Is emacs helpful or necessary to gcc programming?

Is emacs helpful or necessary to gcc programming?

[Jimmerr]

If I use a different editor from emacs, what features will I be losing 
in terms of programming with gcc?

Thanks
Jim

Re: Is emacs helpful or necessary to gcc programming?

[Dave Steffen]

Jimmerr <jimkkREMOVEME@umich.edu> writes:

> If I use a different editor from emacs, what features will I be
> losing in terms of programming with gcc?

None whatsoever.  Unless I misunderstand your question, you have some
fundamental misconceptions about programming.  Programming (the act
of creating source files containing computer code) is completely
separate from the act of compiling (turning files containing computer
code into executables).

GCC is a compiler; it could care less where the source files come
from.  Emacs is an editor; it could care less what you do with the
files you produce with it.  Any other text editor (vi, pico, etc) will
give you precisely the same results.

It just so happens that Emacs has very good support for programming,
which makes it _easier_ to write code.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dave Steffen, Ph.D.               Wave after wave will flow with the tide
Dept. of Physics                    And bury the world as it does
Colorado State University         Tide after tide will flow and recede
steffend@lamar.colostate.edu        Leaving life to go on as it was...
							- Peart / RUSH
"The reason that our people suffer in this way.... 
is that our ancestors failed to rule wisely".   -General Choi, Hong Hi

Re: Is emacs helpful or necessary to gcc programming?

[Jimmerr]

In article <873ciux2mn.fsf@helicon.physics.colostate.edu>,
 Dave Steffen <steffend@lamar.colostate.edu> wrote:


> It just so happens that Emacs has very good support for programming,
> which makes it _easier_ to write code.
> 


Thanks.  I was referring to things such as being able to debug and 
compile from within emacs. Is this important?  Do people who write c or 
c++ programs (especially for palm pilot with PRC tools) use or depend on 
emacs, and why?

Thanks
Jim

Re: Is emacs helpful or necessary to gcc programming?

[Ichimusai]

Jimmerr <jimkkREMOVEME@umich.edu> writes:

> Thanks. I was referring to things such as being able to debug and
> compile from within emacs. Is this important? Do people who write c
> or c++ programs (especially for palm pilot with PRC tools) use or
> depend on emacs, and why?

I do.

The reason is that it is a very good editor, which leaves very little
to want from somewhere else. So far I have not stumbled upon anything
tricky that was not already solved or a few lines of eLisp could not
take care of.

-- 
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Re: Is emacs helpful or necessary to gcc programming?

[Jason Rumney]

Jimmerr <jimkkREMOVEME@umich.edu> writes:

> Do people who write c or c++ programs (especially for palm pilot
> with PRC tools) use or depend on emacs, and why?

Emacs users depend on Emacs. Others have not yet seen the light.

Re: Is emacs helpful or necessary to gcc programming?

[Ole Laursen]

Jimmerr <jimkkREMOVEME@umich.edu> writes:

> Thanks.  I was referring to things such as being able to debug and 
> compile from within emacs. Is this important?  Do people who write c or 
> c++ programs (especially for palm pilot with PRC tools) use or depend on 
> emacs, and why?

"Why" is of course because Emacs is the best editor ever. Especially
for C and C++.

I can recommend the following lines for your .emacs:

  (global-set-key [f5] 'compile)
  (global-set-key [f6] 'first-error)
  (global-set-key [f7] 'previous-error)
  (global-set-key [f8] 'next-error)

Then press F5 to compile something and then press F6 to get to the
first compile error and F7/F8 to navigate between the following ones.
Very convenient. For debugging, there is 'M-x gdb' which is a little
bit weird to use, though.

-- 
Ole Laursen
http://www.cs.auc.dk/~olau/

Re: Is emacs helpful or necessary to gcc programming?

[Dan Espen]

Ole Laursen <olau@hardworking.dk> writes:

> Jimmerr <jimkkREMOVEME@umich.edu> writes:
>
>> Thanks.  I was referring to things such as being able to debug and 
>> compile from within emacs. Is this important?  Do people who write c or 
>> c++ programs (especially for palm pilot with PRC tools) use or depend on 
>> emacs, and why?
>
> "Why" is of course because Emacs is the best editor ever. Especially
> for C and C++.
>
> I can recommend the following lines for your .emacs:
>
>   (global-set-key [f5] 'compile)
>   (global-set-key [f6] 'first-error)
>   (global-set-key [f7] 'previous-error)
>   (global-set-key [f8] 'next-error)

I fully agree with the concept, but IMHO F6 is wasted,
F8 will accomplish the same function.

If you really need to go back to the first error,
you can just click on the first error.

Here are mine using only 2 keys:

(define-key global-map [(f1)] 'compile)
(define-key global-map [(f2)] 'next-error)
(define-key global-map [(shift f2)] 'previous-error)

Well, actually, here are a few more, but I don't use
them very often:

(define-key global-map [(control f1)] 'kill-compilation)
(define-key global-map [(alt f1)] 'remote-compile)

Re: Is emacs helpful or necessary to gcc programming?

