there, too. Then throw your whole .emacs.d under version control. Finally, stick it on http://bitbucket.org/ or similar. Now you can easily lug your whole Emacs configuration around.

Re: Aquamacs on OSX for Ruby on Rails Development? Yep, we’re going Emacs status.

#16

Before I get flamed out of existence - I use a Mac, and I use TextMate, and I use Emacs. With that disclaimer out of the way - This guy bought a whole different platform just so that he could run a different text editor? This feels like putting the wrong cart in front of the wrong horse.

Not unreasonable at all. Operating sysstems are nothing without the progarms that run on them . I can see how textmate would be attractive ( I used to run Vim, now I run Carbon Emacs).

Re: Aquamacs on OSX for Ruby on Rails Development? Yep, we’re going Emacs status.

#17
post #13

I'm willing to pay good money for a three-hour video on using Emacs for Rails.

I cannot give you a video, but the 4 part series of blog posts I wrote sometime ago explain how to get it up and running along with the Emacs Code Browser - I used it successfully in a terminal window via Putty to a Linux box and in Aquamacs on OS X - http://sodonnell.wordpress.com/the-emacs-newbie-guide-for-ra...

Re: Aquamacs on OSX for Ruby on Rails Development? Yep, we’re going Emacs status.

#18
post #14

Can anyone point me in the direction of a good Emacs tutorial? Or recommend a book?

Open Emacs and type C-h t (ctrl and h together and then t) that will open the emacs built in tutorial. Start going through it, then download one of the many cheatsheets and print it out and stick it somewhere you can see it from your desk.

Its quite a long learning curve, and I am still no expert, but its my favorite editor now. I cannot say its any better or worse than any of its rivals, but I put the time into learning it better than the others!

Re: Aquamacs on OSX for Ruby on Rails Development? Yep, we’re going Emacs status.

#19
post #17
post #13

I'm willing to pay good money for a three-hour video on using Emacs for Rails.

I cannot give you a video, but the 4 part series of blog posts I wrote sometime ago explain how to get it up and running along with the Emacs Code Browser - I used it successfully in a terminal window via Putty to a Linux box and in Aquamacs on OS X - http://sodonnell.wordpress.com/the-emacs-newbie-guide-for-ra...

[deleted]

Re: Aquamacs on OSX for Ruby on Rails Development? Yep, we’re going Emacs status.

#20
post #13

I'm willing to pay good money for a three-hour video on using Emacs for Rails.

Peepcode (http://www.peepcode.com/) is coming out with one but it will be about an hour long and will cost $9. I think that's a good deal. You can see the 5min preview here: http://getfireant.com/listings/episode?feed_item_id=2414972
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