An article about Emacs for TUGboat

An article about Emacs for TUGboat

[Marcin Borkowski]

Hi all,

I was asked by one of the editors of TUGboat (the journal of the TeX
Users' Group) to write an article about using Emacs for TeX.  I am now
in the process of writing this paper.  My idea is to first explain the
basic concepts of Emacs, and then proceed to AUCTeX and various ways of
customizing Emacs.  I would be very glad if some more experienced Emacs
(and TeX) user could read my paper and suggest any enhancements.

For the record, I want to explain Emacs using four main concepts:

1. Buffers.  Like in Unix "everything is a file", in Emacs "everything
is a buffer".  What in other editors is implemented using various things
(dialog windows, text input boxes, non-editable text areas, file
selection widgets, tree-like outlines etc.) is all buffers in Emacs.

2. Commands.  Commands are pieces of Lisp which perform various tasks,
from inserting a character in a buffer to playing tetris.  By writing
commands, the user can extend Emacs, or in fact build their own editor
(or other application, like an email client!) on top of it.

3. Keybindings.  In Emacs, every key can be bound to a command.

4. Modes.  This is how Emacs knows which key is bound to which command
in which buffer, thus making the previous three work well together and
enabling a smooth user experience.

I understand this is an oversimplification - it must be in a 5-10-page
paper - but I think this more or less catches the spirit of Emacs.  Does
anyone think I should add (or subtract;-)) something?

Also, are there any volunteers to proofread the first draft of my paper?
(It should be ready in about a week, and I have to submit it in about
a month.)

TIA,

--
Marcin Borkowski

Re: An article about Emacs for TUGboat

[Kaushal Modi]

On Sat, Feb 10, 2018, 2:49 PM Marcin Borkowski <mbork@mbork.pl> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I was asked by one of the editors of TUGboat (the journal of the TeX
> Users' Group) to write an article about using Emacs for TeX.  I  email
> client!) on top of it.
>

Does
> anyone think I should add (or subtract;-)) something?
>

That's great! Would Org be able to get into this.. the latex exporter is
great! (Are you writing this paper in Org? :) )

Also, are there any volunteers to proofread the first draft of my paper?
>

Please sign me up!

(It should be ready in about a week, and I have to submit it in about
> a month.)
>


-- 

Kaushal Modi

Re: An article about Emacs for TUGboat

[Marcin Borkowski]

On 2018-02-10, at 20:57, Kaushal Modi <kaushal.modi@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Sat, Feb 10, 2018, 2:49 PM Marcin Borkowski <mbork@mbork.pl> wrote:
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> I was asked by one of the editors of TUGboat (the journal of the TeX
>> Users' Group) to write an article about using Emacs for TeX.  I  email
>> client!) on top of it.
>>
>
> Does
>> anyone think I should add (or subtract;-)) something?
>>
>
> That's great! Would Org be able to get into this.. the latex exporter is
> great! (Are you writing this paper in Org? :) )

No, in LaTeX.  (I don't like writing papers in Org.  I tried, and it
doesn't work well for me.  I feel handcuffed;-).)

> Also, are there any volunteers to proofread the first draft of my paper?
>>
>
> Please sign me up!

OK!

-- 
Marcin Borkowski

Re: An article about Emacs for TUGboat

[Jean-Christophe Helary]

> On Feb 11, 2018, at 4:47, Marcin Borkowski <mbork@mbork.pl> wrote:
> 
> My idea is to first explain the
> basic concepts of Emacs, and then proceed to AUCTeX and various ways of
> customizing Emacs.  I would be very glad if some more experienced Emacs
> (and TeX) user could read my paper and suggest any enhancements.

May I suggest that you put the introduction to Emacs in an annex at the end of the article? Or even, since there are tons of introductions to emacs concepts, why not refer to them instead of writing your own ?


