6 ms·

For you Atom users: Why have you chosen Atom over, say, Emacs?

by ywecur 10y ago

capote 10y ago
Atom and Emacs are so different I don't think it's worth it to provide reasons for one or the other. Vim/Emacs/etc vs. Sublime/Atom/etc are simply a matter of which type of editor you prefer or need for a particular purpose (classic vs. modern, GUI-based vs. usable over ssh, and many more giant differences...)
levemi 10y ago
Not sure if you're trolling, because that's a pretty ridiculous question. The obvious answer is Atom's immediate usability and the much easier learning curve over Emacs which requires an incredible amount of research and effort to set up properly and use. For example how long do you think it takes for the average new programmer choosing Atom to figure out and learn to use the fuzzy file search versus them getting that working on Emacs? Seconds versus hours I imagine. It took me a non-trivial amount of time to set that up on Emacs.
- falcolas 10y ago
  > how long do you think it takes for the average new programmer If they're taking advantage of Google, a few seconds for either one. Discoverability in both kinda sucks.
  - levemi 10y ago
    It does not take a few seconds to get fuzzy search working on emacs in any shape or form. You have to add an addon like helm or icicles to get anywhere near atom's functionality. And you have to learn how to get addons to work. It works without an add on in Atom, and you don't need to do a Google search to figure it out. I actually hate Atom and I resent you making me defend it. >:|
    - phaer 10y ago
      You could just use something like https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/ https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/ and have working fuzzy-search out of the box (with VIM-like key bindings if you like)
- cheez 10y ago
  spacemacs bro
- ywecur 10y ago
  Alright, so say they use Spacemacs (Which really should be the Emacs default). Now how would they justify their choice?
  - crucialfelix 10y ago
    I was a happy spacemacs user for a while, but my install kept getting broken by updates. Atom has never just fallen over dead like that. After quite a while it was still mysterious to me how to change simple things or to even trace where certain behavior was implemented. (that can be a problem in Atom too). In short: I didn't have the time. I have a lot of work to do, no time to fiddle. I still miss a few things from spacemacs. helm-swoop mode is awesome. That could be done in Atom. I'd like a <SPACE>-x-y command interface for atom. Proton seeks to achieve that: https://github.com/dvcrn/proton https://github.com/dvcrn/proton I'd love to be able to handle panes with the agility of Emacs.
    - dogweather 10y ago
      > panes https://atom.io/packages/atomic-emacs https://atom.io/packages/atomic-emacs
      - crucialfelix 10y ago
        I use vim-mode. I do have key commands to move panes around, but it's not as immediate and pleasurable as Emacs or Vim.
    - ywecur 10y ago
      I don't understand your reasoning here. >my install kept getting broken by updates. Atom has never just fallen over dead like that. Could you elaborate on that? This has never happened to me. If this happened because you wrote a bunch of custom layers then I'd argue that it's a non issue because in Atom you cannot do that at all (or at least experience the same problems if you do) >After quite a while it was still mysterious to me how to change simple things or to even trace where certain behavior was implemented. As you stated, the same is true for Atom. >In short: I didn't have the time. I have a lot of work to do, no time to fiddle. Time for what? The superior modification capabilities in Spacemacs by no means force you to fiddle. It seems to me that all your problems were caused due to you not being able to stop yourself to fiddling with the very sane and good defaults. This is similar to the argument I see about people who switch to an iPhone all the time. "I just didn't have time to fiddle. I wanted my phone to just work." So just don't exercise your freedom to fiddle then! The defaults in both cases are just as sane and if you some time in the future need to customize something for the sake of productivity, the you can! Sound to me like somebody moving to China from the US because they "Didn't have time to participate in politics anymore."
girvo 10y ago
The handling for modern Javascript development tools is superior than any other editor I've used, Vim and Emacs included unfortunately. I use Vim for everything, except JS development. For that I use Atom.
- eknkc 10y ago
  What plugins do you use for JS?
  - slowmovintarget 10y ago
    :) As Javascript is Atom's native language, support for JS is very good to start with. Have a look here for additional plugins: https://atom.io/packages/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=keyword%3Ajavascript https://atom.io/packages/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=keyword%3Aj... Anything with more than 10K users is likely to very useful.
- fenomas 10y ago
  Have you used VS:Code? If so, what do you prefer about Atom for JS development? I find the JS intellisense, while heavily dependent on what kind of code you write, leaves every other editor standing.
  - girvo 10y ago
    Flow type integration. TypeScript in VS:Code is better, of course, but for Flow or Purescript Atom leaves it in the dust unfortunately
- iaml 10y ago
  Have you tried brackets+theseus? I've heard it's quite good for js.
CJefferson 10y ago
For me, it is feeling like part of my OS. I have to use a whole bunch of other Mac apps, and Emacs (or vim) don't fit in. Mouse cut+paste is dodgy, and they use a whole bunch of different shortcut keys (I just instinctively type apple+s for save, apple+f for find, etc). There seems (based on other users I know) two sweet points -- put your whole life in emacs, and give the other apps you have to use Emacs shortcuts, or no Emacs. Some people's brains might find it easier to switch between two sets of shortcuts when switching between apps of course.

