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GNOME Builder VS GNU Emacs

Compare GNOME Builder VS GNU Emacs and see what are their differences

GNOME Builder logo GNOME Builder

Builder is an IDE for GNOME that is focused on bringing the power of the platform to more...

GNU Emacs logo GNU Emacs

GNU Emacs is an extensible, customizable text editorโ€”and more.
  • GNOME Builder Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-08-25
  • GNU Emacs Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-19

GNOME Builder features and specs

  • Integrated Development Environment
    GNOME Builder offers a comprehensive IDE that supports an integrated suite of tools for development, including text editing, project management, and debugging.
  • GNOME Integration
    Seamlessly integrates with the GNOME desktop environment, providing a consistent look and feel and utilizing GNOME technologies effectively.
  • Language Support
    Supports a variety of programming languages, including C, C++, Python, JavaScript, and Rust, making it versatile for different types of projects.
  • Code Suggestions and Auto-Completion
    Improves coding efficiency with smart code suggestions, auto-completion features, and real-time syntax checking.
  • Debugger Integration
    Features integrated debugging tools that help developers identify and fix issues within their applications.
  • Version Control
    Supports version control systems like Git, allowing users to manage code changes and collaborate with others effectively.
  • Plugin System
    Extendable through plugins, enabling users to add functionality according to their needs.

Possible disadvantages of GNOME Builder

  • Limited Cross-Platform Support
    Primarily designed for Linux, particularly the GNOME environment, which may limit its usability on other operating systems like Windows or macOS.
  • Resource Intensive
    May consume more system resources compared to lightweight editors, which can be a consideration for users on lower-end hardware.
  • Learning Curve
    Although designed to be user-friendly, the abundance of features can be overwhelming for new users or those who are used to simpler text editors.
  • Limited Non-GNOME Integration
    While excellent for GNOME, users of other desktop environments might find the integration less seamless, affecting workflow.
  • Smaller Community
    Compared to more established IDEs, has a smaller user base and community, which might affect the availability of tutorials and third-party plugins.

GNU Emacs features and specs

  • Highly Extensible
    GNU Emacs is highly customizable, allowing users to configure nearly every aspect using Emacs Lisp. This makes it remarkably adaptable for various workflows.
  • Rich Plugin Ecosystem
    There is a wide array of plugins available for Emacs, extending its functionality for programming, text editing, project management, and more.
  • Versatile
    Aside from text editing, Emacs can function as an email client, web browser, terminal emulator, and more, making it a powerful multi-purpose tool.
  • Free and Open Source
    GNU Emacs is free to use and modify, with source code available under the GNU General Public License, encouraging collaborative improvement and transparency.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    Emacs runs on many different operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and various Unix-like systems, ensuring a wide reach and consistent experience across platforms.

Possible disadvantages of GNU Emacs

  • Steep Learning Curve
    Due to its vast array of features and unique keybindings, new users often find Emacs difficult to learn initially.
  • Performance
    Emacs can be slower compared to more lightweight text editors, especially when heavily customized or handling large files.
  • Keyboard-Centric Interface
    Emacs relies heavily on keyboard shortcuts, which can be overwhelming and complex, leading to potential finger strain from extensive use.
  • Complex Configuration
    While its customizability is a strength, configuring Emacs to fit personal needs can be time-consuming and complex, requiring knowledge of Emacs Lisp.

Analysis of GNU Emacs

Overall verdict

  • GNU Emacs is widely considered to be a powerful and versatile text editor, especially among programmers and developers.

Why this product is good

  • Highly Customizable: Emacs can be extensively customized with Emacs Lisp, enabling users to tailor the editor to fit their specific workflow.
  • Rich Ecosystem: There is a large variety of plug-ins and extensions available, which can transform it into much more than just a text editor.
  • Built-in Tools: Emacs includes numerous built-in tools such as a debugger, calendar, email client, and file manager, making it a comprehensive development environment.
  • Cross-Platform: Emacs runs on multiple platforms, which makes it accessible to a broad audience.

Recommended for

  • Programmers and developers who appreciate a customizable and extensible tool.
  • Users who want to integrate various development tools into a single environment.
  • Individuals comfortable with learning Emacs Lisp to create and understand custom scripts and configurations.
  • People interested in a text editor that has a strong and supportive community.

