9 ms·

GNU Emacs ported to Android

131 points by cycojesus 14y ago

deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
einhverfr 14y ago
So how do you enter the control sequences?
- dbaupp 14y ago
  Using a different keyboard, e.g.: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.pocketworkstation.pckeyboard https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.pocketwork...
- peterb 14y ago
  With Hacker's Keyboard.
  - ajross 14y ago
    For those who aren't aware of this tool: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.pocketworkstation.pckeyboard https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.pocketwork... It's really shockingly great. It turns dealing with terminal access from your touchscreen from a complete hair-pulling disaster into something that I am merely disinclined to do. All the ASCII keys are where you expect them to be. And switching between the keyboards at runtime is as simple as launching the included app. Definitely recommended to anyone who ever needs to (occasionally!) ssh from their phone or tablet.
- fsaintjacques 14y ago
  You shake it.
sigzero 14y ago
Err....Emacs is probably a better OS than Android. :)
- gcp 14y ago
  Which is coincidentally likely why you can never have it on iOS (interpreted code and all...)
  - dchest 14y ago
    There's no rule in the App Store against interpreted code that's not downloaded.
    - gecko 14y ago
      While that's true, the restriction is done in such a way that there'd be no sane way for most people to get their .emacs or equivalent loaded onto the thing, which would make such a port beyond useless. Android's far looser restrictions mean there should be no such issues there.
    - ajross 14y ago
      So you could have an emacs that... wasn't extensible. Seems pointless. Not that this hack has a lot of point either (a world class editor on a platform without a development toolchain?). Still, more pointless I guess.
      - rbanffy 14y ago
        An Emacs that's not extendable can be useful. At least, you don't have to make your brain switch modes. I've lost the count of how many times I have closed a browser window while trying to cut text.
        ajross 14y ago
        I fixed the C-w issue by training myself to always close windows using it (for a while in the Gnome 2 days I was using a custom metacity theme with no title bars or buttons at all). The mode switching goes into your muscle memory and your body starts to recognize the difference between editor and GUI context.
      - 14y ago
drcube 14y ago
Every couple of weeks since I started using Android, I've checked the Play store to see if Emacs was there. So even though I don't know what I'll do with it yet, I'm excited to download the GNU Emacs app. Anybody have any ideas for what to do with Emacs on a phone?
- Kototama 14y ago
  Taking notes with org-mode and synchronizing them to Dropbox.
  - qdot76367 14y ago
    There's also mobile org for that though. :) iPhone: http://mobileorg.ncogni.to/ http://mobileorg.ncogni.to/ Android: https://github.com/matburt/mobileorg-android/wiki/ https://github.com/matburt/mobileorg-android/wiki/ Android Fork: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.matburt.mobileorg.ng https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.matburt.mo...
samuel1604 14y ago
seg11 on nexus 7 :(
- malkia 14y ago
  Same here... after downloading a bunch of files.
babarock 14y ago
Just downloaded it. Here are a few things to note: - As soon as installed, the app will download emacs from a 3rd party repo. You have the option to specify your own, I picked the default one. - The app consists apparently of a terminal emulator and a Bourne shell (clone?). emacs will reside inside this emulator and the shell. - The app seems very young, segfaults are frequent. A common cause seems to be font-size. If font size != 20px at startup, app will segfault. (you can change it once the app is running). - The buffers do not resize dynamically when I show/hide the keyboard. On my SGS2 in landscape mode, that leaves very little screen space for the buffers. - The app greatly benefits from Hacker's Keyboard or any similar advanced keyboard.
jimktrains2 14y ago
So? A Vim port's been out for a few months. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.momodalo.app.vimtouch&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsIm5ldC5tb21vZGFsby5hcHAudmltdG91Y2giXQ. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.momodalo.a.... /dons my flame-retardant jacket
- mmahemoff 14y ago
  And even longer on iPad, but these will only be useful when they can deal with ESC key. Vim without ESC is like Word without mouse.
  - hammersend 14y ago
    Esc works perfectly on Hacker's Keyboard which is just a download away on the Android market.
  - piinbinary 14y ago
    Some people set it up so that 'jj' (while in insert mode) is equivalent to ESC (or perhaps it was Ctrl-c, I forget). Either way, that would make vim usable with an iOS device's keyboard.
pbnjay 14y ago
Now the editor's kitchen sink also includes phone calls!
vinayan3 14y ago
Good work but I have some issues with the concept. I mean using all the keyboard shortcuts must be a pain. Did they try to make it use the touch interface at all?
- Create 14y ago
  There were some projects (also, if I recall correctly some ubuntu-new-ui projects for tablets/gestures). btw https://github.com/greboide/emacs-gestures https://github.com/greboide/emacs-gestures
Create 14y ago
dupe: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4368237 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4368237
CmdrKrool 14y ago
Anyone trying to use this on a device with its own keyboard? eg. http://www.androidauthority.com/best-keyboard-qwerty-android-phones-2012-55315/ http://www.androidauthority.com/best-keyboard-qwerty-android... Be interested to hear how usable you can make it. Whether you can remap keys or buttons to all the major modifiers. Emacs 23 on the Nokia N900 is the reason I recently bought that phone even though Nokia is so uncool now and everything (works excellently, BTW).
- npsimons 14y ago
  Second this; having Emacs with org-mode, plus git, flymake and Python in the palm of my hand is just awesome. Now, if only I could upgrade the processor and RAM, get better battery life, and get a screen that worked better in sunlight . . .
rogcg 14y ago
We are on the way to start good development on an Android tablet! FTW
kelvie 14y ago
Doesn't this have to be open-sourced? Emacs is GPL'd. I might want to help out with the development.
- rbanffy 14y ago
  It depends. It seems to be an Emacs installer rather than Emacs proper. Didn't try it myself.
- Create 14y ago
  one doesn't need to be wrong to be downvoted on HN: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4381761 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4381761
- roryokane 14y ago
  This app is open-source: https://github.com/zielmicha/emacs-android https://github.com/zielmicha/emacs-android. When you start the app for the first time, it displays that link in the terminal output.
malkia 14y ago
It segfaulted here (11). Since the shell was available, ls -l revealed that only directories had +x on them, and none of the scripts. Not sure whether that makes any sense (or simply was not compiled for the right arm architecture). It does not work from both Nexus 7 Tablet, and Google Nexus phone (latest)
laconian 14y ago
I don't know if I could adapt to Emacs with another input device. Part of being good at Emacs is training your muscle memory. I probably can't even describe half of the inane chords I do unless I was able to observe my hands performing them.

