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IDEs are one of the biggest barriers to programmer development, flexibility and knowledge. They try to insulate you from your actual environment and encourage l

IDEs are one of the biggest barriers to programmer development, flexibility and knowledge. They try to insulate you from your actual environment and encourage lazy practices and thinking. I learnt java in eclipse and it was dreadful. Code completion stops you learning, IDE errors and auto fix stops you understanding compiler errors. build shortcuts stop you understanding how javac and maven builds work. In short they take all of the available deep knowledge your programming language and environment, hide it from you and then pretend it's a good idea to replace this with a load of superficial knowledge about how to click the right buttons in some bad software.

jnxx 6y ago
Another advantage of Emacs compared to IDE is that it is resource-friendly, on multiple levels. Foremost, it is friendly to the resource which has become the most precious one, which is attention. It has a sparse interface which shows exactl;y what is needed. Compare that to a newly launched Edge browser which will show you totally inappropiate and distracting yellow press content when you start it. It is also resource-friendly to screen real estate, making a good use of the text space. Granted, large screens did become more affordable in the last ten years, but while attention is still a scarce resource, programs also did become much more complex, and, alas, your eyes are not going to increase in resolution, they will become worse in the course of your work life, which makes the screen space even more valuable. Emacs is also economical in terms of learning effort - the basic editing is simple, and you can focus attention to the things that you use most. Compared to that, IDEs are cumbersome. They are cumbersome in terms of modification, requiring endless deep menus which are nowhere documented, and not google-able, they have built-in build systems which will support only a few languages, they have complex non-textual interfaces, which are just a hassle, they force you to use the mouse, which in Emacs is entirely optional. I also think they support, in part, bad practices in coding. If you really need an AI and autocompletion to produce working code, I am not sure your code is that good for humans to read - and this is the most important aspect of code. It not only needs to be writable, it needs to be well readable.
- jonnypotty 6y ago
  Agree. Agree.

jnxx 6y ago

Another advantage of Emacs compared to IDE is that it is resource-friendly, on multiple levels. Foremost, it is friendly to the resource which has become the most precious one, which is attention. It has a sparse interface which shows exactl;y what is needed. Compare that to a newly launched Edge browser which will show you totally inappropiate and distracting yellow press content when you start it. It is also resource-friendly to screen real estate, making a good use of the text space. Granted, large screens did become more affordable in the last ten years, but while attention is still a scarce resource, programs also did become much more complex, and, alas, your eyes are not going to increase in resolution, they will become worse in the course of your work life, which makes the screen space even more valuable. Emacs is also economical in terms of learning effort - the basic editing is simple, and you can focus attention to the things that you use most. Compared to that, IDEs are cumbersome. They are cumbersome in terms of modification, requiring endless deep menus which are nowhere documented, and not google-able, they have built-in build systems which will support only a few languages, they have complex non-textual interfaces, which are just a hassle, they force you to use the mouse, which in Emacs is entirely optional. I also think they support, in part, bad practices in coding. If you really need an AI and autocompletion to produce working code, I am not sure your code is that good for humans to read - and this is the most important aspect of code. It not only needs to be writable, it needs to be well readable.

jonnypotty 6y ago
Agree. Agree.