Software Alternatives & Startups

GNU Emacs VS Behat

Compare GNU Emacs VS Behat and see what are their differences

GNU Emacs

GNU Emacs is an extensible, customizable text editor—and more.

GNU Emacs Landing page
Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Open source
Behat

Behat is a tool that makes behavior driven development (BDD) possible.

Behat Landing page
Rating
0 reviews

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, GNU Emacs should be more popular than Behat. It has been mentioned 6 times since March 2021.

social mentions
6 vs 4
Text Editors popularity
100% vs 0%
alternatives listed
240+ vs 71

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

GNU Emacs
Behat
Website gnu.org docs.behat.org
Pricing
Open source
Listed in

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

GNU Emacs 5 features
Behat 5 features
  • 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

  • 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.
  • Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) Support
    Behat is specifically designed for Behavior-Driven Development, enabling teams to write understandable and business-readable tests that facilitate a better understanding among developers, testers, and non-technical stakeholders.
  • Gherkin Language Integration
    It uses the Gherkin language which allows the creation of test scenarios that are easy to read and write. This makes it accessible for non-technical stakeholders to understand the tests.
  • Community and Ecosystem
    Behat has a strong community and a wide range of plugins and extensions available to enhance its functionality, such as Mink for browser automation and integrations with other tools.
  • PHP Compatibility
    As Behat is developed in PHP, it seamlessly integrates with PHP projects, making it a preferred choice for testing within the PHP ecosystem.
  • Encourages Collaboration
    By making test scenarios comprehensible to non-developers, Behat encourages collaboration between cross-functional teams, enhancing communication and shared understanding of project requirements.

Possible disadvantages

  • Steep Learning Curve
    There can be a significant learning curve for those unfamiliar with BDD concepts or the Gherkin language, requiring time and effort to master.
  • Limited to PHP Projects
    Behat is PHP-centric, which means its utility is predominantly for PHP applications. It might not be the best choice for projects written in other programming languages unless PHP is heavily involved.
  • Infrastructure Requirements
    Setting up Behat, especially with browser automation tools like Selenium via Mink, may require additional infrastructure and configurations which can be complex.
  • Execution Speed
    BDD-style tests with Behat can be slower to execute compared to unit tests, as they often involve more setup and teardown work in simulating user interactions.
  • Overhead for Small Projects
    The additional abstraction and ceremony provided by BDD tools like Behat may introduce unnecessary overhead for smaller projects where simpler testing methods might suffice.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

GNU Emacs
Behat

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.

No analysis of Behat yet.

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

GNU Emacs 1 video + Add
Behat 3 videos + Add

Switching to GNU Emacs

Behat for Beginners: Automated Testing in 5 Easy Steps

More videos

  • Review - Making your life easier with Behat + Mink + Drupal Extension
  • Review - Lessons Learned from 2+ Years of Using Behat

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
GNU Emacs
Behat
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%
100% 100%
IDE
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%

User comments

Share your experience with using GNU Emacs and Behat. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

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Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

GNU Emacs no reviews yet
Behat no reviews yet
  • 14 BEST LaTeX Editor for Mac & Windows in 2022
    www.guru99.com · Sep 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,...

  • The Top 7 Notepad++ Alternatives for You
    www.technize.com · Nov 2020

    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 didn’t find it the easiest to use. But once I got used to...

  • 10 Best Notepad++ Alternatives in 2020
    www.guru99.com · Nov 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.

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We have no reviews of Behat yet. Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

GNU Emacs 6 mentions
Behat 4 mentions
  • 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 #... Source: about 3 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... Source: over 3 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 4 years ago

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  • How to migrate from Api Platform v2 to v3?
    Before updating Api Platform, you should make sure that your Api Platform routes are fully covered by tests. You can define integration tests with PHPUnit, Behat or Pest, depending on the tool you’re most comfortable with. - Source: dev.to / almost 3 years ago
  • PHPUnit, do i need to learn it?
    Behat: https://docs.behat.org/en/latest/ Following: Behaviour Driven Development. Source: over 3 years ago
  • How I added zero down deployment to my website
    ^ That's an example of the type of behavioral test I use. I use Behat (beha[vioral]t[est]) to run these, and it does so by opening a headless Chrome / Firefox and does the actual clicking through the real live website. Super useful to... Source: over 4 years ago

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Alternatives to GNU Emacs and Behat

When comparing GNU Emacs and Behat, you can also consider the following products.