Learn Emacs Lisp in 15 minutes
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Re: Learn Emacs Lisp in 15 minutes
#2unless you get so angry that you throw it on the floor
Hey, just M-x doctor
Re: Learn Emacs Lisp in 15 minutes
#3I would encourage would-be Elisp hackers to read the info manual "An Introduction to Programming in Emacs Lisp" that is bundled with your Emacs (`C-h i` then select "Emacs Lisp Intro" from the Table of Contents) as it enables you to evaluate the example lisp forms in-line in addition to being a really great and pedagogical introduction to elisp.
Re: Learn Emacs Lisp in 15 minutes
#4That was actually quite helpful. I've had the toughest time "thinking in Lisp" as I'm told I have to do to get my head around it (also because I work with the C++/C#/PHP family and switching between them and Lisp doesn't help).
I really appreciate the simple instructions in that regard.
Re: Learn Emacs Lisp in 15 minutes
#5Basic Emacs lisp is well worth learning. It takes Emacs from being an editor to being your editor.
With something like Eclipse, even adding a little bit of functionality is an undertaking. You have to create a project, write a bunch of boilerplate, load it and so on. With Emacs, it's basically effortless: a line or two of elisp can do wonders. Sometimes I add functionality by just executing elisp directly (with M-:), without even bothering to put it in a file! It's that easy.
This has really changed how I work. Now I don't think twice about having some throw-away elisp for just one project. Or even just one file! Modifying the editor (in small ways) becomes an action almost as natural as copy and paste. Now Emacs is like a jazz performance, with room for improvisation: never the same editor twice.
Emacs is also the perfect development environment for Emacs lisp. (Who would have guessed?) It's the most integrated system I've ever seen; there is an intuitive and remarkably consistent link between the lisp code and the editor itself. I usually know how some bit of elisp corresponds to an action and vice-versa. And if I don't, the incredible interactive help system is, well, helpful: I can easily look up what function a keybinding calls or what keys are bound to a function. These days, I do it instinctively, without thinking. Throw in Emacs's general lisp prowess (paredit is incredible), the ability to randomly evaluate an expression and see the results immediately as well as the ease of inspecting variables and you have a very remarkable environment.
15 minutes as the key to all this? There's no question! Since you're going to be using your editor for years, it's well worth 15 hours or 15 days or even 15 weeks. (And since it's Emacs, you'll end up using it for more than just programming: LaTeX, org-mode, blogging, chatting, email...)
Go for it!
Re: Learn Emacs Lisp in 15 minutes
#6Ha, this is perfectly timed. After years of being a vi/vim user (not for any particular reason, it's just what I learned a few years back and just stuck with), I decided to start running through the Emacs tutorial for the hell of it yesterday.
I really miss Lisp from my college days, and being able to work it back into my regular workflow just sounded like a fun idea.
I read through this tutorial and its really a great introduction, really well written and very clear. Nice job!
Re: Learn Emacs Lisp in 15 minutes
#7Emacs is a miracle, no doubts. It is self-descriptive and self-contained system, like Smalltalk (you could lookup any function, variable or even key-binding, without a fancy browser, but in a way that is good enough). There is nothing much to say, actually. Emacs is just a wonderful thing.
Re: Learn Emacs Lisp in 15 minutes
#8Basic Emacs lisp is well worth learning. It takes Emacs from being an editor to being your editor. With something like Eclipse, even adding a little bit of functionality is an undertaking. You have to create a project, write a bunch of boilerplate, load it and so on. With Emacs, it's basically effortless: a line or two of elisp can do wonders. Sometimes I add functionality by just executing elisp directly (with M-:),…
An excuse to dive into lisp like that just might pull me away from Vim (Vimscript is terrible, sigh).
Re: Learn Emacs Lisp in 15 minutes
#9Basic Emacs lisp is well worth learning. It takes Emacs from being an editor to being your editor. With something like Eclipse, even adding a little bit of functionality is an undertaking. You have to create a project, write a bunch of boilerplate, load it and so on. With Emacs, it's basically effortless: a line or two of elisp can do wonders. Sometimes I add functionality by just executing elisp directly (with M-:),…
An excuse to dive into lisp like that just might pull me away from Vim (Vimscript is terrible, sigh).
Have a Look at Evil, really good vim bindings for emacs
Re: Learn Emacs Lisp in 15 minutes
#10Ha, this is perfectly timed. After years of being a vi/vim user (not for any particular reason, it's just what I learned a few years back and just stuck with), I decided to start running through the Emacs tutorial for the hell of it yesterday. I really miss Lisp from my college days, and being able to work it back into my regular workflow just sounded like a fun idea. I read through this tutorial and its really a gre…
vi is the god of editors.
emacs is the editor of gods.