Table of contents http://www.finseth.com/emacs.html

Posting-Frequency: bi-monthly
URL: http://www.finseth.com/emacs.html
Copyright: 1990-9, 2000-23 by Craig A. Finseth
Archive-name: emacs-implementations
Disclaimer: Approval for *.answers is based on form, not content.
Emacs Implementations
Literature
GNU-Emacs binaries
Implementations Available For No Charge
Implementations Sold by Vendors
Implementations That Are No Longer Available
End

Posting-Frequency: bi-monthly [toc]


URL: http://www.finseth.com/emacs.html [toc]


Copyright: 1990-9, 2000-23 by Craig A. Finseth [toc]


Archive-name: emacs-implementations [toc]


Disclaimer: Approval for *.answers is based on form, not content. [toc]


Emacs Implementations [toc]

Document id [toc]

Emacs Implementations and Literature ftp://ftp.finseth.com/users/emacs http://www.finseth.com/emacs.html

Last posted 2024-02-15 reposted about every 2 months

Contact: [toc]

Craig A. Finseth <craigfinseth@gmail.com> craigafinseth@alum.mit.edu http://www.finseth.com. Please send updates directly to the author via email.

Note the information regarding "The Craft of Text Editing"!

People interested in this FAQ might also be interested in:

      http://www.jwz.org/doc/emacs-timeline.html 

and:

      http://www.emacswiki.org

Copyright [toc]

This FAQ document is Copyright 1990-9,2000-23 by Craig A. Finseth.

It may be reproduced and archived as part of normal network distribution. Such distribution is assumed to include CD/ROM or other bulk, unedited distribution.

It may be reproduced for individual or non-commerical use provided that it is reproduced intact.

It may be reproduced for commercial use provided:

Posted to comp.editors, comp.emacs, alt.religion.emacs, alt.answers, [toc]

comp.answers, news.answers

Description [toc]

This document provides a partial -- and not comprehensive -- list of implementations of Emacs-type editors and literature about such editors. You can help make it more comprehensive by sending me additional information and/or updates.

This document is also gradually acquiring the role of a repository of (at least) Emacs-related history. While that subject requires a book to itself, this document will probably serve until someone (_not_ me!) writes one.

This document is available via anonymous FTP and WWW. See above URLs.

To be included in this list:

The following information is included for each implementation:

The NAME line contains the name of the implementation. Implementations are listed alphabetically by name. Acronym expansions are listed in ()s. Other acronyms:

      TECO    TAPE Editor and COrrector
              (later: Text Editor and COrrector)
      EMACS   Editor MACroS

The LAST CHANGED/VERIFIED line contains the date that the entry was last changed or an explict "looks ok to me" was received. This field was added 1994-12-20, so all entries were initialized to that value.

The ORIGINAL DISTRIBUTION is the date (or partial date) of the first release. It is in YYYY-MM-DD format.

The VERSION is the latest known version. It is probably out of date.

The BASE LANGUAGE is the language that you need a compiler or interpreter for in order to use the editor. If the software is distributed as a pre-compiled binary, this should be the language that the program was written in.

The IMPLEMENTATION LANGUAGE is the language that the bulk of the implementation is written in.

The EXTENSION LANGUAGE is the (often custom or modified) language that the is used when altering or writing extensions to the implementation. It is "none" if there is no extension language.

The SCOPE is either "command set" or "extensible." In the first case, the implementation offers a basic Emacs command set; however the user cannot readily change what the commands do. In the second case, the user can fully control what all of the commands do.

The REQUIREMENTS is a brief characterization of what hardware or software is required. The purpose of this item is to offer a broad selection key; not be a comprehensive list. You should consult the implementation (for free software) or the vendor to find out whether a specific implementation works in your environment. For example:

(Starting Dec 1994 the list will support an additional level of detail for IBM PCs.)

The ORGANIZATION is the name of and contact information for the implementor OR >CURRENT MAINTAINER<.

The STATUS is one of

Many of the names of the implementations in this list are trademarked. Specific trademarks are not called out.

Full source code is available for all of the free implementations. Source availability varies among the not free implementations: check with the vendor before you buy.


Literature [toc]

GNU Emacs and XEmacs: A Better Way to Learn Emacs and Lisp [toc]

      Title:          GNU Emacs and XEmacs: A Better Way to Learn Emacs and Lisp
      Author(s):      Larry Ayers
      Publisher:      Prima Publishing
      Size:           544pp
      ISBN:           0-7615-2446-0
      Price:          $49.99

Notes: 2001, with CD containing source and images of XEmacs 21.1.14 and 21.4.3, GNU Emacs 20.7 and 21.0, and many add-on packages. Good coverage of customization and add-on packages.

Learning Gnu Emacs, 3rd Edition [toc]

      Title:          Learning Gnu Emacs, 3rd Edition
      Author(s):      Debra Cameron, james Elliott, Marc Loy, Eric Raymond, & Bill Rosenblatt
      Publisher:      O'Reilly and Associates, Inc.
      Size:           534pp
      ISBN:           0-596-00648-9
      Price:          $39.95

Notes: Emacs 21.30 and above

The Craft of Text Editing: Emacs for the Modern World [toc]

      Title:          The Craft of Text Editing: Emacs for the Modern World
      Author(s):      Craig A. Finseth
      Publisher:      Springer-Verlag
      Size:           220pp, 10 chapters, 5 appendices
      ISBN:           0-387-97616-7, 3-540-97616-7
      Price:          $39.95
      Japanese language edition: 4-938704-26-9 Y3600 paper

Notes: 1991-10, first edition not version specific. The Springer-Verlag edition is out of print. The book is available via the web at:

      http://www.finseth.com/craft

and is also available in print form from the author. It has ISBN 978-1-4116-8297-9 (10-digit: 1-4116-8297-1). It is available from Lulu and from Amazon.com:

      http://people.lulu.com/users/index.php?fHomepage=370764
      http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1411682971

GNU Emacs Reference [toc]

      Title:          GNU Emacs Reference
      Author(s):      Dennis Gentry
      Publisher:      Specialized Systems Consultants, Inc.
                      P.O. Box 55549
                      Seattle WA 98155
                      USA
                      +1 206 782 7733
                      +1 206 782 7191 fax
                      sales@ssc.com
      Size:           18pp, 8 1/2" x 3 1/2"
      ISBN:           0-916151-83-2
      Price:          $4.50
      Notes:          1995, updated

The GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual, GNU Emacs Version [toc]

      Title:          The GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual, GNU Emacs Version
                      19 for Unix Users, Edition 2.01, June 1993
      Author(s):      Bil Lewis, Dan LaLiberte, Richard Stallman and the GNU
                      Manual Group
      Pubisher:       Free Software Foundation
      Size:           748pp + 18pp index
      ISBN:           1-882114-20-5
      Price:          free (see GNU Emacs sites) or for fee from FSF
      Notes:          -

Unix Desktop Guide to Emacs [toc]

      Title:          Unix Desktop Guide to Emacs
      Author(s):      Ralph Roberts and Mark Boyd
      Consultants:    Stephen G. Kochan and Patrick H. Wood
      Publisher:      Hayden Books (SAMS)
      Size:           xxiv + 504 pages, including index
      ISBN:           0-672-30171-7
      Price:          $27.95 US, $34.95 CAN

Notes: Copr. 1992, first printing 1992 Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 91-62815

GNU Emacs: UNIX Text Editing and Processing [toc]

      Title:          GNU Emacs:  UNIX Text Editing and Processing
      Author(s):      Michael A. Schoonover, John S. Bowie, and William R. Arnold
      Publisher:      Addison-Wesley / HP Press
      Size:           640pp, 14 chapters, 4 appendices
      ISBN:           0-201-56345-2
      Price:          $26.95

Notes: 1991-11, first printing Emacs 18

GNU Emacs Manual, Twelfth Edition, Version 19.33 [toc]

      Title:          GNU Emacs Manual, Twelfth Edition, Version 19.33
      Author(s):      Richard Stallman
      Publisher:      Free Software Foundation
      Size:           506pp
      ISBN:           1-882114-52-3 (may have changed)
      Price:          free (see GNU Emacs sites) or for fee from FSF

Sams Teach Yourself Emacs in 24 Hours, [toc]

      Title:          Sams Teach Yourself Emacs in 24 Hours
      Author(s):      Jesper Pedersen, with contributions from
                      Jari Aalto, Charles Curley, Eric Ludlam,
                      and Larry Ayers
      Publisher:      Sams Publishing
      Size:           approx. 445pp including index, CD included
      ISBN:           0-672-31594-7
      Price:          $24.99 (to be released Apr/May 1999)

Writing GNU Emacs Extensions [toc]

      Title:          Writing GNU Emacs Extensions
      Author(s):      Bob Glickstein
      Publisher:      O'Reilly and Associates, Inc.
      Size:           215pp
      ISBN:           1-56592-261-1
      Price:          $29.95

Notes: April 1997, First Edition. "[E]xamples ... all developed and tested in GNU Emacs version 19.34 under various flavors of UNIX.... [P]resumes familiar[ity] with programming and with Emacs." Lisp fundamentals are presented, with "Lisp Quick Reference."


