I was reading how you could browse the net with Emacs but then it was stated that it was done with another application like Firefox so this would imply that Emacs is an interpreter would it not?

So my questions is;

What is Emacs capable of? Is it an interpreter that runs a text editor?

Thanks...................in..................advance!

Emacs is a pretty good operating system, but it could use a better text editor

On a serious note, emacs is a powerful beast. It's extremely extendable. AFAIK, all the extensions are written in ELisp (Emacs Lisp). One of them is W3 - a text-based web browser.
I think you were referring to it.


The question should be: what is emacs NOT capable of?! It's a very powerful tool for programmers. Personally, apart from writing code, I've used emacs for the following:

- email
- usenet
- LaTex
- diary/todo list/notes (org-mode is probably one of the most amazing emacs extensions)

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I've been using Emacs as my editor for years and I didn't know it had this. I do know it has a psychotherapist and can play Tetris, though .

Besides writing programs, LaTeX and any kind of plain text document, I run R from within Emacs using Emacs Speaks Statistics.

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Yeah, a psychotherapist provides a professional help - it has helped me on a number of occasions

For those interested in org-mode, please have a look at:
http://orgmode.org/

and a video presentation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJTwQvgfgMM

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That does look pretty cool. I always see all these neat things that Emacs can do and try it out again for about 5 minutes, then when I start editing text I go running back to Vim with my tail between my legs. (I don't mean to start up that holy war again, please don't take it that way). I should probably force myself to learn all the keybinds and stick with it for a week or two.

Any other 'must-have' extensions?

I think the nethack extension is another 'must'

On a serious note, I also use vim for some things. Both editors are great!

A few more questions:

Is Emacs an early attempt of an IDE?

Why Lisp? Was Lisp merely the only choice for an interpreted Language? Lisp or nothing?

I read that Emacs runs Lisp like Java does in a Virtual machine. Is this true?

Thanks again!

There isn't really any clear cut division between being an interpreter or not. At any rate w3 is a browser written in Emacs Lisp, and emacs-w3m is an emacs interface to the w3m textmode browser.

Why 'an attempt'? Emacs is one of the most powerful IDEs out there.

I should have asked if " Is Emacs a pioneer of IDEs" and was this the original intention or did it evolve towards this. I seriously want a 8 by 10 photo of Stallman and Torvalds on my office wall. If people inquire who they are I react with absolute astonishment like it is the most blatant lack of respect that I have ever witnessed.

Well, I guess you'll be astonished on a daily basis

I have no idea about that (you'd have to ask RMS) but I'd risk guessing that it evolved towards what we now call an IDE.

From Wikipedia: So at first, it wasn't an editor at all, but an extension for TECO (Tape Editor and Corrector, later Text Editor and Corrector), the editor of Incompatible Timesharing System (ITS).