Re: What are Emacs best uses?

[wgreenhouse@riseup.net (W. Greenhouse)]

Hi Jorge,

Jorge <1gato0a@gmail.com> writes:

> Hi.  What are the best uses of Emacs?  I currently use it to compose emails,
> manage files, to edit LaTeX, and to edit source code and configuration files.
> But Emacs seems to be mediocre at viewing PDFs.  Evince has better
> search.

I would certainly agree that doc-view-mode is a most peculiar PDF/PS/DVI
viewer, but you should be aware that, in addition to C-s to do regexp
search on the page images, you can also use C-c C-t to see a text-only
representation (actually, `pdftotext' command output) which is more
suitable for heavy manipulation of the text of the PDF.

>   What is Emacs really good for?

Emacs's key features are due to being a consistent and cohesive Lisp
environment with a rich library of functions, which, due to the nature
of a Lisp environment, can easily be re-used by any other software
installed on Emacs.  This is a level of interaction similar to, but even
deeper than, the interaction between two applications running under the
same desktop environment.

Some examples:

- Running a compile job or a debugger under Emacs, you can simply click
  on the file and line number of an error to see the error in context in
  the source.

- My Emacs mailclient understands what a patch file is, and highlights it
  just like a buffer in `diff-mode' showing the same patch.

- doc-view-mode uses the Emacs bookmark system [1] to save the exact
  page in a PDF.  My mailclient can also use the bookmark system to save
  a reference to a particular email.

- My Emacs IRC client can display rendered LaTeX equations right in an
  IRC channel ( http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/ErcTex ).

Some of these use cases might seem rather trivial, but the overall point
is that Emacs offers the ability to use and reuse a very deep library of
Lisp functions, not just for text manipulation but also for networking,
file management, handling of subprocesses, etc., within a consistent
interface that does not cause a worker to have to break context to do a
new task.

> Is it a good personal information manager?  Can you manage your
> information (todo, grocery list, etc.) and sync with a smartphone?  If
> you can't sync with a smartphone, how do you manage the grocery list?

There are several personal information managers for Emacs, the most
popular and actively developed being Org.[2]  In
addition to offering TODO/agenda/outliner, Org comprises a full
plain-text office suite, with document authoring, spreadsheet, and
database aspects as well as literate programming features and the
ability to run scripts in other languages to generate content in a file.

I am a law graduate, and I use Org to organize legal research, write
briefs, outline oral arguments, and keep track of appointments.

Org's mobile sync interface is MobileOrg.[3]

For devotees of the "hipster PDA",[4] Emacs PIM strategies also work
well; the Emacs calendar and Org can both be made to print a LaTeX
version of your agenda and appointments which fits on index cards or
other small papers suitable for stashing away in a jacket pocket or
Moleskine notebook. ;-)

> Is it a good calendar?  Can you easily collaborate with colleagues who
> use Google Calendar?

I find Org's agenda combined with the Emacs calendar to be very
effective.  In the past, it was easier to use Emacs to collaborate with
GCal users, because there are several Elisp libraries to interface with
the standard iCal API; today this has become more difficult because
Google has discontinued its iCal support.  The elimination of all
third-party Google Calendar clients, the better to attract eyeballs to
the web interface, cannot be far behind.

My solution for the moment is to use my phone for any Google Calendar
stuff (and other non-free API junk).  The phone's calendar shows both
GCal events with others and my private MobileOrg calendare events.

>   Is it a good email reader?  Does it work with gmail?

Respectively, yes[5] and yes.[6]

>   Is Emacs adapting well to the changing computing landscape?

To the extent that the changing computing landscape means that APIs are
being eliminated or locked down into walled gardens, Emacs is not
adapting and cannot adapt.  However, for those users who need a cohesive
working environment in which tools behave in a consistent and completely
customizable way, without unpleasant surprises, Emacs remains an
excellent choice, and never more actively developed than today.

Besides the Emacs Wiki, I would commend to you Sacha Chua's blog.[7]
Sacha is a former IBMer, Seriously Efficient Person™, and possibly one
of the best explainers of Emacs around right now.

>   Thank you for your attention.

Thanks for the question. 

Footnotes: 
[1]  (info "(emacs) Bookmarks")

[2]  http://orgmode.org/

[3]  http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/mobileorg/

[4]  http://www.43folders.com/2004/09/03/introducing-the-hipster-pda

[5]  http://gnus.org/ and http://djcbsoftware.nl/code/mu/ are two Emacs
mailreaders I particularly like.

[6]  http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/GnusGmail

[7]  http://sachachua.com/blog/category/emacs/

--
W. Greenhouse
gpg --recv-keys 2E8B1B740D2D3F9E
Written in Gnus v5.13 on GNU Emacs 24.3.1