Editors: Motivation

Unless, you are a computer uber-geek, and then you probably already have your favorite text editor. Everyone else is probably saying. What? Use a text editor? I'm using MS Word already. It edits text, too. What else do I need?

Short Answer: There is a difference between pure text and GUI previewers. Which presume to the user, it is text. However, it really isn't. Due to styles, fonts, paragraph formatting, column layout, and such.

So, why is learning XEmacs useful? Because, they are true "raw file" editors. There isn't binary data around anything. You text is left in human readable form. Nothing is locked from you.

When you need to search a 100 documents. (1) No need to rely on your Word Processor vendor's limited tools. Or start their application. (2) If you aren't on your own system? You can still edit, search, revise, and manage your documents. (3) The Unix world is network friendly. So, running, from one machine, to another, off of another; isn't verbotten. (4) At times, you need to "handle text documents" as a data source. What if, you're boss says. I need a run down or "how many" emails about file sharing, going through our network.

Otherwise, my primary motivation is "learning new skills." Plus, XEmacs really has many powerful tools and capabilities. Which in the months to come. We will be tapping into.

Platform: Linux
GlR