3 ms·

Can't you install emacs natively in Windows?

contravariant 6y ago
You can, although most packages are written assuming Linux and getting stuff like tramps to work (which requires paths that are apparently impossibly to type in windows), is a bit of a challenge. Of all the issues I've had with emacs about 80% of them could be traced to running emacs on windows. Not through any fault on windows side mind (except possibly the insane decision to use a different path syntax).
- Siira 6y ago
  That insane decision has been made deliberately to make competitors incompatible.
  - enzo1982 6y ago
    No it hasn't. [0] Unless you want to claim the Unix developers deliberately chose the slash as a path separator to be incompatible with TOPS-10. That could be. [0] http://www.os2museum.com/wp/why-does-windows-really-use-backslash-as-path-separator/ http://www.os2museum.com/wp/why-does-windows-really-use-back...
  - goatinaboat 6y ago
    That insane decision has been made deliberately to make competitors incompatible. Not inconceivable. After all Windows is called w32 in Emacs not win32 as is common everywhere else because RMS couldn’t bear to think “win” in association with MS!
stjohnswarts 6y ago
You can but it's extremely hacky to get it all working. It's butter smooth just like Linux on WSL as long as you don't mind running it in a terminal. I use a fairly complicated DOOM emacs install without issues.
- dasyatidprime 6y ago
  It's definitely not that polished, but I don't know about “extremely hacky”… how complicated are people's Emacs setups nowadays? I installed the official Windows binaries for GNU Emacs pretty recently, copied my elisp directory over, and for the most part things worked out of the box, but with a few inconvenient exceptions: taskbar pinning didn't seem to work properly due to the awkward emacs/runemacs distinction, and some things related to directory layout and navigation were painful due to assumptions of a Unix-style home directory clashing with Windows's user-directory layout. No WSL involved.
- carlhjerpe 6y ago
  You can run X applications in WSL too if you install an x server on windows and EXPORT display=localhost:0 :) https://sourceforge.net/projects/vcxsrv/ https://sourceforge.net/projects/vcxsrv/
nobody9999 6y ago
>Can't you install emacs natively in Windows? Yes. https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/emacs/windows/ https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/emacs/windows/

You can, although most packages are written assuming Linux and getting stuff like tramps to work (which requires paths that are apparently impossibly to type in windows), is a bit of a challenge. Of all the issues I've had with emacs about 80% of them could be traced to running emacs on windows. Not through any fault on windows side mind (except possibly the insane decision to use a different path syntax).

Siira 6y ago
That insane decision has been made deliberately to make competitors incompatible.
- enzo1982 6y ago
  No it hasn't. [0] Unless you want to claim the Unix developers deliberately chose the slash as a path separator to be incompatible with TOPS-10. That could be. [0] http://www.os2museum.com/wp/why-does-windows-really-use-backslash-as-path-separator/ http://www.os2museum.com/wp/why-does-windows-really-use-back...
- goatinaboat 6y ago
  That insane decision has been made deliberately to make competitors incompatible. Not inconceivable. After all Windows is called w32 in Emacs not win32 as is common everywhere else because RMS couldn’t bear to think “win” in association with MS!

stjohnswarts 6y ago

You can but it's extremely hacky to get it all working. It's butter smooth just like Linux on WSL as long as you don't mind running it in a terminal. I use a fairly complicated DOOM emacs install without issues.

dasyatidprime 6y ago
It's definitely not that polished, but I don't know about “extremely hacky”… how complicated are people's Emacs setups nowadays? I installed the official Windows binaries for GNU Emacs pretty recently, copied my elisp directory over, and for the most part things worked out of the box, but with a few inconvenient exceptions: taskbar pinning didn't seem to work properly due to the awkward emacs/runemacs distinction, and some things related to directory layout and navigation were painful due to assumptions of a Unix-style home directory clashing with Windows's user-directory layout. No WSL involved.
carlhjerpe 6y ago
You can run X applications in WSL too if you install an x server on windows and EXPORT display=localhost:0 :) https://sourceforge.net/projects/vcxsrv/ https://sourceforge.net/projects/vcxsrv/

nobody9999 6y ago

>Can't you install emacs natively in Windows? Yes. https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/emacs/windows/ https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/emacs/windows/