GNU-Emacs binaries [toc]

GNU-Emacs [toc]

      name: GNU-Emacs
      last changed/verified: 2007-08-23
      original distribution: ?
      version: 22.1
      base language: C
      implementation language: Lisp
      extension language: Lisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements:
          too many to list

Organization:

      Free Software Foundation
      59 Temple Place, Suite 330
      Boston MA 02111-1307
      USA
      +1 617 542 5942
      +1 617 542 2652 fax
      gnu@prep.ai.mit.edu

Free, anonymous FTP from:

      ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/emacs/

Manual

      https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_mono/calc.html

OS/2 (proabably obsolete data):

      http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/cgi-bin/h-browse?sh=1&dir=/pub/os2/apps/editors/emacs

Windows Supplement (confirmed 2007-06-22):

      EmacsW32
      http://ourcomments.org/Emacs/EmacsW32.html

Macintosh ports (proabably obsolete data):

      FSF's Emacs 20.6 port by Andrew Choi
      http://www.csis.hku.hk/~choi/emacs/index.html
      XEmacs 19.14 port to MacOS 8 and XEmacs 21.5.9 port
      to Mac OS X by Pitts Jarvis
      http://my.ispchannel.com/~pjarvis/xemacs.html
      Version 1.17 is available from:
      ftp://ftp.cs.cornell.edu/pub/parmet/
      parmet@cs.cornell.edu
      http://download.vector.co.jp/pack/mac/writing/edit/nit591.sea.bin
      This is a bare-bones Japanese version of EMACS.  It's missing all
      the cool GNU-stuff (including help),  but it does do split-
      screening and all of the cursor/text editing commands that I
      tried.  It's a 86.7K (yes, that's kilobytes!) download.  A very
      sweet blend of EMACS and Macintosh technology.
      (Edward <edodge@teleport.com>)
      http://www.csis.hku.hk/~choi/emacs/
      Version 20.6.  This is by far the most comprehensive and
      fastest version of EMACS for the Mac.  It is also the most
      actively developed version I know of.  Even mail can be
      implemented by remapping mail calls to Eudora-Lite Applescripts.
      The only bummer is that there is no GNUS and no printing!
      (Edward <edodge@teleport.com>)
      http://packages.opendarwin.org/dmgs
      Scott J. Kramer
      x-unix@sjk.us

WinCE (proabably obsolete data):

      http://www.rainer-keuchel.de/emacs/emacs-wince.html

Binaries only (proabably obsolete data):

On UUCP, contact one of (proabably obsolete data (:-)):

      hao!scicom!qetzal!upba!ugn!nepa!denny
      hqda-ai!merlin
      uunet!hutch!barber
      sun!nosun!illian!darylm
      oli-stl!root
      postmaster@uunet.uu.net
      uucp@cis.ohio-state.edu (or osu-cis!uucp)

Ohio State also posts their UUCP instructions regularly to [toc]

the news group comp.sources.d

Note: You can also obtain tapes and CD-ROM distributions from the FSF.


Implementations Available For No Charge [toc]

AMIS [toc]

      name: AMIS
      last changed/verified: 2002-07-22
      original distribution: ?
      version:
      base language: Pascal
      implementation language: Pascal
      extension language: none
      scope of implementation: command set
      hardware/software requirements: VMS, Norsk Data, Tops10, RSTS
      organization/author:
              Stacken Computer Club
              c/o NADA
              S-100 44 Stockholm
              Sweden
              stacken@stacken.kth.se

Note: the name is an abbreviation of "Anti-MISAER" (where "AE" is the "ae" glyph). "Misaer" is Swedish (svenska) for "piece of junk, or deep shit functionality" (translation provided by the person who told me about this) The name thus means "not a piece of junk." Tops10, RSTS, Norsk Data versions are free, send them a 1/2 inch, 2400-foot magnetic tape and return postage VMS version is $1000 US (the money supports their DEC10 museum)

Addendum from Jesper Larsson <Jesper.Larsson@dna.lth.se>: This is not quite correct. First, if "misAEr" is the Swedish word, "AE" should not be the "ae" glyph (not used in Swedish -- maybe it's spelled that way in Norwegian), but an "a" with two dots above it. Secondly, this word actually means "destitution" or "penury". It is closely related to the English word "misery". [ I am not going to get in the middle of a how to translate Swedish to English issue here -- Craig ]

      free from
              http://pdp-10.trailing-edge.com/tops10_tools_bb-fp64b-sb/index.html

Anthony's Editor [toc]

      name: ae (Anthony's Editor)
      last changed/verified: 2023-12-27
      original distribution: ?
      version: 2.7.1
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: none
      scope of implementation: command set
      hardware/software requirements: Unix, IBM PC, Atari ST; requires curses
      organization/author:
              Anthony C Howe
              Ottawa, Ontario
              Canada
              achowe@snert.com
      free, https://github.com/SirWumpus/ioccc-ae
      Buffer Gap example. Will build on any POSIX system with Curses. Original 1991 IOCCC contest winner is a hardcoded mini-vi. 1993 code base supports configurable key bindings for either Emacs (mode-less) or Vi (modal) like behaviour; example .rc files supplied.

Aquamacs [toc]

      name: Aquamacs
      last changed/verified: 2006-06-28
      original distribution: ?
      version: 0.9.9d
      base language: C
      implementation language: Lisp
      extension language: Lisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: Macintosh
      organization/author:
              http://aquamacs.org
      free, from
              http://aquamacs.org
      This is a port of GNU-Emacs tailored to the Macintosh Aqua
      environment.

Atto [toc]

      name: atto - smallest functional Emacs in less that 2000 lines of C
      last changed/verified: 2015-12-08
      original distribution: 2015-11-16
      version: 1.4
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: none
      scope of implementation: command set, multi buffer, multi-window, search, cut, copy, paste
      hardware/software requirements: Unix, Linux
      organization/author:
              Hugh Barney
      free, from github
            https://github.com/hughbarney/atto

Barry's Emacs [toc]

      name: Barry's Emacs
      last changed/verified: 2017-03-05
      original distribution: 1994
      version: V7.2-246 Win32,Release b1-November-2016 V8.3.3 released with kits for Windows 7 64 bit and later and Mac OS X 64 bit
      base language: C++
      implementation language: MLisp
      extension language: MLisp, Python
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: Windows, Unix
      organization/author:
              Barry Scott
              barry@barrys-emacs.org
      free, from:
              http://www.barrys-emacs.org/
              https://github.com/barry-scott/BarrysEmacs
      a bit of history...the source was posted to the net by James
      Gosling (in about 1980-ish, I think). It was modifed by Barry,
      within Digital Equipment Corporation. It ran on VMS and was
      available only internally to Digital. The language changed to
      Bliss-32 (better performance on VMS) and then to C (for
      portability) and now C++. Barry left Digital in 1994 and about
      then (or perhaps a little sooner?) released to the public.
      -- Jack Horsfield <jack_horsfield@altavista.net>
              http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/barrysemacs/
      Python implementation

Bzdired [toc]

      name: bzdired
      last changed/verified: 2010-08-30
      original distribution: 1998
      version: 7.1
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: superset of what you type
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: Unix
      organization/author:
              Ralph Betza (FM)
              gnohmon@scscomm.com
      free, from:
              http://scscomm.com/~gnohmon/dired.cpio.gz
              likely no longer available

Climacs [toc]

      name: Climcs
      last changed/verified: 2015-03-28
      original distribution: ?
      version: ?
      base language: ?
      implementation language: Lisp?
      extension language: Lisp?
      scope of implementation: ?
      hardware/software requirements: ?
      organization/author:
      free from
              http://common-lisp.net/project/climacs/

Demacs [toc]

      name: Demacs
      last changed/verified: 1999-08-14
      original distribution: 1992?
      version: 1.2.0
      base language: C
      implementation language: Lisp
      extension language: Lisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: IBM PC, 386 or better, MS-DOS
      organization/author:
              Manabu Higashida
              Osaka University
              JAPAN
              manabu@sigmath.osaka-u.ac.jp
              HIRANO Satoshi
              University of Tokyo
              Japan
              hirano@tkl.iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp
      free, anonymous FTP from
              ftp.sigmath.osaka-u.ac.jp in pub/Msdos/Demacs/*
              utsun.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp in GNU/demacs/*
              on Garbo-PC mirror sites
              ftp://garbo.uwasa.fi/pc/editor

Note: Demacs is currently based on GNU Emacs version 18.55 (partly 18.57). You may wish to check out OEmacs, GNU-Emacs v19.23 or later, or NTEmacs.

e

      name: e
      last changed/verified: 2022-09-03
      original distribution: 2022-08-24
      version: 1.03
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: none
      scope of implementation: command set
      hardware/software requirements: Unix
      organization/author:
              Jef Poskanzer
      homepage:
              https://www.acme.com/software/e/
      source download:
              https://www.acme.com/software/e/e-1.03.tar.gz

e is a very small text editor in the style of Emacs, microemacs, JOVE, etc. It implements many of the common Emacs commands. It does not have an extension language. It does let you rebind keys. It runs in a terminal or terminal emulator only.

E3 [toc]

      name: E3
      last changed/verified: 2010-08-30
      original distribution: ?
      version: ?
      base language: C,asm
      implementation language: C
      extension language: C
      scope of implementation: command set
      hardware/software requirements: Linux, FreeBSD, BeOs
      organization/author:
              Albrecht Kleine
      free, anonymous FTP from
              http://sites.google.com/site/e3editor/

EDMACS [toc]

      name: EDMACS
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version: 2.0
      base language: TECO
      implementation language: TECO
      extension language: TECO
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: PDP/11
      organization/author:
              Michael Bloom
              mb@ttidca.tti.com
      free, anonymous FTP from
              usc.edu in /pub/teco/soflib.tar.Z
              (in subdir "11-737" of tar image)
      DECUS program library as DECUS #11-737 (nominal media charge)

Edwin [toc]

      name: Edwin
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version:
      base language: CScheme
      implementation language: CScheme
      extension language: CScheme
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX, VMS, 386-DOS
      organization/author:
              Scheme Distribution
              c/o Prof. Hal Abelson
              545 Technology Sq. Room 410
              Cambridge MA 02139
              USA
              info-cscheme-request@zurich.ai.mit.edu
      free, anonymous FTP from
              zurich.ai.mit.edu in pub/scheme/README
      also, check out other Scheme implementations

Elle [toc]

      name: Elle (Elle Looks Like Emacs)
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version: 4.1g
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: none
      scope of implementation: command set
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX, MINIX, TOPS-20, TOPS-10 (!)
      organization/author:
              Ken Harrenstein
              c/o SRI International
              333 Ravenswood Ave
              Menlo Park CA  94025
              USA
              klh@nisc.sri.com
      free, anonymous FTP from
              nisc.sri.com in pub/klh/elle.tar (or elle.tar.Z)

Emacs [toc]

      name: Emacs
      last changed/verified: 2006-03-21
      original distribution: 1975
      version: 165
      base language: MIDAS (PDP10/DEC-20 assembly language)
      implementation language: TECO
      extension language: TECO
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: PDP10/ITS or DEC-20/TOPS-20
      organization/author:
              Richard M. Stallman
              MIT AI Lab/MIT Lab. for Comp. Sci.
              545 Technology Square
              Cambridge MA 02139
              USA
      http://pdp-10.trailing-edge.com/tapes/mit_emacs_170_teco_1220.tap.bz2

Note: this is the original free, anonymous FTP from ?

Emacs for Android [toc]

      name: Emacs
      last changed/verified: 2015-06-21
      original distribution: ?
      version: 2012-08-23
      base language: ?
      implementation language: ?
      extension language: ?
      scope of implementation: ?
      hardware/software requirements: Android
      organization/author:
              eemacs@zielm.com
      free, from
              https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zielm.emacs
              https://zielmicha.com/

Emacs for HP49G and HP49G+ [toc]

      name: Emacs for HP49G and HP49G+
      last changed/verified: 2015-08-14
      original distribution: 2000-?-?
      version: 2.00
      base language: HP49G-specific
      implementation language: HP49G-specific
      extension language: HP49G-specific
      scope of implementation: command
      hardware/software requirements:
              HP49G or HP49G+ calculator
      organization/author:
              Carsten Dominik, dominik science.uva.nl
              Peter Geelhoed, p.f.geelhoed wbmt.tudelft.nl
      free anonymous FTP:
              https://staff.science.uva.nl/c.dominik/hpcalc/emacs/

Note: While possibly not a "real" Emacs, this is just too cool to leave out.

