Re: What's your favourite *under_publicized* editing feature ofEmacs?

[Cthun <cthun_117@qmail.net.au>]

On 01/03/2011 9:31 AM, David Kastrup wrote:
> Cthun<cthun_117@qmail.net.au>  writes:
>
>> On 28/02/2011 11:32 PM, Jim Janney wrote:
>>> Cthun<cthun_117@qmail.net.au>   writes:
>>
>>>> and moreover, word
>>>> processor documents are typically binary files, which version control
>>>> systems cope poorly with. Subversion's diff tool will not play nicely
>>>> with .doc files, Janney, and without it there is little point in using
>>>> version control.
>>>
>>> I did say text; clever of you to pick up on that.
>>
>> Plain, unformatted ASCII text, Janney, which is hardly useful for
>> writing novels and articles.
>
> Typewritten manuscripts have been the standard for novel manuscripts for
> a substantial amount of time

What does that have to do with Lisp, Kastrup?

> definitely more limited than ASCII.

What does your classic unsubstantiated and erroneous claim have to do 
with Lisp, Kastrup? You could put an italic typewriter ball in your 
typewriter, Kastrup. Typewriters allowed you (at some expense) to use 
multiple styles and fonts, Kastrup.

>> Novels tend to contain italics and other formatting here and there,
>> Janney, whereas articles frequently contain scientific and
>> mathematical symbols that do not exist in ASCII or sometimes even
>> Unicode, and tables, graphs, charts, and formatted equations that
>> cannot be represented nicely using a grid of characters.
>
> You probably never heard of LaTeX.

What does that have to do with Lisp, Kastrup?

> Word processors are mostly good for simple tasks.  They make the
> typesetting of mathematics unnecessary cumbersome and depending on the
> typesetting skills of the author (who rarely specializes in that area),
> and they fall down even in text-only situations when you have to do
> things like critical typesetting with multiple layers of hierarchical
> footnotes.

What does any of that have to do with Lisp, Kastrup?

> Been there, done that.

What does your having been there and done that have to do with Lisp, 
Kastrup?

>>> And it can be accomplished even more easily with Emacs and any one of
>>> a number of version control systems.
>>
>> What does your classic unsubstantiated and erroneous claim have to do
>> with Lisp, Janney? Occasionally hitting control-S and backing up your
>> files regularly is a lot easier than learning Emacs, Janney.
>
> It does not give you convenient tools for navigating and reusing the
> history of the file.

That's true, but irrelevant, Kastrup, since navigating and reusing the 
history beyond keeping a single experimental version is not necessary in 
that context.

>> What does your classic unsubstantiated and erroneous claim have to do
>> with Lisp, Janney? And it remains true that using SVN to "develop" a
>> novel is like using a hammer to insert a screw, Janney.
>
> Nope.  More like using a filing system to keep track of your screws,
> assemblies and prototypes in the various stages of production.

What does your classic unsubstantiated and erroneous claim have to do 
with Lisp, Kastrup?