RE: RE: powerful editors versus IDEs (was: License to Steal)

["Beard, Frank" <beardf@spawar.navy.mil>]

-----Original Message-----
From: Ted Dennison [mailto:dennison@telepath.com]

> I consider a macro facility to be necessary (ever needed to space over 4
spaces
> in 300 declarations, or create a declaration for each number in another
file?),
> and I notice its not in your list.

I was listing what it has, not what it is missing.  As far as the 4 spaces
example,
if you are talking about indenting the 300 declarations over 4 spaces, then
yes
that is the indent/unindent that I listed.  If you are talking about adding
4 spaces
in the middle of a line, as in wanting to move the colons (:) in the
declarations 
over 4 spaces to keep them all lined up, then that is what I called the
"repeat"
feature from emacs, which I do miss.  But it is far from a monumental
problem unless
you have a huge number of lines involved, which doesn't seem to happen that
often.

> The way I open a file in emacs is by hitting ctrl-D to bring up dired-mode
on
> one of the file's parent directories. Then I browse down the directory
tree
> until I find the file by using the 'f' or "Enter" key. It doesn't sound
> significatly different.

You're right, it is similar, but less user friendly and less aesthetically
pleasing,
at least to me.

> Sometimes, using emacs' file name completion I don't need to go through
all that
> effort. The Windows Open Dialog has no such capability.

That's not exactly true, it does have something similar, in that after you
bring up
the dialog box (just as in the ObjectAda project window), if you begin
typing
characters, it will jump you to the nearest matching name.  Then you can
pick from
that part of the list.  Windows Explorer works the same way.

I really don't want to start an editor war.  Everyone has their own
preference.
Emacs is a powerful editor (as is vi).  I just don't like the more primitive
look
and feel.

Frank