**TeMPOraL** @temporal@mastodon.technology · 2020-05-06T06:34:42Z

TeMPOraL @temporal@mastodon.technology

TeMPOraL @temporal@mastodon.technology

One thing I absolutely love about #Emacs is how easy it is to add random convenience features to it. I've just added two work-related ones in the span of 10 minutes. Each is a single line of elisp, and they both leverage a popup UI (via Hydra package) I added some year ago.

That's the nice thing. Small utilities accrue and become greater than the sum of their parts.

May 06, 2020, 06:34 · Web · · ·

**pfm** @pfm@edolas.world · May 06, 2020, 06:47

**pfm** @pfm@edolas.world · May 06, 2020, 06:47

May 06, 2020, 06:47

pfm @pfm@edolas.world

@temporal I also use Emacs and definitely agree, but I think it's also true for Acme, which I've been using lately (so far mostly for note-taking, not work-related). The key difference is that Acme is extended with shell scripts (or anything that the underlying system can execute), which one can use to produce, consume or process text.

But that's just an observation. :)

**Elias Mårtenson** @loke@functional.cafe · May 06, 2020, 08:05

**Elias Mårtenson** @loke@functional.cafe · May 06, 2020, 08:05

May 06, 2020, 08:05

Elias Mårtenson @loke@functional.cafe

@pfm @temporal Does Acme provide an API that is as extensive as Emacs? Specifically, can you control text properties (data attached to text segments, which can affect behaviour) and things like that?

**pfm** @pfm@edolas.world · May 06, 2020, 08:07

**pfm** @pfm@edolas.world · May 06, 2020, 08:07

May 06, 2020, 08:07

pfm @pfm@edolas.world

@loke @temporal Acme takes a totally different approach: there are no text properties and there's no API.

Instead, Acme relies heavily on everything-is-a-file. And it just doesn't support syntax highlighting - you just get black text set in Lucida on a bright background.

**Billy Blaze** @ckeen@vernunftzentrum.de · May 06, 2020, 08:08

**Billy Blaze** @ckeen@vernunftzentrum.de · May 06, 2020, 08:08

May 06, 2020, 08:08

Billy Blaze @ckeen@vernunftzentrum.de

@pfm @loke @temporal

Acme does have an API though, see the ctl file for managing it externally :)

**Elias Mårtenson** @loke@functional.cafe · May 06, 2020, 08:10

**Elias Mårtenson** @loke@functional.cafe · May 06, 2020, 08:10

May 06, 2020, 08:10

Elias Mårtenson @loke@functional.cafe

@ckeen @pfm @temporal Ah yes, now I understand. I was confusing Acme and Atom.

Acme is the plan9 editor that always fascinated me but I never actually tried.

**pfm** @pfm@edolas.world · May 06, 2020, 08:11

**pfm** @pfm@edolas.world · May 06, 2020, 08:11

May 06, 2020, 08:11

pfm @pfm@edolas.world

@ckeen @loke @temporal Well OK but that's not the type of API that an Emacs user would expect (where you write a few lines, evaluate them and have your environment behave differently).