Emacs tip #1
I figure I can post emacs tips as I run across them.
If you often open the same buffers everytime you start Emacs, you can save them so that upon reopen they are already there and open.
Get everything the way you want, and do
M-x desktop-save
Then in your .emacs file
(desktop-read)
That will open all the buffers from the desktop-save session, and you are ready to go.
Emacs: The best 1990 has to offer :-) Seriously, if you’re doing ruby development, you should consider using an IDE like Eclipse, which has support for Ruby (http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/opensource/library/os-rubyeclipse/). Take it from a guy who used to program Java using vi.
Why do you like eclipse?
Just in case rbohn doesn’t read the comments here, I will say that I have worked beside him and his eclipse-fu. He’s a java developer and pretty deft at the eclipse.
When I was doing Java stuff I liked Eclipse as well. It’s pretty good at it.
VIVA LA NANO!
The bottom line is you need to work with makes you most productive. If that’s emacs, that’s great. I’m not interested in getting into a holy war about what emacs can do vs. what vi can do vs. what eclipse can do. Here’s the bottom line: Give Eclipse (or some other GUI-based IDE) a try. I’m only talking about Eclipse because that’s what I personally have experience with. Plus, Eclipse is not just a Java IDE and there’s great support for Ruby Development (see my previous comment). If you are doing Ruby on Rails there’s the RadRails IDE, which (drumroll please), is built on top of Eclipse. I’ll leave you with this thought. You’re not using lynx anymore to browse the internet (at least I hope not), so why use a text-based program to do serious devlopment. Even James Gosling, who wrote a version of emacs, says it’s time to move on (http://blogs.sun.com/jag/entry/converting_the_hardcore_users).
“A version of emacs…” In the early 80s every editor was called emacs, it seems.
And Bill Joy disses his high school project (vi).
Now, something that is signifigant to me is when Tim Bray (Long-time emacs user) says NetBeans is “another blow to emacs.”
But, then you have this screencast…
rbohn, I have used radrails, it’s pretty cool. Also, the new Adobe Flex IDE is another “runs on top of eclipse editor”. Nothing wrong with eclipse at all. I am also not interested in editor holy wars, I like jumping around from time to time trying out software to see if it fits my workflow.
Emacs is dated in a lot of ways, but I still am finding it to be very powerful.
I should whip out some java and see how that works on it.
Mark, Gosling did write a version of emacs that was sold to UniPress. Code from Gosling’s emacs was included in the initial version of GNU emacs written by Richard Stallman. That code remained there until version 16.56 and only a few bits of Gosling’s emacs code that controlled display remained. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gosling_Emacs
Nate,
We miss you at work buddy.