Re: Is Elisp really that slow?

[<tomas@tuxteam.de>]

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On Fri, May 17, 2019 at 08:08:58AM +0200, Ergus wrote:
> On Fri, May 17, 2019 at 01:05:12PM +0900, Jean-Christophe Helary wrote:

[...]

> >Please. Text editing is the most common task by at least an order of magnitude in the IT world. Even for kids.
> >
> Also agree 100%.

I disagree, at least by 87%

Text editing can mean just that. Notepad.

It can mean that I can syntax-highlight a program text and get
documentation on a function.

It can also mean that I can keep clickable links from one text file
to other files. On the same computer. On another computer accessible
via ssh. On my mail inbox.

It can mean that I can execute snippets of a bash, C, Perl program
in my text and have their results inserted somewhere else (invaluable
to document little programs).

But it can also mean that I can load a "mostly UTF-8" file and my
editor doesn't choke on it. More so: If I do a local change and
save, the other parts end up identical to the input.

Or that I can load a megabite-big mostly-binary file and it takes
a second or so (I'll venture a guess: if you try that with Eclipse,
lights go out -- hence the name ;-D.

If things look funny at that point, you do M-x hexl-mode, and get
another view at things.

This all is Emacs to me. I get *very nervous* when I hear excited
people muttering "don't worry: we'll refactor all that for you!".

Now: this was all a bit tongue-in-cheek, and progress never happens
if no one pushes; I guess Emacs wouldn't have come so far without
folks like you, but understand that some (me!) appreciate Emacs
for its careful (perhaps sometimes slow) approach at changing
things (another example in this department is the Linux kernel:
"you don't break user space" is nearly dogma there, and for a
reason).

Cheers
-- tomás

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