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GNU Emacs VS vimtex

Compare GNU Emacs VS vimtex and see what are their differences

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GNU Emacs logo GNU Emacs

GNU Emacs is an extensible, customizable text editorโ€”and more.

vimtex logo vimtex

vimtex is a Vim plugin that provides support for writing LaTeX documents.
  • GNU Emacs Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-19
  • vimtex Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-25

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.

vimtex features and specs

  • Seamless Vim Integration
    Vimtex integrates seamlessly with Vim, providing a natural experience for users already familiar with Vimโ€™s workflow and commands.
  • Comprehensive LaTeX Support
    It offers extensive support for LaTeX editing, including features like syntax highlighting, automatic folding, and indentation, which enhance productivity.
  • Customizable Build System
    Vimtex allows users to configure the compilation process flexibly using various backends like latexmk, offering a more tailored workflow for compiling documents.
  • Forward and Inverse Search
    Vimtex supports forward and inverse search capabilities, which improve the ease of navigating between the source .tex file and the compiled PDF.
  • BibTeX Integration
    It supports citation handling and bibliography management via BibTeX, enabling users to manage references efficiently within Vim.
  • Active Community and Support
    Vimtex is actively maintained and has a helpful community, providing timely updates, bug fixes, and user support.

Possible disadvantages of vimtex

  • Steep Learning Curve
    Users unfamiliar with Vim might find Vimtexโ€™s learning curve steep, as it requires understanding both Vim commands and LaTeX syntax.
  • Dependency Management
    Some users may experience difficulties setting up Vimtex due to its reliance on external tools like latexmk, which require additional configuration and installation steps.
  • Lack of GUI
    Vimtex operates entirely within the Vim environment, lacking a graphical user interface, which can be a disadvantage for users who prefer GUI-based interactions for LaTeX editing.
  • Limited to Vim Users
    Accessibility is limited to those who use or are willing to use Vim as their text editor. This excludes users who prefer other text editors.

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.

GNU Emacs videos

Switching to GNU Emacs

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GNU Emacs and vimtex)
Text Editors
100 100%
0% 0
Project Management
0 0%
100% 100
IDE
100 100%
0% 0
Writing
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 GNU Emacs and vimtex

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

vimtex Reviews

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, vimtex should be more popular than GNU Emacs. It has been mentiond 52 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.

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 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 names for the executables. [Unit] Description=Emacs text editor Documentation=info:emacs man:emacs(1)... 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
  • 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: over 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 5 years ago
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vimtex mentions (52)

  • Reactive HTML Notebooks
    2- For writing: you can use https://github.com/lervag/vimtex for LaTeX On top of these, you can use tmux with tmuxp to open projects instantly. You can replicate such environment with Emacs using org mode and/or auctex. No use for an added layer (web tech) for this, introducing more code to write and learn. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • My uses for vimwiki have dried up... and it makes me a little sad
    I use vimwiki almost daily, but it's not professional use, just daily notes and organizing my life. I started using zim but I found I really missed writing/editing with vim. Then I found vimwiki. There are things I'm not super happy about with it. I saw that /u/lervag (love his vimtex plugin) released a wiki plugin and I was/am interested in it, but I have so much in my wiki right now that I don't want to deal... Source: about 3 years ago
  • Note Taking Applications, Beyond the Doc
    Definitely get vimtex and set it up so you can view the compiled document in one window, and your notes in the other. Get used to vim a bit with some vim tutorial (there are a bunch out there), and have latex shortcuts you use in all your documents. Source: about 3 years ago
  • I like Tabasco.
    I do think VSCode is a great tool and I recommend it frequently to people, but I still want to set the record straight here. Yes, vim is obviously limited in the sense that as a CLI app it doesn't draw it's own PDF or HTML windows, that's fair. But it can remote control your favorite PDF viewer or browser for roughly the same functionality. I'm currently writing my thesis using vimtex and it's quite smooth. And... Source: about 3 years ago
  • Is there a way to render advanced latex on Obsidian?
    Obsidian is limited by its use of markdown files. You can use Overleaf, Vimtex, or LaTeX workshop on VS Code to render your tex documents. Source: about 3 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

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

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

TeXworks - The TeXworks project is an effort to build a simple TeX front-end program (working environment)...

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.

Table Generator - WYSIWYG table editor that allows you to generate code in LaTeX, HTML, Markdown, Text-only

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

TeXnicCenter - TeXnicCenter is a feature rich and easy-to-use integrated environment for creating LaTeX documents...