GNOME Builder videos

Messing around with: GNOME Builder - Part 1

GNU Emacs videos

Switching to GNU Emacs

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GNOME Builder and GNU Emacs)
IDE
7 7%
93% 93
Text Editors
6 6%
94% 94
Software Development
12 12%
88% 88
IDEs And Text Editors
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare GNOME Builder and GNU Emacs

GNOME Builder Reviews

  1. Supervik
    ยท None at None ยท
    GNOME Builder is best IDE for Linux development

    GNOME Builder is fast, clean & simple IDE for GTK application development (on Linux), integrated support for Git and easy possibility to publish the application on FlatHub. This is probably the best IDE for developing applications on Linux

    ๐Ÿ Competitors: KDevelop
    ๐Ÿ‘ Pros:    Intuitive|Super simple|Clear|Fast|Integrated support for git|Easy publication of the application on flathub thanks to the automatically generated manifest|Super localization
    ๐Ÿ‘Ž Cons:    Nothing

GNU Emacs Reviews

14 BEST LaTeX Editor for Mac & Windows in 2022
Emacs is a Unix based text editor tool which is used by programmers, engineers, students, and system administrators. It is one of the best LaTeX editor for Mac that allows you to add, modify, delete, insert, words, letters, lines, and other units of text.
Source: www.guru99.com
The Top 7 Notepad++ Alternatives for You
Emacs has been around in its various forms since 1976 and is another very worthy Notepad++ alternative. When I first started using Emacs I have to admit that I didnโ€™t find it the easiest to use. But once I got used to it I realized just how powerful Emacs is for the programming community.
10 Best Notepad++ Alternatives in 2020
Emacs is a Unix based text editor tool which is used by programmers, engineers, students, and system administrators. It allows you to add, modify, delete, insert, words, letters, lines, and other units of text.
Source: www.guru99.com
7 open source alternatives to Dreamweaver
Vim or Emacs. Without participating in the holy war between these two traditional text editors, I can safely say that there are a number of enhancements for web editing available for both. So if you're already a terminal junkie, take your pick. Or, if those don't satisfy, try one of these Emacs/Vim alternatives.
Source: opensource.com
10 Best Sublime Text Alternatives in 2019
Emacs is a Unix based text editor tool which is used by programmers, engineers, students, and system administrators. It allows you to add, modify, delete, insert, words, letters, lines, and other units of text.
Source: www.guru99.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, GNU Emacs seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 6 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

GNOME Builder mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of GNOME Builder yet. Tracking of GNOME Builder recommendations started around Mar 2021.

GNU Emacs mentions (6)

  • Emacs daemon as sytemd service in debian 12 (gnome)
    Cat .config/systemd/user/default.target.wants/emacs.service [Unit] Description=Emacs text editor Documentation=info:emacs man:emacs(1) https://gnu.org/software/emacs/ [Service] Type=notify ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/emacs --fg-daemon # Emacs will exit with status 15 after having received SIGTERM, which # is the default "KillSignal" value systemd uses to stop services. SuccessExitStatus=15 # The location of the... Source: about 2 years ago
  • Why does emacs exec path variable not just copy the users path variable?
    ## If your Emacs is installed in a non-standard location, you may need ## to copy this file to a standard directory, eg ~/.config/systemd/user/ . ## If you install this file by hand, change the "Exec" lines below ## to use absolute file names for the executables. [Unit] Description=Emacs text editor Documentation=info:emacs man:emacs(1)... Source: over 2 years ago
  • Hi DM's, what medium do you use to organise your campaign?
    For gathering notes, writing and organizing, Org-Roam which implies Org and Emacs. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • This Guy is getting out of control at this point.
    I was heading to gnu.org/software/emacs to prove my point and it said:. Source: almost 4 years ago
  • opam doesn't see emacs?
    <><> Version-specific details <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> ๐Ÿซ Version 1 Repository default Homepage: "http://gnu.org/software/emacs" Bug-reports: "https://github.com/ocaml/opam-repository/issues" Authors: "anil@recoil.org" Maintainer: "anil@recoil.org" License: "GPL-1.0-or-later" Flags: conf Synopsis Virtual package to install the Emacs editor Description This... Source: almost 4 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing GNOME Builder and GNU Emacs, you can also consider the following products

Code::Blocks - Code::Blocks is a free C++ IDE built to meet the most demanding needs of its users.

VS Code - Build and debug modern web and cloud applications, by Microsoft

Geany - Lightweight IDE for Linux and Windows

Sublime Text - Sublime Text is a sophisticated text editor for code, html and prose - any kind of text file. You'll love the slick user interface and extraordinary features. Fully customizable with macros, and syntax highlighting for most major languages.

Zenity - Zenity is a tool that allows you to display GTK dialog boxes in commandline and shell scripts.

Vim - Highly configurable text editor built to enable efficient text editing