131 points by cycojesus 14y ago

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

einhverfr 14y ago

So how do you enter the control sequences?

dbaupp 14y ago
Using a different keyboard, e.g.: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.pocketworkstation.pckeyboard https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.pocketwork...
peterb 14y ago
With Hacker's Keyboard.
- ajross 14y ago
  For those who aren't aware of this tool: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.pocketworkstation.pckeyboard https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.pocketwork... It's really shockingly great. It turns dealing with terminal access from your touchscreen from a complete hair-pulling disaster into something that I am merely disinclined to do. All the ASCII keys are where you expect them to be. And switching between the keyboards at runtime is as simple as launching the included app. Definitely recommended to anyone who ever needs to (occasionally!) ssh from their phone or tablet.
fsaintjacques 14y ago
You shake it.

sigzero 14y ago

Err....Emacs is probably a better OS than Android. :)

gcp 14y ago
Which is coincidentally likely why you can never have it on iOS (interpreted code and all...)
- dchest 14y ago
  There's no rule in the App Store against interpreted code that's not downloaded.
  - gecko 14y ago
    While that's true, the restriction is done in such a way that there'd be no sane way for most people to get their .emacs or equivalent loaded onto the thing, which would make such a port beyond useless. Android's far looser restrictions mean there should be no such issues there.
  - ajross 14y ago
    So you could have an emacs that... wasn't extensible. Seems pointless. Not that this hack has a lot of point either (a world class editor on a platform without a development toolchain?). Still, more pointless I guess.
    - rbanffy 14y ago
      An Emacs that's not extendable can be useful. At least, you don't have to make your brain switch modes. I've lost the count of how many times I have closed a browser window while trying to cut text.
      - ajross 14y ago
        I fixed the C-w issue by training myself to always close windows using it (for a while in the Gnome 2 days I was using a custom metacity theme with no title bars or buttons at all). The mode switching goes into your muscle memory and your body starts to recognize the difference between editor and GUI context.
    - 14y ago

drcube 14y ago

Every couple of weeks since I started using Android, I've checked the Play store to see if Emacs was there. So even though I don't know what I'll do with it yet, I'm excited to download the GNU Emacs app. Anybody have any ideas for what to do with Emacs on a phone?

