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From: jr@LF-SERVER-2.BBN.COM (John Robinson)
Newsgroups: comp.emacs
Subject: Re: "emacs" in general
Message-ID: <8706221600.AA14467@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: Mon, 22-Jun-87 12:01:17 EDT
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.8706221600.AA14467
Posted: Mon Jun 22 12:01:17 1987
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Emacs is "the Extensible, Customizable Self-Documenting Display
Editor."  For historical info on its underlying philosophy and lessons
learned during development, the Emacs manual suggests requesting AI
memo 519a from (latest price $2.25):

  Publications Department
  Articifical Intelligencs Lab
  545 Tech Square
  Cambridge, MA  02139

This describes the original Emacs, which was a collection of macros
written in MIT TECO by Richard M. Stallman (RMS), who also happens to
be the author of GNU Emacs and chief GNUissance, etc.  Many editors
since have borrowed the style (and often the name) of this original
Emacs.  GNU is probably the most faithful in its replication of
detail, though technology has increased its power mightily since, as
elisp is a far more elegant extension language that TECO.  (If you
don't know what TECO is, that's another whole story.  For at least a
little more background on these programs and RMS, you could read
Levy's "Hackers".)

/jr
jr@bbn.com or jr@bbnccv.uucp

Without life, there wouldn't be chemical companies.