Jean-Christophe Helary
-----------------------------------------------
http://mac4translators.blogspot.com @brandelune

Re: An article about Emacs for TUGboat

[Marcin Borkowski]

On 2018-02-11, at 00:27, Jean-Christophe Helary <jean.christophe.helary@gmail.com> wrote:

>> On Feb 11, 2018, at 4:47, Marcin Borkowski <mbork@mbork.pl> wrote:
>> 
>> My idea is to first explain the
>> basic concepts of Emacs, and then proceed to AUCTeX and various ways of
>> customizing Emacs.  I would be very glad if some more experienced Emacs
>> (and TeX) user could read my paper and suggest any enhancements.
>
> May I suggest that you put the introduction to Emacs in an annex at the end of the article? Or even, since there are tons of introductions to emacs concepts, why not refer to them instead of writing your own ?

Maybe you misunderstood me.  I do not want to put Yet Another Intro to
Emacs™ there.  I just want to explain (on, say, half a page) what Emacs
is and what are its core ideas, and introduce the language of buffers
and modes, so that the readers will know what I'm talking about later.

Best,

-- 
Marcin Borkowski

Re: An article about Emacs for TUGboat

[Jean-Christophe Helary]

> On Feb 11, 2018, at 15:57, Marcin Borkowski <mbork@mbork.pl> wrote:
> 
> 
> On 2018-02-11, at 00:27, Jean-Christophe Helary <jean.christophe.helary@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>>> On Feb 11, 2018, at 4:47, Marcin Borkowski <mbork@mbork.pl> wrote:
>>> 
>>> My idea is to first explain the
>>> basic concepts of Emacs, and then proceed to AUCTeX and various ways of
>>> customizing Emacs.  I would be very glad if some more experienced Emacs
>>> (and TeX) user could read my paper and suggest any enhancements.
>> 
>> May I suggest that you put the introduction to Emacs in an annex at the end of the article? Or even, since there are tons of introductions to emacs concepts, why not refer to them instead of writing your own ?
> 
> Maybe you misunderstood me.

Very likely :)

>  I do not want to put Yet Another Intro to
> Emacs™ there.  I just want to explain (on, say, half a page) what Emacs
> is and what are its core ideas, and introduce the language of buffers
> and modes, so that the readers will know what I'm talking about later.

But then, either the user knows what emacs is about and the half page will be redundant, or does not and then the half page won't be enough.

But it really all depends on how you write that so I won't say more, besides that I'd love to help with the proofreading!

Cheers,

Jean-Christophe Helary
-----------------------------------------------
http://mac4translators.blogspot.com @brandelune

Re: An article about Emacs for TUGboat

[Sivaram Neelakantan]

On Sun, Feb 11 2018,Jean-Christophe Helary wrote:


[snipped 26 lines]

> But then, either the user knows what emacs is about and the half
> page will be redundant, or does not and then the half page won't be
> enough.
>
> But it really all depends on how you write that so I won't say more,
> besides that I'd love to help with the proofreading!
>

I agree; while not trying to tell OP what to write, in the specific
case of Emacs, it would be nice if the focus is on how Emacs speeds up
LateX writing in general/vis-a-vis other editors instead of Emacs core
concepts.  As I personally feel, anyone on LateX is going to be least
worried about Emacs framework but focused on getting the job done and
will Emacs help/speed things up in that regard or not.


[snipped 9 lines]




sivaram
-- 

Re: An article about Emacs for TUGboat

[Marcin Borkowski]

On 2018-02-12, at 17:13, Sivaram Neelakantan <nsivaram.net@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Sun, Feb 11 2018,Jean-Christophe Helary wrote:
>
>
> [snipped 26 lines]
>
>> But then, either the user knows what emacs is about and the half
>> page will be redundant, or does not and then the half page won't be
>> enough.
>>
>> But it really all depends on how you write that so I won't say more,
>> besides that I'd love to help with the proofreading!
>>
>
> I agree; while not trying to tell OP what to write, in the specific
> case of Emacs, it would be nice if the focus is on how Emacs speeds up
> LateX writing in general/vis-a-vis other editors instead of Emacs core
> concepts.  As I personally feel, anyone on LateX is going to be least
> worried about Emacs framework but focused on getting the job done and
> will Emacs help/speed things up in that regard or not.

Well, you're probably right.  Still, I think I need to introduce at
least the very basics.  I'll try to at least keep the intro as short as
possible.

