Emacs (text editor)

Emacs (text editor)
Name	Emacs
Developer	Richard Stallman, GNU Project, Free Software Foundation
Released	1976
Programming language	C (programming language), Emacs Lisp
Operating system	Unix-like, Microsoft Windows, macOS
Genre	Text editor
License	GNU General Public License

Emacs (text editor) is a programmable text editor originally created in 1976 that serves as an extensible, customizable, self-documenting environment used by programmers, writers, and researchers. It has been associated with projects and organizations such as the GNU Project, the Free Software Foundation, and figures like Richard Stallman, while influencing tools and platforms including Vim, XEmacs, Visual Studio Code, and Atom (text editor). Emacs integrates editing, project management, version control, and communication workflows used across Unix, Linux, Microsoft Windows, macOS, and academic institutions such as MIT and Harvard University.

History

Emacs began as a set of macros for the TECO editor developed at MIT by Richard Stallman, Guy L. Steele Jr., James Gosling, and others associated with the AI Lab (MIT), and was influenced by earlier systems like Gosling Emacs and the ITS (computer). In the 1970s and 1980s Emacs diverged into multiple branches with contributions from projects and entities such as Xerox PARC, Bell Labs, Carnegie Mellon University, and the Free Software Foundation, while interacting with initiatives like GNU Emacs and XEmacs and affecting software policy discussions at bodies like the United States Department of Defense. The Emacs ecosystem evolved alongside developments in Unix, BSD, Linux distributions, and commercial systems from Sun Microsystems and IBM, with portability work spanning C (programming language), Lisp (programming language), and system interfaces like POSIX.

Design and Features

Emacs centers on extensibility and programmability, incorporating buffer-oriented editing, incremental search, multiple windows, and a model combining keymaps, modes, and hooks inspired by concepts from Lisp Machine environments and influenced by editors such as ED, ed (Unix), and vi. Its interface supports major modes and minor modes for languages and formats associated with organizations like ISO standards and tools used in projects such as TeX, LaTeX, HTML5, CSS, Python (programming language), Java (programming language), C++, Rust (programming language), and JavaScript. Integration features include support for version control systems like Git, Subversion, CVS, and protocols such as SSH, FTP, and HTTP for interacting with servers including GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and academic repositories like arXiv. Emacs provides built-in utilities for email and news via clients comparable to Mutt and Thunderbird, calendar and scheduling tied to concepts from ISO 8601 and institutions such as IETF, and project management workflows similar to those in Make (software) and GNU Compiler Collection toolchains.

Emacs Lisp and Extensibility

Extensibility is powered by Emacs Lisp, a dialect of Lisp (programming language) originally derived from Maclisp and Scheme (programming language) ideas, enabling users like contributors associated with Debian, Red Hat, Fedora, and Arch Linux to write packages for tasks ranging from syntax highlighting to integrated development environments paralleling Eclipse (software), NetBeans and IntelliJ IDEA. Package management systems such as ELPA, MELPA, and repositories maintained by communities like GNU Savannah and organizations such as GitHub host extensions for integrations with services like Docker, Kubernetes, AWS, Azure, and scientific tools from GNU Scientific Library and R (programming language). Emacs Lisp enables embedding of interpreters and runtimes tied to ecosystems like Python (programming language), Ruby (programming language), Perl, and Node.js, while offering facilities for asynchronous processes, networking, and GUIs interoperable with systems such as GTK, Qt, X Window System, and Wayland.

Implementations and Variants

Notable implementations and forks include GNU Emacs maintained by the Free Software Foundation and forks influenced by contributors from projects like XEmacs, plus alternative implementations and front ends integrating technologies from Electron (software framework), Eclipse Foundation, and language-specific editors created by companies such as Microsoft and JetBrains. Ports and builds target operating systems and distributions including Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch Linux, Gentoo, OpenBSD, NetBSD, FreeBSD, Cygwin, and MSYS2, with packaging formats like Debian package, RPM (file format), Homebrew formulas, and Chocolatey installers. Emacs interoperability extends to editors and tools such as Spacemacs, Doom Emacs, Aqumacs, and integrations used in environments from GNUstep to macOS workflows within enterprises like Red Hat and academic centers like CERN.

Community and Development

Development is coordinated through channels involving mailing lists tied to projects like GNU Project, issue trackers hosted on platforms such as Savannah (software) and GitHub, and governance practices informed by figures like Richard Stallman and organizations including the Free Software Foundation. The community spans contributors from academic institutions such as MIT, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon University, open source foundations like the Linux Foundation, corporations including IBM, Red Hat, and volunteer maintainers from international groups in regions represented at conferences like FOSDEM, LibrePlanet, DebConf, and LinuxCon. Educational resources, books, and tutorials have been produced by publishers like O'Reilly Media, Addison-Wesley, and authors associated with projects such as Practical Common Lisp.

Reception and Influence

Emacs has been praised and critiqued in contexts involving software culture debates epitomized by exchanges between proponents of editors like Vim and supporters from communities around Richard Stallman and the Free Software Foundation, and it has influenced many projects and systems including GNU Project, Linux kernel development workflows, integrated environments like Eclipse (software), and modern editors such as Visual Studio Code and Sublime Text. The editor's philosophies intersect with movements and events such as Free Software Movement, Open Source Initiative, and conferences like SIGPLAN and USENIX, and its extensibility models have inspired plugins and packages across ecosystems maintained by organizations like GitHub and GitLab, as well as tooling used in enterprises including Google and Microsoft.

Category:Text editors Category:Free software