Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!mcvax!diku!carllp From: carllp@diku.dk (Carl-Lykke Pedersen) Newsgroups: comp.editors Subject: Re: EMACS better than Vi? Message-ID: <3810@diku.dk> Date: 8 May 88 11:19:08 GMT References: <1839@mhres.mh.nl> Organization: DIKU, U of Copenhagen, DK Lines: 42 In article <1839@mhres.mh.nl> jv@mhres.mh.nl (Johan Vromans) writes: >[Lets start a new editors war ...:-)] ^^^ >When dealing with basic editing: Emacs is (or can easily be configured) a >simple > [...] >This makes Emacs (and its clones) suitable for novice users (e.g. >secretaries, or people who only access the machine for the netnews of e-mail. The problem for novice users is that they still have all the other commands. One false move and you are *dead*! Have you ever tried typing 'C-x n' by accident? Or 'C-w', or 'C-x l' or ... If you know wery little about emacs it can be very hard to get out of this. And how do you get out? 'C-c' gives access to even more bizare commands, 'C-z' doesn't always work, 'C-\' doesn't work, 'ESC ESC' set you in the most bizare part of emacs! Well, get help! The help system is such a gigantic system. You wouldn't know were to begin. If you make an apropos, you either get 20 pages or none! About this editor war: I think vi is worse in the help-aspect and with the key-strokes, but it sure is smaller! Well, back to an *EDITOR*. I think it would be a good thing to make a special novice-mode in emacs. The only commands should be the ones you mentioned, a (better) tutorial, a way to get into the real emacs and a usefull user-interface with the undefined keys. >For experts - ITS GREAT! I don't know how I lived without it, but then again, maybe I didn't! >I prefer emacs, but that's a personal opinion. CLp .