Emacs For Mac OS X [toc]

      name: Emacs For Mac OS X
      last changed/verified: 2018-05-30
      original distribution: GNU Emacs
      version: 26.1-2
      base language: C
      implementation language: Lisp
      extension language: Lisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      organization/author:
              Dave Caldwell
      free, from
              https://emacsformacosx.com/
      hardware/software requirements:
          Mac OS 10.9 and above

Emacs for NeXTstep [toc]

      name: Emacs for NeXTstep (aka Emacs.app)
      last changed/verified: 1995-06-15
      original distribution: 1994-04-24
      version: 4.1
      base language: Objective C
      implementation language: Lisp
      extension language: Lisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: Any hardware/software which GNU Emacs
              19.28 runs on in general.  To use the added NeXTstep features
              requires NeXTstep 3.x or later (for best results 3.3 or later)
              on any hardware platform supported by NeXTstep.
      organization/author:
              Carl Edman
              Department of Physics
              Princeton University
              Princeton NJ 08540
              USA
              cedman@princeton.edu
      free anonymous FTP:
              - Binary package for m68k, i386, hppa and sparc NeXTstep machines on
                ftp.cs.orst.edu in
                pub/next/binaries/editors/Emacs_for_NeXTstep_4.1.pkg.NIHS.b.tar.gz.
              -  Source on ftp.cs.orst.edu in
                pub/next/sources/editors/Emacs_for_NeXTstep_4.1.src.NIHS.s.tar.gz.

Note: Emacs for NeXTstep 4.1 is a superset of GNU Emacs 19.28 with which it shares most of the code. The main change is that this Emacs supports the NeXTstep window system on the same level as GNU Emacs supports the X window system. It continues to fully support the X window system as well.

Also, this may be new information on the same release: Emacs.app, a full port of GNU Emacs to NeXTstep also supporting NS features, runs on Intel, NeXT, and HP hardware.

There are also two mailing lists for Emacs for NS, <emacs-for-ns-users@lists.princeton.edu> and <emacs-for-ns-announce@lists.princeton.edu>. The former is intended for general discussion and allows anybody to post. The latter restricts posting and should contain only a handful of announcements of new releases every year. Both of these lists are handled by the CREN Listproc which means that you can subscribe and unsubscribe automatically. For example, to subscribe to emacs-for-ns-users I'd send a message with the content `SUBSCRIBE emacs-for-ns-users Carl Edman' to <listproc@lists.princeton.edu>. For more details write to the same address with the content HELP.

This is the second public release of Emacs for NeXTstep (**).

** So why in the world is it called version 4.1 ? To avoid confusion with the older Emacs.app interface (lately up to version 3.1) which is completely unrelated except for the fact that its author, Michael Brouwer, has been a major contributor to this project as well. And even he has replaced the old Emacs.app with Emacs for NeXTstep.

Emacs for OS X and OS 9 [toc]

      name: Emacs
      last changed/verified: 2005-02-03
      original distribution: ?
      version: ?
      base language: ?
      implementation language: ?
      extension language: ?
      scope of implementation: ?
      hardware/software requirements: Macintosh
      organization/author:
              Sebastien Kirche
              sebastien.kirche@free.fr
      free, from
              http://sebastien.kirche.free.fr/emacs_stuff/
              http://sebastien.kirche.free.fr/emacs_stuff/en.html
      OS X and OS 9 ports.

EmACT [toc]

      name: EmACT
      last changed/verified: 2007-01-03
      original distribution: 1986 (bundled with Let'C compiler)
      version: 2.50.0
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: Minimal Lisp and/or OpenLisp (this one is not GPL)
      scope of implementation: command set, tailored for Lisp programs
      hardware/software requirements: Windows, Pocket PC, Unix
      organization/author:
              Christian Jullien - Eligis
              4, villa des reinettes
              S-95390 Saint-Prix
              France
              jullien(at)eligis(.)com
      free (GPL) from
              http://www.eligis.com/emacs

Note: this a 1986 fork (sic!) of Conroy's MicroEmacs. The name comes from a company the author worked for when starting this development. The motivation was to implement a Lisp-friendly editor on MS-DOS PC to write programs for Le-Lisp dialect. It is now the editor of choice for OpenLisp (see http://www.eligis.com).

Epoch [toc]

      name: Epoch
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version: 4.2
      base language: C
      implementation language: Lisp
      extension language: Lisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX, VMS, others
      organization/author:
              University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
              Urbana-Champaign IL
              USA
              epoch-request@cs.uiuc.edu
              uunet!uiucdcs!epoch-request
              epoch-request%cs.uiuc.edu@uiucvmd.bitnet
      free, anonymous FTP from
              cs.uiuc.edu in pub/epoch-files/epoch/*

Note: this is a modified GNU Emacs. Has been merged with Lucid emacs.

ErgoEmacs [toc]

      name: ErgoEmacs
      last changed/verified: 2010-02-01
      original distribution: ?
      version: 1.7.1
      base language: Lisp
      implementation language: Lisp
      extension language: Lisp
      scope of implementation: Lisp
      hardware/software requirements: Emacs 23
      organization/author:
              Xah Lee and David Capello
      free, anonymous FTP from
              http://ergoemacs.org/

Ermacs [toc]

      name: Ermacs
      last changed/verified: 2003-09-25
      original distribution: ?
      version: 0.9
      base language: Erlang
      implementation language: Erlang
      extension language: Erlang
      scope of implementation: Erlang
      hardware/software requirements: Erlang, S-Lang
      organization/author:
              Luke Gorrie
      free, anonymous FTP from
              http://www.bluetail.com/~luke/ermacs/

ErsatzEMACS [toc]

      name: ErsatzEMACS
      last changed/verified: 2013-02-24
      original distribution: ? 
      version: 1.0
      base language: C 
      implementation language: C 
      extension language: none 
      scope of implementation: command set 
      hardware/software requirements: Unix, Linux
      organization/author: 
              Chris Baird
              <c...@brushtail.apana.org.au>
      free, from github
              https://github.com/stangelandcl/ersatz-emacs.git

Note: This derived from MicroEmacs 3.06. The title "Ersatz" comes from the category Richard Stallman uses in MIT AI Memo 519a to describe those editors that are a surface-deep imitation (key bindings) of "real" ITS Emacs.

Evi [toc]

      name: evi
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: 1988-01-01
      version: 0.1
      base language: any vi editor itself
      implementation language: UNIX Bourne shell,
              vi key mappings and vi command files
      extension language: vi key mappings and vi command files
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: a vi editor that can map keys and
              read command files
      organization/author:
              Bo Thide', of the Swedish Inst. of Space Physics
              bt@irfu.uucp
      free, anonymous ftp from
              ftp://ftp.uu.net/pub/text-processing/vi/macros/evi.tar.Z

Note: This is a set of vi macros that does a fairly full Emacs implementation.

Femtoemacs [toc]

      name: Femtoemacs
      last changed/verified: 2016-11-06
      original distribution: 
      version:
      base language: C
      implementation language: Femtolisp
      extension language: Femtolisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: ?
      organization/author:
              ?
      free from
              https://github.com/FemtoEmacs/Femto-Emacs

FINE [toc]

      name: FINE (Fine Is Not Emacs)
      last changed/verified: 2002-07-22
      original distribution: 1980?
      version:
      base language: BLISS-10
      implementation language: BLISS-10
      extension language: none
      scope of implementation: command set
      hardware/software requirements: PDP-10
      organization/author:
              Mike Kazar
              Carnegie Mellon University
              USA
      free from
              ftp://ftp.ultimate.com/pdp10/fine/

Folding Editor [toc]

      name: fe (folding editor)
      last changed/verified: 2004-12-14
      original distribution: 1.0
      version: 1.6
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: C
      scope of implementation: command set
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX, SYSV curses
      origanization:
              Michael Haardt
              Guestener Strasse 8
              52445 Titz
              Germany
              michael@moria.de
              http://www.moria.de/~michael/fe/

Note: fe is a library of editor primitives, with the user interface built on top of that library. - fe is a successor to Origami.

Freemacs [toc]

      name: Freemacs
      last changed/verified: 2007-08-23
      original distribution: ?
      version: 1.6a
      base language: 8086 assembler
      implementation language: 8086 assembler
      extension language: MINT, a string-oriented interpreter inspired by TRAC
              P(MINT means "Mint Is Not TRAC")
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: IBM PC

Organization/author:

      Russell Nelson
      11 Grant Street
      Potsdam NY 13676
      USA

Internet: anonymous FTP from

      ftp.cygnus.com in /pub/embedded/free-dos/editors/

BBS:

      +1 315 268 6667 - 1200/2400 bps, 8N1, 24 hrs, pub/msdos/freemacs
      No registration required to download Freemacs.

Bitnet and UUCP:

Send mail to archive-server@sun.soe.clarkson.edu. You may use archive-server%sun.soe@omnigate if you are on Bitnet, or {smart-host}!sun.soe.clarkson.edu!archive-server if you are using UUCP. The mail message should consist of 'help'. If you do not get a reply within a day, then your return path is broken. You'll need to use the path command to give a mail address that our mailer can grok. Our mailer can send mail to any address with an '@' in it, with the exception of ".UUCP" pseudo-addresses. Mail: $15 check or $17 PO copying fee to the author. This will assure you of the latest version. Please specify floppy format: [5.25, 1.2 Meg], [5.25, 360K], [3.50, 720K]

Freyja [toc]

      name: Freyja (Freyja Reduksjon Emacs, Ytre Jevn All: Freyja Reduces
              Emacs, Yet Joins All)
      last changed/verified: 2010-08-30
      original distribution: 1991
      version: 2.3
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: none
      scope of implementation: command
      hardware/software requirements: DOS, UNIX, HP95LX, HP100LX
      organization/author:
              Craig Finseth
              1343 Lafond
              St. Paul MN  55104-2437
              USA
              +1 651 644 4027
              craig@finseth.com
      free from the author
              http://www.finseth.com/parts/freyja.php

Note: optimized for RAM-based computing (laptops and palmtops)

Gnome [toc]

      name: Gnome (Generally NOt the Micro Emacs)
      last changed/verified: 2001-03-14
      original distribution: ?
      version: ?
      base language: ?
      implementation language: ?
      extension language: ?
      scope of implementation: ?
      hardware/software requirements: VMS, Atari, MSDOS, Unix, CPM
      organization/author:
              http://www.mirror.ac.uk/collections/hensa-micros/local/msdos/text/gnome/gnome.arc%5Bpeek%5D
              http://www.su.shuttle.de/gnome24.tgz
              ?

