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GNU Emacs ported to Android

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21–30 of 46 posts

Re: GNU Emacs ported to Android

#21
post #19
post #4

Err....Emacs is probably a better OS than Android. :)

This is just silly. Emacs isn't an OS. It provides an API to some library and system calls, but it isn't even multi-threaded. If your comment was meant as a hat tip to the Symbolics Genera system, that was a full-fledged OS, then there could be debate. I love Lisp and would dearly love to customize my Jelly Bean experience with it, but then we'd need to get into a discussion of what is really better, and 80's OS or A…

I took it as more of a nod to the old emacs joke (probably told by a vim user): “Emacs is a great operating system; too bad it doesn’t have a decent editor”

Re: GNU Emacs ported to Android

#22
Anyone trying to use this on a device with its own keyboard? eg. http://www.androidauthority.com/best-keyboard-qwerty-android...

Be interested to hear how usable you can make it. Whether you can remap keys or buttons to all the major modifiers.

Emacs 23 on the Nokia N900 is the reason I recently bought that phone even though Nokia is so uncool now and everything (works excellently, BTW).

Re: GNU Emacs ported to Android

#23
post #9
post #8

Every couple of weeks since I started using Android, I've checked the Play store to see if Emacs was there. So even though I don't know what I'll do with it yet, I'm excited to download the GNU Emacs app. Anybody have any ideas for what to do with Emacs on a phone?

Taking notes with org-mode and synchronizing them to Dropbox.

There's also mobile org for that though. :)

iPhone: http://mobileorg.ncogni.to/

Android: https://github.com/matburt/mobileorg-android/wiki/

Android Fork: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.matburt.mo...

Re: GNU Emacs ported to Android

#25

Good work but I have some issues with the concept. I mean using all the keyboard shortcuts must be a pain. Did they try to make it use the touch interface at all?

There were some projects (also, if I recall correctly some ubuntu-new-ui projects for tablets/gestures). btw

https://github.com/greboide/emacs-gestures

Re: GNU Emacs ported to Android

#26
post #10
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which is coincidentally likely why you can never have it on iOS (interpreted code and all...)

There's no rule in the App Store against interpreted code that's not downloaded.

So you could have an emacs that... wasn't extensible. Seems pointless. Not that this hack has a lot of point either (a world class editor on a platform without a development toolchain?). Still, more pointless I guess.

Re: GNU Emacs ported to Android

#27
post #6

So how do you enter the control sequences?

With Hacker's Keyboard.

For those who aren't aware of this tool:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.pocketwork...

It's really shockingly great. It turns dealing with terminal access from your touchscreen from a complete hair-pulling disaster into something that I am merely disinclined to do.

All the ASCII keys are where you expect them to be. And switching between the keyboards at runtime is as simple as launching the included app. Definitely recommended to anyone who ever needs to (occasionally!) ssh from their phone or tablet.

Re: GNU Emacs ported to Android

#29
post #26
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's no rule in the App Store against interpreted code that's not downloaded.

So you could have an emacs that... wasn't extensible. Seems pointless. Not that this hack has a lot of point either (a world class editor on a platform without a development toolchain?). Still, more pointless I guess.

An Emacs that's not extendable can be useful. At least, you don't have to make your brain switch modes.

I've lost the count of how many times I have closed a browser window while trying to cut text.

Re: GNU Emacs ported to Android

#30
post #19
post #4

Err....Emacs is probably a better OS than Android. :)

This is just silly. Emacs isn't an OS. It provides an API to some library and system calls, but it isn't even multi-threaded. If your comment was meant as a hat tip to the Symbolics Genera system, that was a full-fledged OS, then there could be debate. I love Lisp and would dearly love to customize my Jelly Bean experience with it, but then we'd need to get into a discussion of what is really better, and 80's OS or A…

IIRC, one of the original goals of Emacs was to replicate the environment of Lisp machines. With that in mind, it could be considered an OS not unlike Smalltalk environments such as Squeak.
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