Thanks,

-- 
Marcin Borkowski

Re: An article about Emacs for TUGboat

[Emanuel Berg]

Sivaram Neelakantan wrote:

> I agree; while not trying to tell OP what to
> write, in the specific case of Emacs, it
> would be nice if the focus is on how Emacs
> speeds up LateX writing in general/vis-a-vis
> other editors instead

Are you sure that will happen?

Perhaps writing LaTeX in Emacs is more
enjoyable and skillful, rather... :)

-- 
underground experts united
http://user.it.uu.se/~embe8573

Re: An article about Emacs for TUGboat

[Marcin Borkowski]

On 2018-02-12, at 17:23, Emanuel Berg <moasen@zoho.com> wrote:

> Sivaram Neelakantan wrote:
>
>> I agree; while not trying to tell OP what to
>> write, in the specific case of Emacs, it
>> would be nice if the focus is on how Emacs
>> speeds up LateX writing in general/vis-a-vis
>> other editors instead
>
> Are you sure that will happen?
>
> Perhaps writing LaTeX in Emacs is more
> enjoyable and skillful, rather... :)

Have you used AUCTeX?

And btw, it's not only a question of speed.  AUCTeX's C-c C-r is
a lifesaver, for instance.

Best,

-- 
Marcin Borkowski

Re: An article about Emacs for TUGboat

[Emanuel Berg]

Marcin Borkowski wrote:

> Have you used AUCTeX?

Nah, it is too slow for me.

-- 
underground experts united
http://user.it.uu.se/~embe8573

Re: An article about Emacs for TUGboat

[Marcin Borkowski]

On 2018-02-11, at 08:58, Jean-Christophe Helary <jean.christophe.helary@gmail.com> wrote:

>> On Feb 11, 2018, at 15:57, Marcin Borkowski <mbork@mbork.pl> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> On 2018-02-11, at 00:27, Jean-Christophe Helary <jean.christophe.helary@gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>>>> On Feb 11, 2018, at 4:47, Marcin Borkowski <mbork@mbork.pl> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> My idea is to first explain the
>>>> basic concepts of Emacs, and then proceed to AUCTeX and various ways of
>>>> customizing Emacs.  I would be very glad if some more experienced Emacs
>>>> (and TeX) user could read my paper and suggest any enhancements.
>>> 
>>> May I suggest that you put the introduction to Emacs in an annex at the end of the article? Or even, since there are tons of introductions to emacs concepts, why not refer to them instead of writing your own ?
>> 
>> Maybe you misunderstood me.
>
> Very likely :)
>
>>  I do not want to put Yet Another Intro to
>> Emacs™ there.  I just want to explain (on, say, half a page) what Emacs
>> is and what are its core ideas, and introduce the language of buffers
>> and modes, so that the readers will know what I'm talking about later.
>
> But then, either the user knows what emacs is about and the half page will be redundant, or does not and then the half page won't be enough.

I'm not convinced.  I'll think about it.  Thanks for your input anyway!

> But it really all depends on how you write that so I won't say more, besides that I'd love to help with the proofreading!

Stay tuned!

-- 
Marcin Borkowski

Re: An article about Emacs for TUGboat

[N. Raghavendra]

At 2018-02-10T20:47:48+01:00, Marcin Borkowski wrote:

> I was asked by one of the editors of TUGboat (the journal of the TeX
> Users' Group) to write an article about using Emacs for TeX.  I am now
> in the process of writing this paper.  My idea is to first explain the
> basic concepts of Emacs, and then proceed to AUCTeX and various ways of
> customizing Emacs.

In my experience AUCTeX is best suited for editing LaTeX documents, and
less so for documents using other TeX macros such as plain TeX, or
ConTeXt, although it has some support for them.  Perhaps this could be
pointed out as a caveat when you mention AUCTeX, especially since
TUGboat is widely read by users of such TeX macros.

You may also want to mention RefTeX as another remarkably useful Emacs
package, which plugs into AUCTeX seamlessly.  It handles multi-file
LaTeX documents that use the `xr' package.  It can also be used with
other TeX macros such as ConTeXt.