Note: This is another old spin off Micro Emacs 2.x, small and fast. Sources should be in the old atari-archives (if atari.archive.umich.edu exists, if not point ftpsearch to gnome.arc) supports VMS, Atari, MESSDOS, Unix 7, CP/M.

GNU-Emacs, Macintosh port [toc]

      name: GNU-Emacs, Macintosh port
      last changed/verified: 1995-01-11
      original distribution: 1993
      version: 1.17
      base language: C  (CodeWarrior 6-7)
      implementation language: Lisp
      extension language: Lisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: Macintosh, System 7
      organization:
              ?
      free, anonymous FTP from:
              ftp://ftp.cs.cornell.edu/pub/parmet

Note: based on 18.59, FAT binary

Note: see also the "Macintosh" section of the GNU Emacs writeup

Gnu TeXmacs [toc]

      name: Gnu TeXmacs
      last changed/verified: 2002-04-03
      original distribution: ?
      version: 1.0.0.1
      base language: C++
      implementation language: C++
      extension language: Scheme
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: Unix or Cygwin
      organization/author:
              Joris van der Hoeven, <mailto:vdhoeven@texmacs.org>
      free
              http://www.texmacs.org/
              http://www.alqua.com/tmresources/ 

Note: TeXmacs is a wysiwyg typesetting system that interfaces with symbolic math packages. It borrows from emacs the use of configurable keybindings. Near fututre: More extension languages (Perl), better Web browsing capabilities, MathML support.

Gulam [toc]

      name: Gulam
      last changed/verified: 2010-08-30
      original distribution: ?
      version: ?
      base language: ?
      implementation language: ?
      extension language: ?
      scope of implementation: ?
      hardware/software requirements: Atari
      organization/author:
              ?

Note: Another Micro Emacs 2 derivative extended by the possibility to act as a Unix-like shell on the Atari ST.

Gulam is a command line interpreter. The Atari ST (an MC68000-based personal computer) version was released as a non-profit distribution to the public in 1987. It is now kept in all the anonymous FTP archives for that machine. It was in daily use by thousands. It integrated an Emacs-like editor, command line history, etc. into a very compact program. These features are now common-place in modern shells. http://193.166.3.2/pub/atari/sysutil/

Hemlock [toc]

      name: Hemlock
      last changed/verified: 2015-03-20
      original distribution: ?
      version:
      base language: Lisp
      implementation language: Lisp
      extension language: Lisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: CMU Common Lisp; MACH and/or SunOS
      organization/author:
              Scott Fahlman
              CMU Common Lisp project
              Carnegie-Mellon University
              USA
              Scott.Fahlman@CS.CMU.EDU
      free, anonymous FTP from
              http://www.debian.org/Packages/stable/devel/cmucl-hemlock.html
              http://www.debian.org/Packages/unstable/devel/cmucl-hemlock.html
      also not free as part of Lucid Common Lisp
      Clozure Common Lisp comes with a GUI-based Hemlock variant. It's written in Common Lisp.
              http://ccl.clozure.com/docs/ccl.html#hemlock-programming

(Portable) Hemlock

      name: Portable Hemlock
      last changed/verified: 2011-08-17
      original distribution: 2002-11
      version:
      base language: Common Lisp
      implementation language: Common Lisp
      extension language: Common Lisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: Common Lisp, Unix X11, MacOSX
      organization/author:
              Gilbert Baumann
              unk6@stud.uni-karlsruhe.de
      free, anonymous CVS from
              http://common-lisp.net/project/phemlock/
      also as part of Clozure Common Lisp

Jade [toc]

      name: Jade (anagram of: A Jed)
      Last changed/verified: 2010-08-30
      original distribution: 1993
      version: 3.2 / 4.0 alpha
      base language: C
      implementation language: Lisp
      extension language: Lisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX with X11
      organization/author:
              John Harper
              john@dcs.warwick.ac.uk
      free, anonymous FTP from
              ftp://ftp.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/people/John.Harper/jade/
              http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/~john/jade/
              above links gone; may exist at archive.org
              ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/apps/editors/X/jade-3.2.tar.gz

Jasspa [toc]

      name: Jasspa MicroEmacs, also NanoEmacs
      Last changed/verified: 2004-03-29
      original distribution: ?
      version: 2004.03
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: custom
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX, Windows, DOS
      organization/author:
              see site
      free, anonymous FTP from
              http://www.jasspa.com

JED [toc]

      name: JED
      last changed/verified: 1998-04-27
      original distribution: ?
      version: 0.F98.1B
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: S-Lang
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX, X11, VMS, DOS, OS/2, Windows,
              small systems
      organization/author:
              John E. Davis
              davis@space.mit.edu
      free, anonymous FTP from
              ftp://space.mit.edu/pub/davis/jed
              http://space.mit.edu/%7Edavis/jed.html
      From a user:

...and I think it is worth to mention that JED (which is the "GNUishest" of all the non-GNU implementations -- almost every keystroke is like within GNU/XEmacs) has the complete editing part of the AUCTEX-package built in, with BibTeX-mode, so if you have to edit La/BibTeX-source outside your home/business, JED might be your first choice.

And, what's more than that: JED runs on the smallest PC systems used these days: in the library etc. I take my Toshiba T1000 (which was the first laptop and has a 4.77 MHz CPU in it: 512 KB RAM, no HD and a single FD) -- and works like a charm since it loads the necessary modules into memory only when needed (dired etc.).

Unlike "freemacs" (which was my favourite editor before JED) it can manage files over 64 KBytes in size and it is further under development.

Since it runs on Linux to (with a special XJed binary) I use it for quick tasks on my desktop, too.

JEmacs (Kawa) [toc]

      name: Kawa (JEmacs)
      last changed/verified: 2010-08-25
      original distribution: ?
      version: 1.6.66
      base language: Java
      implementation language: Java, Scheme, Emacs Lisp
      extension language: Java, Scheme, Emacs Lisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: Unix, Windows, Macinotsh
      organization/author:
              Per Bothnet
              per@bothner.com
              http://www.bothner.com/~per
      free from
              http://jemacs.sourceforge.net/
              http://www.gnu.org/software/kawa/
              http://home.earthlink.net/~athene/2/scheme/mackawa.html
              (Macintosh version)

JOE [toc]

      name: JOE (Joe's Own Editor)
      last changed/verified: 2000-11-03
      original distribution: 1992? (that's in the copyright notice)
      version: 2.8
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: macros
      scope of implementation: command set
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX, DOS
      organization/author:
              Joseph H Allen
              jhallen@world.std.com
      free, anonymous FTP from
              ftp.std.com in src/editors/joe2.8.tar.Z

JOVE, Jonathan's Own Version of Emacs [toc]

      name: Jove (Jonathan's Own Version of Emacs)
      last changed/verified: 1996-04-23
      original distribution: 1984...
      version: 4.16 (1996 Mar 19)
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: none
      scope of implementation: command set
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX, MSDOS, Win32, Macintosh
      organization/author:
              Hugh Redelmeier
              hugh@mimosa.com
              +1 416 482 8253
              list is jovehacks@cs.toronto.edu
      free, anonymous FTP from
              ftp.cs.toronto.edu in pub/moraes/jove/
              also in the Berkeley UNIX distribution
      note: see also Tovj

KEmacs, Kanji Emacs [toc]

      name: KEmacs (Kanji Emacs)
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version:
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: custom
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX, VMS, IBM PC, Amiga, Atari ST,
              Macintosh, Wicat, Data General
      organization/author:
              SANETO (sanewo) Takanori
              Corporate Research Laboratories Atsugi
              SONY
              Japan

note: Japanese (Kanji) adaptation of MicroEMACS version 3.8i

Free, anonymous FTP from

      ftp.hawaii.edu in pub/editors/=TAR.Z=FILES=/kemacs.tar.Z
      pub/editors/kemacs.tarZ

ME2, Mutt Editor II [toc]

      name: ME2 (Mutt Editor II)
      last changed/verified: 2010-09-04
      original distribution: 1986
      version: 3.0
      base language: C
      implementation language: Mutt
      extension language: Mutt ("A bizarre mix of Lisp and Algol-like
              languages, compiled external to the editor")
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX, IBMPC, Atari
      organization/author:
              Craig Durland
              3419 SW Knollbrook
              Corvallis OR 97333
              USA
              +1 503 750 3354
              craig@cv.hp.com
      free, anonymous FTP from
              ftp://ftp.eunet.bg/pub/simtelnet/msdos/editor/me_cd25.zip (MS-DOS version)
              http://www.umich.edu/~archive/atari/Editors/Mutt/ (AtariST version, with source)

Meadow [toc]

      name: Meadow, Multilingual enhancement to gnu Emacs with
              ADvantages Over Windows
      last changed/verified: 2000-12-13
      original distribution: ?
      version: ?
      base language: C?
      implementation language: Lisp?
      extension language: Lisp?
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: 

Organization/author:

      Hisashi Miyashita
      himi@bird.scphys.kyoto-u.ac.jp

Note: With the multilingual support now merged into NTEmacs in 20.4, it is no longer necessary to use a special version of Emacs for other languages, but MULE users may find upgrading to Meadow easier than to NTEmacs because of slight differences in the way they handle fonts. Meadow also has a couple of features that are still missing from NTEmacs, such as support for native IMEs and the special keys on Japanese keyboards.

Free, anonymous FTP from

      ?