Kototama 14y ago
Taking notes with org-mode and synchronizing them to Dropbox.
- qdot76367 14y ago
  There's also mobile org for that though. :) iPhone: http://mobileorg.ncogni.to/ http://mobileorg.ncogni.to/ Android: https://github.com/matburt/mobileorg-android/wiki/ https://github.com/matburt/mobileorg-android/wiki/ Android Fork: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.matburt.mobileorg.ng https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.matburt.mo...

samuel1604 14y ago

seg11 on nexus 7 :(

malkia 14y ago
Same here... after downloading a bunch of files.

babarock 14y ago

Just downloaded it. Here are a few things to note: - As soon as installed, the app will download emacs from a 3rd party repo. You have the option to specify your own, I picked the default one. - The app consists apparently of a terminal emulator and a Bourne shell (clone?). emacs will reside inside this emulator and the shell. - The app seems very young, segfaults are frequent. A common cause seems to be font-size. If font size != 20px at startup, app will segfault. (you can change it once the app is running). - The buffers do not resize dynamically when I show/hide the keyboard. On my SGS2 in landscape mode, that leaves very little screen space for the buffers. - The app greatly benefits from Hacker's Keyboard or any similar advanced keyboard.

jimktrains2 14y ago

So? A Vim port's been out for a few months. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.momodalo.app.vimtouch&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsIm5ldC5tb21vZGFsby5hcHAudmltdG91Y2giXQ. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.momodalo.a.... /dons my flame-retardant jacket

mmahemoff 14y ago
And even longer on iPad, but these will only be useful when they can deal with ESC key. Vim without ESC is like Word without mouse.
- hammersend 14y ago
  Esc works perfectly on Hacker's Keyboard which is just a download away on the Android market.
- piinbinary 14y ago
  Some people set it up so that 'jj' (while in insert mode) is equivalent to ESC (or perhaps it was Ctrl-c, I forget). Either way, that would make vim usable with an iOS device's keyboard.

pbnjay 14y ago

Now the editor's kitchen sink also includes phone calls!

vinayan3 14y ago

Good work but I have some issues with the concept. I mean using all the keyboard shortcuts must be a pain. Did they try to make it use the touch interface at all?

Create 14y ago
There were some projects (also, if I recall correctly some ubuntu-new-ui projects for tablets/gestures). btw https://github.com/greboide/emacs-gestures https://github.com/greboide/emacs-gestures

Create 14y ago

dupe: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4368237 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4368237

CmdrKrool 14y ago

Anyone trying to use this on a device with its own keyboard? eg. http://www.androidauthority.com/best-keyboard-qwerty-android-phones-2012-55315/ http://www.androidauthority.com/best-keyboard-qwerty-android... Be interested to hear how usable you can make it. Whether you can remap keys or buttons to all the major modifiers. Emacs 23 on the Nokia N900 is the reason I recently bought that phone even though Nokia is so uncool now and everything (works excellently, BTW).

npsimons 14y ago
Second this; having Emacs with org-mode, plus git, flymake and Python in the palm of my hand is just awesome. Now, if only I could upgrade the processor and RAM, get better battery life, and get a screen that worked better in sunlight . . .

rogcg 14y ago

We are on the way to start good development on an Android tablet! FTW

kelvie 14y ago

Doesn't this have to be open-sourced? Emacs is GPL'd. I might want to help out with the development.

rbanffy 14y ago
It depends. It seems to be an Emacs installer rather than Emacs proper. Didn't try it myself.
Create 14y ago
one doesn't need to be wrong to be downvoted on HN: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4381761 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4381761
roryokane 14y ago
This app is open-source: https://github.com/zielmicha/emacs-android https://github.com/zielmicha/emacs-android. When you start the app for the first time, it displays that link in the terminal output.

malkia 14y ago

It segfaulted here (11). Since the shell was available, ls -l revealed that only directories had +x on them, and none of the scripts. Not sure whether that makes any sense (or simply was not compiled for the right arm architecture). It does not work from both Nexus 7 Tablet, and Google Nexus phone (latest)

laconian 14y ago

I don't know if I could adapt to Emacs with another input device. Part of being good at Emacs is training your muscle memory. I probably can't even describe half of the inane chords I do unless I was able to observe my hands performing them.