Today’s topic is using multiple editors. There’s no reason this should be a red meat topic but it is. People on both sides of the issue think those on the other side are weird.
I’ve written about this before and those of you with long memories will know that I’m firmly in the single editor camp. There are two reasons for that. First, Emacs does everything I need so why would I bother with another editor and all the overhead involved with maintaining it? Second, I have muscle memory issues trying to use more than one editor. I know from previous Irreal discussions that many users don’t have that problem but after 17 years I still find myself trying to use Vim bindings so the last thing I need to do is introduce another editor into the picture.
A couple of months ago, PetriciaKerman asked on the Emacs subreddit if anyone else found it weird that some engineers used two or more editors. It’s interesting to read through the replies. After filtering out the ankle biting we’re lefts with two—equally legitimate—viewpoints.
There are those, like me, who say you should find an editor that works for your workflow and spend your time mastering it rather than investing in—and never mastering—multiple editors. deaddyfreddy put it nicely: “It’s not weird, it’s dumb. People are willing to spend time learning shortcuts/setting up multiple apps for doing the same task – text editing.” The other point of view is that you should choose the best tool for the job at hand. As one commenter pithily put it, “Ever notice plumbers use different kinds of wrenches?”
As I said at the top, none of this should be controversial. People should do what works for them. But, of course, it’s always fun to dine on red meat.