MG, MicroGNU Emacs [toc]

      name: MG, (was: MicroGNU Emacs)
      last changed/verified: 2007-08-23
      original distribution: 1986
      version: 2a
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: none
      scope of implementation: command set
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX, VMS, AmigaDOS, Atari ST,
              OS/9-68K, Primos
      organization/author:
              Mike Meyer
      but contact:
              mg-support@ucbvax.berkeley.edu
      free, anonymous FTP from
              gatekeeper.pa.dec.com in rom/fred-fish/FF_DISKS/100-199/FF147.LZH
      possibly also at
              http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/man.cgi?query=mg&apropos=0&sektion=0&manpath=OpenBSD+Current&arch=i386&format=html

MicroEMACS [toc]

      name: MicroEMACS
      last changed/verified: 1998-05-26
      original distribution: ?
      version: 4.0
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: custom
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX, VMS, IBM PC, OS/2
              HP 110 and 150, Amiga, Atari ST, Macintosh, Wicat,
              Data General AOS/VS, Apple IIgs
              kanji: Fujitsu FMR-70, NEC PC-9891
      organization/author:
              Daniel M. Lawrence
              617 New York St
              Lafayette IN 47901
              USA
              +1 317 742 5153
              dan@mdbs.uucp
      FIDO:  The Programmer's Room 201/10
              +1 317 742 5533
              24 hours 300/1200/2400 baud
      free (non-commercial), anonymous FTP from
              aquest.com in pub/uemacs400/disk1
              Source and development files
                      pub/uemacs400/disk2
                      MSDOS/Windows/Windows 95/
                      Windows NT / OS/2
              distribution disk
              http://members.xoom.com/uemacs/
      ask author about commercial use and distribution via disk ($25)

MicroEMACS #2 [toc]

      name: MicroEMACS
      last changed/verified: 2020-11-22
      original distribution: 1986-12-01
      version: 02-oct-87
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: custom
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX, VMS, IBM PC, OS/2
              HP 110 and 150, Amiga, Atari ST, Macintosh,
              Data General AOS/VS
      organization/author:
              Dave G. Conroy
              Christian M. Jullien
      free (non-commercial), anonymous FTP from
              https://www.roumazeilles.net/news/en/wordpress/2017/12/13/my-own-participation-to-emacs-history/

MicroEMACS #3 [toc]

      name: MicroEMACS
      last changed/verified: 2020-11-22
      original distribution: 1987 (unsure)
      version: 3.12a (23-jun-93)
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: custom
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX, VMS, IBM PC, OS/2
              MS-Windows 3.11+, and a number of weird ones
      organization/author:
              Yves Roumazeilles
              28 avenue Leonard de Vinci, 92400 Courbevoie (France)
              +33 1 82 14 14 15
              web2020@roumazeilles.net
      free (non-commercial), from:
              https://www.roumazeilles.net/news/en/wordpress/2017/12/13/my-own-participation-to-emacs-history/
      notes:
              This one is a minor evolution from MicroEmacs v3.12
              from Daniel M. Lawrence. It was a tentative change that
              did not bring any useful fruits.

MicroEMACS #4 [toc]

      name: MicroEMACS
      last changed/verified: 2020-11-22
      original distribution: 1987 (unsure)
      version: 3.12
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: custom
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX, VMS, IBM PC, OS/2
              MS-Windows 3.11+, and a number of weird ones
      organization/author:
              Daniel M. Lawrence
      free (non-commercial), from:
              https://www.roumazeilles.net/news/en/wordpress/2017/12/13/my-own-participation-to-emacs-history/
      notes:
              This one is almost certainly an old version of a MicroEMACS
              shown elsewhere in the FAQ.

MULE, Multi-Lingual Enhancment to Emacs [toc]

      name: MULE (Multi-Lingual Enhancment to Emacs)
      last changed/verified: 1995-07-14
      original distribution: ?
      version: 2.2.2
      base language: C
      implementation language: Lisp
      extension language: Lisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX, VMS, IBM PC, NT

Maintainer:

      nemacs@etl.go.jp

Organization/author:

      Ken'ichi Handa
      Electrotechnical Lab.
      Machine Inference Section
      ElectroTechnical Laboratory
      Umezono 1-1-4
      Tsukuba City
      Japan 305
      +81 298 58 5916
      fax +81 298 58 5918
      handa@etl.go.jp
      handa%etl.go.jp@relay.cs.net

Note: supports many scripts including most European languages, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese in the same buffer. Much of this may be incorporated into GNU Emacs 19. Also ported to MS/DOS by the Demacs developer.

Free, anonymous FTP from

        for Japanese sites:
              etlport.etl.go.jp [192.31.197.99]:/pub/mule
                      Manager: Ken'ichi HANDA <handa@etl.go.jp>
        for sites not in Japan:
              sh.wide.ad.jp [133.4.11.11]:/JAPAN/mule
                      Manager: Akira KATO <kato@wide.ad.jp>
        The following sites are mirroring mule and will get ready
          with in a few days [of 1 March 1995].
        for Japanese sites:
              ftp.mei.co.jp [202.13.88.131]: /archive/free/gnu/emacs/Mule
                      Manager: Motohide Murakami <murakami@msr.mei.co.jp>
              ftp.iij.ad.jp [192.244.176.50]:/pub/misc/mule
                      Manager: Takamichi MIYOSHI <miyoshi@iij.ad.jp>
        for US sites:
              ftp.cs.buffalo.edu [128.205.32.9]:/pub/mule
                      Manager: Rafhael Cedeno <cedeno@cs.Buffalo.EDU>
        for other foreign sites:
              ftp.funet.fi [128.214.6.100]:/index/mule
                      Manager: Hannu Aronsson <haa@cs.hut.fi>
              cs.huji.ac.il [132.65.16.10]:/pub/gnu/mule
                      Manager: The System Group <system@cs.huji.ac.il>
      based on Emacs 19.28

Nemacs, Nihongo Emacs [toc]

      name: Nemacs (Nihongo Emacs)
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version: 3.3.2
      base language: C
      implementation language: Lisp
      extension language: Lisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX, VMS
      maintainer:
              nemacs@etl.go.jp
      organization/author:
              Ken'ichi Handa
              Electrotechnical Lab.
              Machine Inference Section
              ElectroTechnical Laboratory
              Umezono 1-1-4
              Tsukuba City
              Japan 305
              +81 298 58 5916
              fax +81 298 58 5918
              handa@etl.go.jp
              handa%etl.go.jp@relay.cs.net
      note: Japanese (Nihongo) adaptation of GNU-Emacs
      free, anonymous FTP from
              ftp.hawaii.edu in pub/editors/nemacs-3.3.2.tar.Z

NILE [toc]

      name: NILE
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version: ?
      base language: ?
      implementation language: ?
      extension language: ?
      scope of implementation: ?
      hardware/software requirements: ?
      maintainer:
              whoever is maintaining NIL
      organization/author:
              Richard Soley
      free, anonymous FTP from
              ?

NotGNU [toc]

      name: NotGNU
      last changed/verified: 2010-09-04
      original distribution: January 1993
      version: 1.95 May 1999
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: none
      scope of implementation: command set
      requirements: DOS, Windows 3/95/98/NT, X11/OSF
      organization/author:
              Julie Melbin
              P.O. Box 1007
              Groton MA 01450
              USA
              julie@world.std.com
      free, anonymous ftp from
              http://www.notguu.org

NTEmacs [toc]

      name: NTEmacs
      last changed/verified: 2016-08-05
      original distribution: 1993?
      version: ?
      base language: C
      implementation language: Lisp
      extension language: Lisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: IBM PC, DEC Alpha, or MIPS running Windows NT
      organization/author:
              Geoff Voelker
              voelker@cs.washington.edu
      free, anonymous FTP from
              ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/windows/emacs
              http://www.fsf.org/software/emacs/windows/ (FAQ)
              ftp.cs.washington.edu in /pub/ntemacs
              http://www.cs.washington.edu/homes/voelker/ntemacs.html

Note: NTEmacs is currently based on GNU Emacs version 19.17 As of 10/8/94, a beta test version of Emacs 19.27 ported to Windows NT is available from june.cs.washington.edu:/pub/voelker/trial. The port will be merged into a forthcoming release of GNU Emacs.

Latest versions are 19.34, 20.3 and 20.4 which may be for Win 95 and Win NT only.

cs.washington.edu links are probably broken but retained for history.

Ntemacs.exe [toc]

      name: ntemacs.exe
      last changed/verified: 1995-02-16
      original distribution: 1995?
      version: ?
      base language: C
      implementation language: Lisp
      extension language: Lisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: Windows NT
      organization/author:
              Conguent Corporation
              +1 212 431 5100
      free, anonymous FTP from
              microlib.cc.utexas.edu:/microlib/nt/gnu/gnubin.tar.Z.
      note: Conguent sells support

Nitemacs [toc]

      name: Nitemacs
      last changed/verified: 1999-04-26
      original distribution: 1994
      version: 5.9.1
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: N/A
      scope of implementation: command set
      hardware/software requirements: Macintosh
      organization/author:
              Shigeru Chiba, University of Tsukuba, Japan
      free, anonymous FTP from
              http://www.softlab.is.tsukuba.ac.jp/~chiba/nitemacs.html
      "An Emacs-like lightweight editor"

NTNOT [toc]

      name: NTNOT
      last changed/verified: 2002-03-19
      original distribution: ?
      version: ?
      base language: ?
      implementation language: ?
      extension language: ?
      scope of implementation: ?
      hardware/software requirements: ?
      organization/author:
              ?

Notes: This may be NotGNU as the NotGNU executable is "NTNOT.EXE".

OEmacs [toc]

      name: OEmacs
      last changed/verified: 1999-08-19
      original distribution: ?
      version: 4.1
      base language: C
      implementation language: Lisp
      extension language: Lisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: IBM PC or DESQview/X
      organization/author:
              Darryl Okahata
              Internet: darrylo@sr.hp.com
      free, anonymous FTP from
              on Garbo-PC mirror sites
              ftp://garbo.uwasa.fi/pc/editor
      note: based upon GNU Emacs V19.19, successor to DEmacs

PE, PalEdit [toc]

      name: PE (PalEdit)
      last changed/verified: 2010-08-25
      original distribution: ?
      version: 2.3
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: N/A
      scope of implementation: command set
      hardware/software requirements: palmtop environment, HP100LX/200LX
      organization/author:
              Andreas Garzotto
              garzotto@swssai.uu.ch
      free, download
              http://www.dasoft.com/PE/latest.htm

Perfect Emacs [toc]

      name: pe, pEmacs, Perfect Emacs
      last changed/verified: 2013-02-24
      original distribution: 2013-02-18
      version: 1.03
      base language: C 
      implementation language: C 
      extension language: none 
      scope of implementation: command set 
      hardware/software requirements: Unix, Linux
      organization/author: 
              Hugh Barney
              <h...@gmail.com>
      free, from github
             https://https://github.com/hughbarney/pEmacs.git

Note: Derived from ErsatzEMACS 1.0. The main enhancements being incremental search, filename completion and further reduction in footprint. The name Perfect EMACS comes from an attempt to find the point where nothing further can be taken away whilst retaining a useful Emacs-like editor.

