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GNU Emacs VS WebdriverIO

Compare GNU Emacs VS WebdriverIO and see what are their differences

GNU Emacs logo GNU Emacs

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

WebdriverIO logo WebdriverIO

Webdriver module for Node.js. that makes it easier to write Selenium tests
  • GNU Emacs Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-19
  • WebdriverIO Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-19

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.

WebdriverIO features and specs

  • Multi-browser Support
    WebdriverIO provides extensive support for multiple browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, and Safari, making it versatile for cross-browser testing.
  • Rich Plug-in Ecosystem
    The framework has a robust plug-in system that allows users to customize and extend functionalities according to testing needs, enhancing flexibility.
  • Asynchronous Command Handling
    WebdriverIO handles commands asynchronously, which improves performance and allows better management of test execution flow.
  • Integrated Test Runner
    The built-in test runner simplifies the management of test suites, making it easier to manage and execute tests without needing additional tools.
  • Comprehensive Documentation
    WebdriverIO boasts extensive and detailed documentation, which aids developers in efficiently setting up and using the tool.

Possible disadvantages of WebdriverIO

  • Initial Learning Curve
    New users may experience a steep learning curve due to the framework's asynchronous behavior and JavaScript promises.
  • JavaScript Only
    Being JavaScript-centric, it may not be ideal for teams or projects that prefer or require using other programming languages exclusively.
  • Complex Configuration
    Setting up the framework and configuring it properly can be complex and time-consuming, particularly for developers new to WebDriver-based testing.
  • Frequent Updates
    While updates are generally beneficial, the frequent release of updates can lead to compatibility issues and require maintenance time to keep up.

GNU Emacs videos

Switching to GNU Emacs

WebdriverIO videos

WebdriverIO Tutorial Series Review | #20

More videos:

  • Review - Test React Apps with WebdriverIO
  • Review - Get Started With WebdriverIO - WebdriverIO Wednesdays

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GNU Emacs and WebdriverIO)
Text Editors
100 100%
0% 0
Browser Testing
0 0%
100% 100
IDE
100 100%
0% 0
Testing
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 WebdriverIO

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 didn’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

WebdriverIO Reviews

Top Selenium Alternatives
While WebDriverIO utilizes the Selenium WebDriver for cross-browser testing, it simplifies interaction by providing a more JavaScript-friendly API and a robust plugin system. This makes it more approachable for developers familiar with JavaScript ecosystems compared to the traditional, more language-agnostic Selenium WebDriver.
Source: bugbug.io

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, GNU Emacs should be more popular than WebdriverIO. 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.

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: almost 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: over 2 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 3 years ago
  • opam doesn't see emacs?
    <><> Version-specific details <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 🐫 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: over 3 years ago
View more

WebdriverIO mentions (2)

  • Node.js Packages and Resources
    WebdriverIO - Automated testing based on the WebDriver protocol. - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago
  • Cross Browser Testing With WebDriverIO
    The WebDriverIO project is available on GitHub and the overall statistics speak a lot about the popularity of this JavaScript framework. It has more than 6.7K stars and the project has been forked around 1.9K times. As of writing this blog, the latest version of the WebDriverIO JavaScript framework is 7.7.2. - Source: dev.to / almost 4 years ago

What are some alternatives?

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

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

Jasmine - Behavior-Driven JavaScript

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.

Selenium - Selenium automates browsers. That's it! What you do with that power is entirely up to you. Primarily, it is for automating web applications for testing purposes, but is certainly not limited to just that.

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

Nightwatch.js - Write efficient and straightforward end-to-end tests in Node.js which run against a Selenium/WebDriver server.