For you Atom users: Why have you chosen Atom over, say, Emacs?

by ywecur 10y ago

For you Atom users: Why have you chosen Atom over, say, Emacs?

Atom and Emacs are so different I don't think it's worth it to provide reasons for one or the other. Vim/Emacs/etc vs. Sublime/Atom/etc are simply a matter of which type of editor you prefer or need for a particular purpose (classic vs. modern, GUI-based vs. usable over ssh, and many more giant differences...)

levemi 10y ago

Not sure if you're trolling, because that's a pretty ridiculous question. The obvious answer is Atom's immediate usability and the much easier learning curve over Emacs which requires an incredible amount of research and effort to set up properly and use. For example how long do you think it takes for the average new programmer choosing Atom to figure out and learn to use the fuzzy file search versus them getting that working on Emacs? Seconds versus hours I imagine. It took me a non-trivial amount of time to set that up on Emacs.

falcolas 10y ago
> how long do you think it takes for the average new programmer If they're taking advantage of Google, a few seconds for either one. Discoverability in both kinda sucks.
- levemi 10y ago
  It does not take a few seconds to get fuzzy search working on emacs in any shape or form. You have to add an addon like helm or icicles to get anywhere near atom's functionality. And you have to learn how to get addons to work. It works without an add on in Atom, and you don't need to do a Google search to figure it out. I actually hate Atom and I resent you making me defend it. >:|
  - phaer 10y ago
    You could just use something like https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/ https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/ and have working fuzzy-search out of the box (with VIM-like key bindings if you like)
cheez 10y ago
spacemacs bro
ywecur 10y ago
Alright, so say they use Spacemacs (Which really should be the Emacs default). Now how would they justify their choice?
- crucialfelix 10y ago
  I was a happy spacemacs user for a while, but my install kept getting broken by updates. Atom has never just fallen over dead like that. After quite a while it was still mysterious to me how to change simple things or to even trace where certain behavior was implemented. (that can be a problem in Atom too). In short: I didn't have the time. I have a lot of work to do, no time to fiddle. I still miss a few things from spacemacs. helm-swoop mode is awesome. That could be done in Atom. I'd like a <SPACE>-x-y command interface for atom. Proton seeks to achieve that: https://github.com/dvcrn/proton https://github.com/dvcrn/proton I'd love to be able to handle panes with the agility of Emacs.
  - dogweather 10y ago
    > panes https://atom.io/packages/atomic-emacs https://atom.io/packages/atomic-emacs
    - crucialfelix 10y ago
      I use vim-mode. I do have key commands to move panes around, but it's not as immediate and pleasurable as Emacs or Vim.
  - ywecur 10y ago
    I don't understand your reasoning here. >my install kept getting broken by updates. Atom has never just fallen over dead like that. Could you elaborate on that? This has never happened to me. If this happened because you wrote a bunch of custom layers then I'd argue that it's a non issue because in Atom you cannot do that at all (or at least experience the same problems if you do) >After quite a while it was still mysterious to me how to change simple things or to even trace where certain behavior was implemented. As you stated, the same is true for Atom. >In short: I didn't have the time. I have a lot of work to do, no time to fiddle. Time for what? The superior modification capabilities in Spacemacs by no means force you to fiddle. It seems to me that all your problems were caused due to you not being able to stop yourself to fiddling with the very sane and good defaults. This is similar to the argument I see about people who switch to an iPhone all the time. "I just didn't have time to fiddle. I wanted my phone to just work." So just don't exercise your freedom to fiddle then! The defaults in both cases are just as sane and if you some time in the future need to customize something for the sake of productivity, the you can! Sound to me like somebody moving to China from the US because they "Didn't have time to participate in politics anymore."

girvo 10y ago

The handling for modern Javascript development tools is superior than any other editor I've used, Vim and Emacs included unfortunately. I use Vim for everything, except JS development. For that I use Atom.

eknkc 10y ago
What plugins do you use for JS?
- slowmovintarget 10y ago
  :) As Javascript is Atom's native language, support for JS is very good to start with. Have a look here for additional plugins: https://atom.io/packages/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=keyword%3Ajavascript https://atom.io/packages/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=keyword%3Aj... Anything with more than 10K users is likely to very useful.
fenomas 10y ago
Have you used VS:Code? If so, what do you prefer about Atom for JS development? I find the JS intellisense, while heavily dependent on what kind of code you write, leaves every other editor standing.
- girvo 10y ago
  Flow type integration. TypeScript in VS:Code is better, of course, but for Flow or Purescript Atom leaves it in the dust unfortunately
iaml 10y ago
Have you tried brackets+theseus? I've heard it's quite good for js.

CJefferson 10y ago

For me, it is feeling like part of my OS. I have to use a whole bunch of other Mac apps, and Emacs (or vim) don't fit in. Mouse cut+paste is dodgy, and they use a whole bunch of different shortcut keys (I just instinctively type apple+s for save, apple+f for find, etc). There seems (based on other users I know) two sweet points -- put your whole life in emacs, and give the other apps you have to use Emacs shortcuts, or no Emacs. Some people's brains might find it easier to switch between two sets of shortcuts when switching between apps of course.