QEmacs [toc]

      name: QEmacs
      last changed/verified: 2010-08-25
      original distribution: ?
      version: 0.3.1
      base language: ?
      implementation language: ?
      extension language: ?
      scope of implementation: N/A
      hardware/software requirements: ?
      organization/author:
              Fabrice Bellard
      free
              http://bellard.org/qemacs/
      note: Full screen editor with an Emacs compatible key subset
              (including undo and incremental search) and emacs
              look and feel.

Reamcs [toc]

      name: Remacs
      last changed/verified: 2017-02-25
      original distribution: 2017-02-25
      version: not yet released
      base language: Rust
      implementation language: Rust
      extension language: Rust
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: ?
      organization/author:
              Wilferd Hughes
      free
              http://www.wilfred.me.uk/blog/2017/01/11/announcing-remacs-porting-emacs-to-rust/

Scame [toc]

      name: Scame
      last changed/verified: 2019-06-02
      original distribution: ?
      version:
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: none
      scope of implementation: command set
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX, VMS, IBM PC
      organization/author:
              Multihouse Automatisering bv
              c/o Johan Vromans
              Doesburgweg 7
              2803 PL Gouda
              the Netherlands
              +31 1820 62911
              fax +31 1820 62500
              jv@mh.nl
      free
              https://github.com/larsbrinkhoff/scame

Note: loosely based on an editor called Scame by Leif Samuelsson

SXEmacs [toc]

      name: SXEmacs
      last changed/verified: 2010-08-25
      original distribution: 2004-12-31
      version: 22.1.3
      base language: C
      implementation language: Lisp (built on Xemacs)
      extension language: Lisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: ?
      organization/author:
              Steve Young
      free
              http://www.sxemacs.org

Tint [toc]

      name: Tint
      last changed/verified: 2002-10-02
      original distribution: 1998
      version: 0.14
      base language: C++
      implementation language: C++/Tint
      extension language: tint
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: Darwin, Windows
      organization/author:
              Michael K Montague, <mailto:mikemon@exmsft.com>
      free
              http://tintware.sourceforge.net/

TkEmacs [toc]

      name: TkEmacs
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version: 1.1
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: N/A
      scope of implementation: N/A
      hardware/software requirements: X11
      organization/author:
              Sven Delmas
              TU Berlin
              Germany
              garfield@cs.tu-berlin.de
              Juergen Nickelsen
              TU Berlin
              Germany
              nickel@cs.tu-berlin.de
      free, anonymous FTP from:
              barkley.berkeley.edu in /pub/tkemacs/
              coma.cs.tu-berlin.de in /pub/tkemacs/

Note: TkEmacs is a text widget for Tcl/Tk using GNU Emacs 18.58. The package contains XfEmacs, an application of the TkEmacs widget, providing scrollbars, configurable drop-down menus, etc.

TM [toc]

      name: TM (a/k/a/ Tinymacs)
      last changed/verified: 2010-09-04
      original distribution: ?
      version: ?
      base language: assembler
      implementation language: N/A
      extension language: N/A
      scope of implementation: command set
      hardware/software requirements: ?
      organization/author:
              Brian H. Kelley
              Sven Delmas
              TU Berlin
              Germany
              garfield@cs.tu-berlin.de
              Juergen Nickelsen
              TU Berlin
              Germany
              nickel@cs.tu-berlin.de
      free, anonymous FTP from:
              http://www.bhk.com/tm/index.html (homepage, apparently off line)
              http://sites.google.com/site/texteditors/Home/files/tmsource.zip (source)
              http://sites.google.com/site/texteditors/Home/files/tm14.zip (binaries)

Tovj, Tom's own version of Jove [toc]

      name: Tovj (Tom's own version of Jove), may be renatmed to Jat
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version: 4.6.14.32 patch-level 11
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: none
      scope of implementation: command set
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX, IBM PC, Macintosh
      organization/author:
              Tom Hageman
              tom@icce.rug.nl
              Karel Kubat
              karel@icce.rug.nl
      free, anonymous FTP from
              ftp.icce.rug.nl in pub/tom/jove/jove-4.6.14.32#11.tar.gz
              also other directories i the file

Treemacs [toc]

      name: treemacs
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version:
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: Lisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX, VMS, others
      organization/author:
              Vipin Swarup
              Dept. of Computer Science
              University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
              USA
              swarup@a.cs.uiuc.edu
              USENET ...!{cmcl2,seismo,uunet}!uiucdcs!swarup
      free, anonymous FTP from
              cs.uiuc.edu in pub/treemacs/*

Notes: this is a modified GNU Emacs 18.51. It is GNU Emacs extended to allow the direct editing of tree structures.

Xedit [toc]

      name: xedit, xedplus
      last changed/verified: 2001-03-14
      original distribution: ?
      version: ?
      base language: ?
      implementation language: ?
      extension language: ?
      scope of implementation: ?
      hardware/software requirements: ?
      organization/author:
              http://siag.nu

Note: Most anything using Athena widgets counts. This version is part of the Siag office package.

XEmacs, Emacs the next generation [toc]

      name: XEmacs (nee Lucid GNU Emacs (lemacs))
      last changed/verified: 2004-06-15
      original distribution: April 1992
      version: 21.4.15
      base language: C
      implementation language: Lisp
      extension language: Lisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX, Windows
      maintained by the Xemacs Development Team, xemacs-beta@xemacs.org
      free, anonymous FTP from:
              ftp://ftp.xemacs.org/pub/xemacs
      mailing lists:
              http://www.xemacs.org/Lists/
      FAQ:
              http://www.xemacs.org/faq/xemacs-faq.html
      Releases:
              http://www.dk.xemacs.org/Releases/index.html#Stable

Xyzzy [toc]

      name: Xyzzy
      last changed/verified: 2002-11-17
      original distribution: ?
      version: ?
      base language: ?
      implementation language: ?
      extension language: ?
      scope of implementation: ?
      hardware/software requirements: ?
      free from:
              http://www.jsdlab.co.jp/~kamei/
      FAQ:
              http://www.netlaputa.ne.jp/~henmi/lisp/xyzzy/#cust01
              http://dns.carabiner-systems.com/xyzzy/

YR-Emacs [toc]

      name: YR-Emacs
      last changed/verified: 2020-11-22
      original distribution: 1987
      version: 1.30a
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: none
      scope of implementation: command set
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX, VMS, IBM PC, OS/2,
              MS-Windows 3.11+, and a number of weird ones
      organization/author:
              Yves Roumazeilles
              28 avenue Leonard de Vinci, 92400 Courbevoie (France)
              +33 1 82 14 14 15
              web2020@roumazeilles.net
      free, from:
              https://www.roumazeilles.net/news/en/wordpress/2017/12/13/my-own-participation-to-emacs-history/

Zile, Zile is lossy Emacs [toc]

      name: Zile (Zile is lossy Emacs)
      last changed/verified: 2001-08-20
      original distribution: 1997-06-08
      version: 1.6
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: none
      scope of implementation: command set
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX, ncurses
      organization/author:
              Sandro Sigala
              Viale De Gasperi, 8
              25041 Boario Terme (Brescia)
              Italy
              sandro@sigala.it
      free, anonymous FTP from
              http://zile.sourceforge.net/
              http://www.sigala.it/sandro/
              ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/apps/editors/emacs/clones

Implementations Sold by Vendors [toc]

ADEPT [toc]

      name: ADEPT
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version:
      base language:
      implementation language:
      extension language: yes, but not available to users
      scope of implementation: command set
      hardware/software requirements: Wang VS
      organization/author:
              Wang
              Jimmy Huangs & George Soules
      not free, contact vendor for price information

Alpha [toc]

      name: Alpha
      last changed/verified: 2000-01-25
      original distribution: ?
      version: 7.2.2
      base language: ?
      implementation language: ?
      extension language: TCL
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: Macintosh
      organization/author:
              Pete Keheler
              Rice University
      shareware ($30), anonymous FTP from
              http://alpha.olm.net/
              ftp://ftp.ucsd.edu/pub/alpha/

Amacs [toc]

      name: amacs
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version: 3.0 Release 2.8
      base language: 6502 assembler
      implementation language: 6502 assembler
      extension language: macros / loadable libraries (assembled)
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: Apple // with ProDOS
      organization/author:
              Creative Thinking, Included
              Brian Fox
              bfox@ai.mit.edu
      not free, contact vendor for price information

Brief [toc]

      name: Brief
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version: 3.1
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: Lisp or C (choice)
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: IBM PC
      organization/author:
              Solution Systems
              Suite 410
              541 Main St
              South Weymouth MA 02190
              USA
              +1 800 821 2492
              +1 617 337 6963
              fax +1 617 337 7719
      not free, contact vendor for price information
      acquired by Borland

CCA Emacs [toc]

      name: CCA Emacs
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version:
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: ELisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX, VMS
      organization/author:
              Uniworks Inc.
              P.O. Box K
              Suite 323
              Maynard MA 01754
              USA
              +1 508 897 6650
              emacs!mau
      not free, contact vendor for price information

dde

      name: dde
      last changed/verified: 2010-02-02
      original distribution: 1985
      version: 1.6
      base language: C
      implementation language: C/C++
      extension language: macros
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: x86 Linux or Windows
      organization/author:
              DALSoft
              http://www.products.dalsoft.com/dde.html
      not free, contact vendor for price information

E3 [toc]

      name: E3
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version: internal?
      base language: ?
      implementation language: ?
      extension language: REXX
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: ?
      organization/author:
              IBM Corp.
              ?
      not free, contact vendor for price information

EMACS-TC [toc]

      name: EMACS-TC
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version:
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: Lisp-like
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX
      organization/author:
              AT&T Toolchest
              +1 201 522 6900, then login "guest"
              USA
              Warren A. Montgomery
              +1 708 713 5090
              att!iexist!warren
      not free, contact vendor for price information

Epsilon [toc]

      name: Epsilon
      last changed/verified: 2006-10-27
      original distribution: 1984-08-01
      version: 10.0
      base language: C
      implementation language: EEL
      extension language: EEL, a dialect of C
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: IBM PC (Unix, Windows NT, Windows, DOS, OS/2)
      organization/author:
              Lugaru Software Ltd.
              1645 Shady Ave
              Pittsburgh PA 15217
              USA
              +1 412 421 5911
              fax +1 412 421 6371
              http://www.lugaru.com
      not free, contact vendor for price information

EVE, Extensible VAX Editor [toc]

      name: EVE (Extensible VAX Editor)
      base language: TPU
      implementation language: TPU
      extension language: TPU (Text Processing Utility)
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: VMS
      organization/author:
              Digital Equipment Corp.
              ?
              USA
              +1 ?
              ?