[Dave Steffen]

Jimmerr <jimkkREMOVEME@umich.edu> writes:

> In article <873ciux2mn.fsf@helicon.physics.colostate.edu>,
>  Dave Steffen <steffend@lamar.colostate.edu> wrote:
> 
> 
> > It just so happens that Emacs has very good support for programming,
> > which makes it _easier_ to write code.
> > 
> 
> Thanks.  I was referring to things such as being able to debug and
> compile from within emacs. Is this important?  Do people who write c
> or c++ programs (especially for palm pilot with PRC tools) use or
> depend on emacs, and why?

Ah, but that's not what you asked; IIRC, you asked to know which gcc
features you would have or not have if you coded in Emacs, which
is a nonsensical question. ;-)

I don't know about palm pilots, or even what PRC tools are, but for
everyday C++ programming, I rely on Emacs completely, because IMHO
it's the best.  I can limp along in VI if I really have to, but it
hurts.

As far as debugging, I use GDB when I need it (run straight from the
command line, but IIRC Emacs has a GDB mode), and occasionally DDD
(which is a fancy front end for GDB).  My most commonly used tool for
finding wierd bugs is another human; you just can't beat having
another pair of eyes. ;-)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dave Steffen, Ph.D.               Wave after wave will flow with the tide
Dept. of Physics                    And bury the world as it does
Colorado State University         Tide after tide will flow and recede
steffend@lamar.colostate.edu        Leaving life to go on as it was...
							- Peart / RUSH
"The reason that our people suffer in this way.... 
is that our ancestors failed to rule wisely".   -General Choi, Hong Hi

Re: Is emacs helpful or necessary to gcc programming?

[Elf M. Sternberg]

Jimmerr <jimkkREMOVEME@umich.edu> writes:

> In article <873ciux2mn.fsf@helicon.physics.colostate.edu>,
>  Dave Steffen <steffend@lamar.colostate.edu> wrote:

>> It just so happens that Emacs has very good support for programming,
>> which makes it _easier_ to write code.

> Thanks.  I was referring to things such as being able to debug and 
> compile from within emacs. Is this important?  

        Is it "important?"  No.  Is it nice?  Absolutely.  So is
automatic code indenting and face (changes to the color or style of a
display of characters depending upon their role' in the program).  With
additional tools, emacs, like most good code editors, can help you
organize your build process and so on.  Emacs makes it easier to debug
the blank file (which is all programming really is), but it's no more or
less "important" for that reason.  

                Elf

Re: Is emacs helpful or necessary to gcc programming?

[Pascal Bourguignon]

Jimmerr <jimkkREMOVEME@umich.edu> writes:

> If I use a different editor from emacs, what features will I be losing 
> in terms of programming with gcc?

I don't know how you do it, but personnaly, I don't program with gcc.

I compile  my programs  with gcc or  with other compilers,  and that's
about all I ask them to do.

My programing is done with my  brains, my hands, a keyboard and a good
editor.  emacs is a good editor to edit programs, because it allows me
to  meta-program: to  write  lisp  programs to  generate  parts of  my
programs automatically.   If I used an  other editor, I  would have to
use a separate  lisp environment to generate my  programs, and I would
not have  all those nice editing  functions already built  in emacs to
modify/generate my programs.





-- 
__Pascal_Bourguignon__                   http://www.informatimago.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Do not adjust your mind, there is a fault in reality.

Re: Is emacs helpful or necessary to gcc programming?

[Mark Mynsted]

This really does not answer your question, but I would recommend that
one select a text editor, perhaps Emacs, then use it for all
development.

What compiler one uses to compile code is really a lesser concern when
selecting a text editor.  One should select a text editor based on how
well it performs as a text editor not how well it integrates with a
particular compiler.  If the editor is "programmable" then one may
integrate it with any compiler.  

Emacs fairs quite well using the above metric.

You may find the following URL of value:

http://www.amath.washington.edu/~lf/tutorials/autoconf/toolsmanual_toc.html


-- 
-MM
I rarely read email from this address          /"\
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Re: Is emacs helpful or necessary to gcc programming?

[Arnold]

Sorry

Jimmerr schrieb:

>If I use a different editor from emacs, what features will I be losing 
>in terms of programming with gcc?
>
>Thanks
>Jim
>  
>

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Re: Is emacs helpful or necessary to gcc programming?

[Pascal Bourguignon]

Jimmerr <jimkkREMOVEME@umich.edu> writes:

> If I use a different editor from emacs, what features will I be losing 
> in terms of programming with gcc?
> 
> Thanks
> Jim

As I've already written, you  don't program with gcc, you program with
your brains, your little fingers and an editor.


So  if the  question  is what  features  you would  lose  in terms  of
compiling with  gcc your C  programs, I'd say  none at all,  go ahead,
enter your C programs with a switch panel in binary!


Otherwise you must compare the features of emacs with those of another
editor and see  which one gives more for your bucks,  that is, for the
work of your fingers and of your brains.


-- 
__Pascal_Bourguignon__                   http://www.informatimago.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Do not adjust your mind, there is a fault in reality.