Many people seem to use CDLaTeX too for inserting LaTeX environments and
such.  Simlarly, Yasnippet.  More such Emacs packages are described at
EmacsWiki, https://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/LaTeX

Another very nice tool is the Emacs BibTeX mode, which is described in
an article by Stefan Schoef,
http://www.jonathanleroux.org/bibtex-mode.html

Raghu.

--
N. Raghavendra <raghu@hri.res.in>, http://www.retrotexts.net/
Harish-Chandra Research Institute, http://www.hri.res.in/

Re: An article about Emacs for TUGboat

[Marcin Borkowski]

On 2018-02-12, at 05:34, N. Raghavendra <nyraghu27132@gmail.com> wrote:

> At 2018-02-10T20:47:48+01:00, Marcin Borkowski wrote:
>
>> I was asked by one of the editors of TUGboat (the journal of the TeX
>> Users' Group) to write an article about using Emacs for TeX.  I am now
>> in the process of writing this paper.  My idea is to first explain the
>> basic concepts of Emacs, and then proceed to AUCTeX and various ways of
>> customizing Emacs.
>
> In my experience AUCTeX is best suited for editing LaTeX documents, and
> less so for documents using other TeX macros such as plain TeX, or
> ConTeXt, although it has some support for them.  Perhaps this could be
> pointed out as a caveat when you mention AUCTeX, especially since
> TUGboat is widely read by users of such TeX macros.

Very good point, thanks!  I am aware of it, but I probably wouldn't
remember to put that info in.

> You may also want to mention RefTeX as another remarkably useful Emacs
> package, which plugs into AUCTeX seamlessly.  It handles multi-file
> LaTeX documents that use the `xr' package.  It can also be used with
> other TeX macros such as ConTeXt.

I'll mention it, though I'm not using it myself.  (It doesn't work with
amsrefs.  Some day I'll fix that...)

> Many people seem to use CDLaTeX too for inserting LaTeX environments and
> such.  Simlarly, Yasnippet.  More such Emacs packages are described at
> EmacsWiki, https://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/LaTeX
>
> Another very nice tool is the Emacs BibTeX mode, which is described in
> an article by Stefan Schoef,
> http://www.jonathanleroux.org/bibtex-mode.html

Thanks for all your inputs!

-- 
Marcin Borkowski

Re: An article about Emacs for TUGboat

[Emanuel Berg]

Jean-Christophe Helary wrote:

> May I suggest that you put the introduction
> to Emacs in an annex at the end of the
> article? Or even, since there are tons of
> introductions to emacs concepts, why not
> refer to them instead of writing your own ?

Indeed, better to write an essay style article!

You have used Emacs and TeX more than enough
for this. Just write what you find interesting,
it doesn't have to give a full/representative
insight. Those articles are often boring to
read as well.

For several years I wanted to put together an
essay style anthology called "The Emacs World".
This would be in style like this UNIX book [1],
so it would be a "cultural history" for
hackers, but not a manual or a book with the
purpose of enhancing anyone's skills, just
knowledge, "facts for fans" if you will.
One chapter would be Emacs-w3m, one Gnus, one
Elisp, and tho I never thought of it until now,
why not one TeX?

[1] @book{quarter-century-of-unix,
  title      = {A Quarter Century of UNIX},
  author     = {Peter Salus},
  publisher  = {Addison-Wesley},
  year       = 1994,
  ISBN       = 0201547775,
}

-- 
underground experts united
http://user.it.uu.se/~embe8573

Re: An article about Emacs for TUGboat

[Marcin Borkowski]

On 2018-02-12, at 16:26, Emanuel Berg <moasen@zoho.com> wrote:

> Jean-Christophe Helary wrote:
>
>> May I suggest that you put the introduction
>> to Emacs in an annex at the end of the
>> article? Or even, since there are tons of
>> introductions to emacs concepts, why not
>> refer to them instead of writing your own ?
>
> Indeed, better to write an essay style article!
>
> You have used Emacs and TeX more than enough
> for this. Just write what you find interesting,
> it doesn't have to give a full/representative
> insight. Those articles are often boring to
> read as well.