Notes: (Courtesy of Juergen Nickelsen) It is not Emacs-like, but is fully extensible. Source (TPU) is included. TPU is a programming language for text processing, etc. that is also bundled with VMS. EVE is the next best thing to GNU-Emacs on a VAX.

FrameMaker [toc]

      name: FrameMaker
      last changed/verified: 1996-04-23
      original distribution: ?
      version: 3.0
      base language: ?
      implementation language: ?
      extension language: custom
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX, Macintosh
      organization/author:
              Frame Technology Corp.
              1010 Rincon Circle
              San Jose CA 95131
              USA
              +1 408 433 1928
              Frame Technology International Ltd.
              Unit 52 Airways Industrial Estate
              Cloghran
              Dublin 17
              Ireland
              +353 1 42 95 66
              now part of Adobe
      not free, contact vendor for price information

Fred, Fred Resembles Emacs Deliberately [toc]

      name: Fred (Fred Resembles Emacs Deliberately)
      last changed/verified: 1998-02-17
      original distribution: ?
      version: MCL 4.2, MCL 3.3
      base language: Macintosh Common Lisp
      implementation language: Macintosh Common Lisp
      extension language: Macintosh Common Lisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: Macintosh
      organization/author:
              Digitool
              http://www.digitool.com/
      not free: available with Macintosh Common Lisp

Infinitor [toc]

      name: Infinitor
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version:
      base language: C?
      implementation language: C?
      extension language: TPL
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: IBM PC
      organization/author:
              Agranat Systems
              P.O. Box 191
              Weston MA 02193
              USA
              +1 617 893 7868
      not free, contact vendor for price information

InfoDock [toc]

      name: InfoDock (built atop XEmacs)
      last changed/verified: 2004-06-15
      original distribution: 1994
      version: 4.0
      base language: C
      implementation language: Lisp
      extension language: Lisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX with Win32 port planned
      organization/author:
              Bob Weiner
              Altrasoft
              info@altrasoft.com
      later maintained and supported by beopen.com (now defunct)

Notes: InfoDock is an integrated productivity toolset, mainly aimed at technical people. It is built atop the XEmacs variant of GNU Emacs and so has all of the power of Emacs, but with a much easier to use and more comprehensive menu and toolbar-based user interface. We find that most objections people raise to using Emacs have already been addressed in InfoDock. See http://infodock.sourceforge.net for more information.

Interleaf [toc]

      name: Interleaf
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version: 5
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: Lisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX, VMS, IBM PC, Macintosh
      organization/author:
              Interleaf, Inc
              Prospect Place
              9 Hillside Ave
              Waltham MA  02154
              USA
              +1 617 290 0710
      not free, contact vendor for price information

LispWorks [toc]

      name: LispWorks
      last changed/verified: 2015-03-20
      original distribution: ?
      version: ?
      base language: ?
      implementation language: Lisp
      extension language: Lisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: ?
      organization/author:
              LispWorks
              http://www.lispworks.com/lw-history.html
              'the editor began life as a branch of Hemlock'
              http://www.lispworks.com/documentation/lw61/EDUG-M/html/eduser-m.htm
      not free, contact vendor for price information

M [toc]

      name: M
      last changed/verified: 2007-08-23
      original distribution: 1993
      version: 1.21
      base language: C++
      implementation language: C++
      extension language: none
      scope of implementation: command
      hardware/software requirements: DOS, Windows, NT
      organization/author:
              Greg Gadbois
              Greg@dragonsys.com
      not free, contact vendor for price information
      A shareware version is available from the author
      A premium version is available from the author

Mince [toc]

      name: Mince (Mince Is Not Complete Emacs) / PerfectWriter / The
              FinalWord / FinalWordII
      last changed/verified: 2019-10-14
      original distribution: 1980
      version:
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: none / key rebinding only  / key rebinding only/ custom
      scope of implementation: command / command / command / extensible
      hardware/software requirements: IBM PC, CP/M
      organization/author:
              Mark of the Unicorn, Inc.
              sold to Borland International
      not free, contact vendor (Borland) for price information
      http://bitsavers.org/bits/MarkOfTheUnicorn/

Multics Emacs [toc]

      name: Multics Emacs
      last changed/verified: 2015-03-29
      original distribution: 1978
      version:
      base language: Lisp
      implementation language: Lisp
      extension language: Lisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: Honeywell Multics
      organization:
              Bernard Greenberg
              Honeywell Bull
      not free, contact vendor for price information

Note from Carl Hoffman: Probably Multics Emacs' greatest claims to fame are (1) having been the first to popularize the notion of using a Lisp-like extension language which non-expert programmers could use and understand, and (2) originating certain constructs (e.g. "save-excursion", etc.) which today survive in GNU Emacs.

Note from Bernard Greenberg: Multics Emacs was implemented in Multics MacLisp, also known as Version 2 Lisp. Multics Emacs was the first and only Multics Software Product in Lisp -- PL/I was the official system language.

The notion of using Lisp for a mainframe product whose native language was not Lisp was radical at the time. I chose Lisp because of the possibility of implementing many small, cheap, modular, easily-replaceable functions (not a possibility in PL/I), having found this to be a major feature of an earlier private tool I implemented in Multics MacLisp.

The notion of using Lisp on the Lisp machine (for Eine, and later Zwei) was a requirement, not an innovation. It did not speak to the issues of the suitability of Lisp for such a task, nor to that of what would be the best language for such a task. The idea of -choosing- Lisp for a mainframe editor implementation was innovated here. The idea of augmenting Multics TECO, and that of writing a TECO-like editor gut in flat-out PL/I were rejected by me in favor of a Lisp program that implemented editor functionality.

Inspired by the TECO in which EMACS (on ITS, then the only program using that name) was implemented, I designed a TECO-like control and "point" manipulation model in a Lisp framework, which I thought was natural and obvious, not at all similar to the buffer-pointer passing model of the Lisp Machine editors. The natural combination of Lisp macrology and scoping with this type of model proved to be flexible, powerful, and appealing: this model caught on, and is now the basis of everything in the world; the Lisp machine's did not. The intellectual lineage of GNU Emacs, in these regards, comes directly from James Gosling's Emacs, which came directly from (and was credited to) Multics Emacs.

I rank the significant innovations of Multics Emacs as: (1) Explicitly-designed extension languages, which could be understood and used by non-experts. (2) Lisp as an editor implementation language. (3) Lisp and Lisp-macros as an extension language. (4) A control regime and macrology, including many names (e.g., "save-excursion"), that have become today become semi-standard through GNU Emacs and other systems.

Major extensions that became part of the product should also be credited to Richard Lamson, Gary Palter, and William York, who became my guerilla band, back then.

Multics Emacs: The History, Design and Implementation http://www.multicians.org/mepap.html

Multics Emacs Users' Guide http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/honeywell/multics/CH27-00F_emacs_Nov86.pdf http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/honeywell/multics/CJ27-00_Emacs_Users%27_Guide_Dec79.pdf

Multics Emacs Extensions Writer’s Guide http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/honeywell/multics/CJ52-01_emacsExtns_Jul82.pdf http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/honeywell/multics/CJ52-00_Emacs_Extension_Writers'_Guide_Jan80.pdf

Source http://web.mit.edu/afs/net/dev/reference/multics/ldd/unb/source/

PMATE, ZMATE [toc]

      name: PMATE, ZMATE
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version: PMATE (DOS) 4.0, PMATE (CP/M) 3.21, ZMATE (CP/M, Z-System) 1.0
      base language: assembly language (not needed to use editors)
      implementation language: assembly language (not needed to use editors)
      extension language: MATE macro language (TECO-like)
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: IBM PC, CP/M, Z-System
      organization/author:
              original by Michael Aronson (MATE = Michael Aronson's Text Editor)
              ZMATE version by Bridger Mitchell and Jay Sage
              ZMATE available from:
                      Sage Microsystems East
                      1435 Centre Strt
                      Newton MA 02159-2469
                      USA
                      +1 617 965 3552
      (Availability of PMATE for the PC is not certain at this time.  Sage
      Microsystems may be able to offer it.)
      not free, contact vendor for price information

Preditor [toc]

      name: Preditor (was: Compuware Professional Editor, PVCS Professional
              Editor and Sage Professional Editor )
      last changed/verified: 1997-08-22
      original distribution: 1990
      version: 3.01
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: PEL (custom based on AWK, C-like)
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: W95, NT, OS/2
      organization/author:
              Compuware Corporation
              31440 Northwestern Highway
              Farmington Hills, MI 48334-2564
              USA
              +1 810 737 7300
              800 538 7822
              fax +1 810 737 7564
              preditor@compuware.com
      not free, contact vendor for price information
              old character mode version 1.101 for DOS and OS/2 may still
              be available, but is not maintained

Preditor2 [toc]

      name: Preditor/2 (derived from Sage Professional Editor)
      original distribution: 1994
      version: 2.1
      base language: C++,C
      implementation language: C++,C
      extension language: PEL (custom based on AWK, C-like)
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: IBM PC, OS/2
      organization/author:
              Compuware Corporation
              31440 Northwestern Highway
              Farmington Hills, MI 48334-2564
              USA
              +1 810 737 7300
              800 538 7822
              fax +1 810 737 7564
              preditor@compuware.com
      not free, contact vendor for price information
      free DEMO version (nagware that times out in 14 days), anonymous FTP from:
          hobbes.nmsu.edu /os2/demos/p2demo21.zip

SlickEdit [toc]

      name: Slick, SlickEdit
      last changed/verified: 1997-12-16
      original distribution: ?
      version: 2.4
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: Slick-C
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: IBM PC, UNIX
      organization/author:
              MicroEdge Inc.
              PO Box 988
              Apex, NC 27502-0988
              USA
              http://www.slickedit.com
              email: sales@slickedit.com
              +1 800 934 3348
              +1 919 303 7400
              fax +1 919 303 8400
      not free, contact vendor for price information
      (this is a text-mode interface)

Visual SlickEdit [toc]

      name: Visual SlickEdit
      last changed/verified: 1997-12-16
      original distribution: ?
      version: 3.0
      interface: graphical MDI
      base language: C/C++
      implementation language: C/C++
      extension language: Slick-C
      scope of implementation: extensible
      requirements: Windows, NT, OS/2, or UNIX
      organization/author:
              MicroEdge, Inc
              PO Box 988
              Apex, NC 27502-0988
              USA
              http://www.slickedit.com
              email: sales@slickedit.com
              +1 800 934 3348
              +1 919 303 7400
              fax +1 919 303 8400
      not free, contact vendor for price information
      (this is a GUI interface)

SPE Editor [toc]

      name: SPE Editor
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version:
      base language: Lisp
      implementation language: Lisp
      extension language: Lisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX
      organization/author:
              Sun Microsystems, Inc.
              2550 Garcia Ave
              Mountain View CA  94043
              USA
              +1 415 960 1300
              TLX 37 29639
      not free, contact vendor for price information

Sprint [toc]

      name: Sprint (in some countries 'Esprit')
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: 1985?
      version:
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: custom
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: IBM PC
      organization/author:
              Borland International
              1800 Green Hills Rd
              Scotts Valley CA  95067
              USA
      not free, contact vendor for price information

Sys-IX Editor [toc]

      name: Sys-IX Editor
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version:
      base language: C?
      implementation language: C?
      extension language: macro
      scope of implementation: command set
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX, IBM PC
      organization/author:
              System-IX (Networks) Ltd.
              55 Bedford Court Mansions
              Bedford Avenue
              London WC1B 3AD
              UK
              +44 71 636 8210
              fax +44 71 255 1038
              G.W. Computers Inc.
              4 Eagle Square
              East Boston MA  02128
              USA
              +1 617 569 5990
              fax +1 617 567 2981

Note: may not be Emacs not free, contact vendor for price information

Unipress Emacs [toc]

      name: Unipress Emacs
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version:
      base language: C
      implementation language: MLisp
      extension language: MLisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX, VMS, IBM PC
      organization/author:
              Unipress Software Inc
              2025 Lincoln Hwy
              Edison NJ 08817
              USA
              +1 201 287 2100
              fax +1 201 287 4929
              telex 709418

Note: was Gosling's Emacs not free, contact vendor for price information

VOS Emacs [toc]

      name: VOS Emacs
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version: 10
      base language: PL/I
      implementation language: PL/I
      extension language: none
      scope of implementation: modified command set
      hardware requirements: Stratus XA, IBM System/88 or Olivetti CPS-32 computer
      software requirements: VOS operating system
      organization/author:
              Stratus Computer Inc.
              55 Fairbanks Blvd
              Marlboro MA  01752
              USA
              +1 508 460 2000
              telex (294112) ANSBK STRA UR
      not free, contact vendor for price information

Win-Emacs [toc]

      name: Win-Emacs
      last changed/verified: 1996-08-14
      original distribution: April 1993
      version: 1.35 (released October 1994), 1.5 expected 1/96
      base language: C
      implementation language: Lisp
      extension language: elisp (GNU Emacs Lisp)
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: IBM PC, Windows 3.1, 95, or NT
      organization:
              Pearl Software
              2000 Powell St. Suite 1200
              Emeryville CA 94608
              USA
              +1 510 652 4361
              fax +1 510 652 4362
              tech@pearlsoft.com
              info@pearlsoft.com auto-replies with further information.
      FTP a free fully-functional nagware version from:
              ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/pe/pearl/wemdemo*

Note: Win-Emacs is derived from XEmacs 19.6 (nee Lucid Emacs). Win-Emacs is a native MS-Window app which supports multiple windows, fonts, code highlighting, arbitrary keymapping, DDE, winsock, long filenames, drag-and-drop, etc. Version. 1.5 is a Win32s app with most Unix features (e.g. asynch. subprocesses). The free version of Win-Emacs is based on a nagware X emulator: a nag screen pops up every half-hour; otherwise it is precisely identical to the supported commercial version of Win-Emacs. Debatable whether this should be moved into the "versions that cost" category.

Ben Wing, the main author of Win-Emacs, is now the most productive active developer of XEmacs. Most features of Win-Emacs have been added to XEmacs.

ZMACS [toc]

      name: ZMACS
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version:
      base language: Lisp
      implementation language: Lisp
      extension language: Lisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: Symbolics
      organization/author:
              Symbolics, Inc.
              8 New England Executive Park
              Burlington MA  01803
              USA
              +1 617 221 1000
              +1 800 533 7629
      not free, contact vendor for price information
      (Now somewhere in Concord.)

ZMACS TI [toc]

      name: ZMACS (TI Explorer Emacs)
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version:
      base language: Lisp
      implementation language: Lisp
      extension language: Lisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: Explorer
      organization/author:
              Texas Instruments
              12501 Research Blvd
              Austin TX 78759
              USA
              +1 512 250 7111
              +1 800 232 3200
              fax +1 512 250 6522
      not free, contact vendor for price information

Implementations That Are No Longer Available [toc]

EINE [toc]

      name: EINE (EINE is not Emacs (the first known recursive acronym)),
              ZWEI (Zwei Was Eine, Initially (the author knew German)),
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version:
      base language: Lisp
      implementation language: Lisp
      extension language: Lisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: Lisp Machine
      organization/author:
              MIT
              USA
      no longer available
      ZWEI eveolved into Zmacs and all of the Symbolics, Texas Instruments,
      Lisp Machines, and related variants.

Emacs20 [toc]

      name: Emacs (aka Prime Emacs)
      last changed/verified: 2006-10-27
      original distribution: ?
      version: 20
      base language: SPL, a variant of PL/1
      implementation language: SPL, a variant of PL/1
      extension language: Lisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: Prime
      organization/author:
              Prime Computer, Inc.
              24 Prime Park Way
              Natick MA  07160
              USA
              +1 508 651 3342
              telex 174519
              telex +1 508 651 2769
      not free, contact vendor for price information
      Note: Written by Bob Frankston and Seth Steinberg.

Leif [toc]

      name: Leif
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version:
      base language: C
      implementation language: Lisp
      extension language: Lisp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX, VMS
      organization/author:
              The Saga Group
              Department of Computer Science
              University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
              1304 W. Springfield
              Urbana IL 61801
              USA
              leif@a.cs.uiuc.edu
              {pur-ee|ihnp4}!uiucdcs!leif

Note: Leif is really just GNU Emacs with a small modification, an elisp extension, and an external parser.

NMODE [toc]

      name: NMODE ("New MODE"?), predecessor may be EMODE
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version:
      base language: PSL, Common LIsp
      implementation language: PSL, Common LIsp
      extension language: PSL, Common LIsp
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: HP series 9000
      organization/author:
              Hewlett-Packard
              old symbolic languages group?
      no longer available

TORE [toc]

      name: TORES (Text ORiented Editing System)
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version:
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: none
      scope of implementation: command set
      hardware/software requirements: UNIX
      organization/author:
              Jeffrey Schiller
              MIT
              USA
      no longer available

PD [toc]

      name: PD Forthmacs System Editor
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version:
      base language: Forth?
      implementation language: Forth?
      extension language: none
      scope of implementation: command set
      hardware/software requirements: Atari?
      organization/author:
              Bradley Software
      no longer available

TV [toc]

      name: tv (aka otv, SINE (SINE is not EINE (the first known
              doubly-recursive acronym)))
      last changed/verified: 2019-04-15
      original distribution: 1977
      version:
      base language: PL/1
      implementation language: SINE (Lisp-like)
      extension language: SINE (Lisp-like)
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: MagicSix on Perkin-Elmer 3200 series
      organization/author:
              Owen "Ted" Anderson
              MIT Architecture Machine Group
              USA
      https://github.com/ArchMach/Sine
              background information
      https://github.com/ArchMach/Sine/blob/master/saildart.org/OTA/README.md

UE [toc]

      name: ue
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version:
      base language: ?
      implementation language: ?
      extension language: none
      scope of implementation: command set
      hardware/software requirements: Atari ST
      organization/author:
              pm@cwru.edu
      no longer available
      Part of Gulam a public-domain shell.

VINE [toc]

      name: VINE (Vine Is Not Emacs)
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: 1977
      version:
      base language: Fortran (!)
      implementation language: Fortran
      extension language: none
      scope of implementation: command set
      hardware/software requirements: VMS
      organization/author:
              Craig Finseth
              Texas Instruments
              Dallas TX
              USA
      no longer available

Z80EMACS [toc]

      name: Z80EMACS
      last changed/verified: 2007-08-23
      original distribution: 1992?
      version: 0.1
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: custom
      scope of implementation: extensible
      hardware/software requirements: CP/M
      organization/author:
              Ralph Betza (FM),
              gnohmon@scscomm.com
              uunet!ssiny!gnohmon
      free, anonymous FTP from:
              rtfm.mit.edu in pub/z80/emacs/*

Z80EMACS is a port of microemacs 3.6 to the CP/M operating system. Microemacs keeps all data in memory, and CP/M must live in a 64KB address space. By clever use of overlays and byte-squeezing and tuning, Z80EMACS is able to edit files of size 30KB! microemacs 3.6 had no facility for remapping the keyboard bindings. Z80EMACS does it with an offline utility. Z80EMACS uses overlays extensively, but the most frequently used commands are all either in the root segment or in one particular overlay. Since this overlay is usually already in memory, performance is quite good, even when running from floppies. Z80EMACS has the ability to edit multiple files, display multiple windows, and do keyboard macros, among other things. This makes it the spiffiest CP/M editor you could ever hope to see. Z80EMACS comes with source and binaries; it was compiled with AZTEC C, which few CP/Mmers have, so the binaries are more likely to be useful than the source.

Unknown 1 [toc]

      name: none
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version:
      base language: C
      implementation language: C
      extension language: none
      scope of implementation: command set
      hardware/software requirements: HLH Orions
      organization/author:
              Steven Zimmerman
      no longer available
      Dated 1983.  Described as a "distant descendant of the one written by
      Warren Montgomery at Bell Labs.  Might be an early, non-commercial
      version of CCA Emacs.

Unknown 2 [toc]

      name: none
      last changed/verified: 1994-12-20
      original distribution: ?
      version: 1.1, 2.1 (?)
      base language: C and 8088 assembler
      implementation language: C and 8088 assembler
      extension language: none
      scope of implementation: command set
      hardware/software requirements: IBM PC, HP-150, TIPC
      organization/author:
              Don P. Bennett, Jr.
              Hewlett Packard (when he wrote it)
      no longer available

This editor identifies itself as "Emacs", and has HP-style soft labels for the first eight function keys hard-bound to "file commands," "window commands," "buffer commands," etc. Versions 1.1 and 2.1 are known to exist. Other versions may also have escaped. 1.1 was written in Microsoft C and 8088 assembler 1.0 (or was that 2.0?) in about 1985. 2.1 was written using Microsoft C 3.0 in about 1986. All versions work quite usably, despite fatal bugs in some commands. (Memory limits and large files can cause death, "ESC-digit" causes immediate death.) ("If it dies when you do that, stop doing it!")


End [toc]


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