That's what I'm going to do.  It won't be "comprehensive"; it'll be just
a story about "how I am using Emacs with TeX".

Best,

-- 
Marcin Borkowski

Re: An article about Emacs for TUGboat

[Eric S Fraga]

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On Saturday, 10 Feb 2018 at 20:47, Marcin Borkowski wrote:
> I was asked by one of the editors of TUGboat (the journal of the TeX
> Users' Group) to write an article about using Emacs for TeX.  I am now

[...]

> 3. Keybindings.  In Emacs, every key can be bound to a command.

I would suggest calling this customization or similar and then also
include file local variables (e.g. TeX-master) and even faces maybe.

> Also, are there any volunteers to proofread the first draft of my paper?

I'd be happy to have a read if you are short on volunteers.

-- 
Eric S Fraga via Emacs 27.0.50 & org 9.1.6 on Debian buster/sid

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Re: An article about Emacs for TUGboat

[Marcin Borkowski]

On 2018-02-13, at 12:31, Eric S Fraga <e.fraga@ucl.ac.uk> wrote:

> On Saturday, 10 Feb 2018 at 20:47, Marcin Borkowski wrote:
>> I was asked by one of the editors of TUGboat (the journal of the TeX
>> Users' Group) to write an article about using Emacs for TeX.  I am now
>
> [...]
>
>> 3. Keybindings.  In Emacs, every key can be bound to a command.
>
> I would suggest calling this customization or similar and then also
> include file local variables (e.g. TeX-master) and even faces maybe.

Thanks, I'll mention those!

>> Also, are there any volunteers to proofread the first draft of my paper?
>
> I'd be happy to have a read if you are short on volunteers.

Great, thanks!

-- 
Marcin Borkowski

Re: An article about Emacs for TUGboat

[Phillip Lord]

You might also be interested in adding some more geeky stuff such as the
Rweave support in ESS, polymode or my own lentic which allows advanced
literate programming.

Phil


Marcin Borkowski <mbork@mbork.pl> writes:

> Hi all,
>
> I was asked by one of the editors of TUGboat (the journal of the TeX
> Users' Group) to write an article about using Emacs for TeX.  I am now
> in the process of writing this paper.  My idea is to first explain the
> basic concepts of Emacs, and then proceed to AUCTeX and various ways of
> customizing Emacs.  I would be very glad if some more experienced Emacs
> (and TeX) user could read my paper and suggest any enhancements.
>
> For the record, I want to explain Emacs using four main concepts:
>
> 1. Buffers.  Like in Unix "everything is a file", in Emacs "everything
> is a buffer".  What in other editors is implemented using various things
> (dialog windows, text input boxes, non-editable text areas, file
> selection widgets, tree-like outlines etc.) is all buffers in Emacs.
>
> 2. Commands.  Commands are pieces of Lisp which perform various tasks,
> from inserting a character in a buffer to playing tetris.  By writing
> commands, the user can extend Emacs, or in fact build their own editor
> (or other application, like an email client!) on top of it.
>
> 3. Keybindings.  In Emacs, every key can be bound to a command.
>
> 4. Modes.  This is how Emacs knows which key is bound to which command
> in which buffer, thus making the previous three work well together and
> enabling a smooth user experience.
>
> I understand this is an oversimplification - it must be in a 5-10-page
> paper - but I think this more or less catches the spirit of Emacs.  Does
> anyone think I should add (or subtract;-)) something?
>
> Also, are there any volunteers to proofread the first draft of my paper?
> (It should be ready in about a week, and I have to submit it in about
> a month.)
>
> TIA,
>
> --
> Marcin Borkowski

Re: An article about Emacs for TUGboat

[Marcin Borkowski]

On 2018-02-16, at 13:13, Phillip Lord <phillip.lord@russet.org.uk> wrote:

> You might also be interested in adding some more geeky stuff such as the
> Rweave support in ESS, polymode or my own lentic which allows advanced
> literate programming.

Thanks!

-- 
Marcin Borkowski