Partly in response to the various threads I've seen recently here and on use.perl.org, and partly because many people much better programmers than I use it, I've decided to learn emacs. And more than the simple stuff I've learned to far - beginning/end of line, cut, paste, etc. I'd like to learn about the features like CVS integration, debugging, etc. And Emacs "culture" & philosophy. To this end I seek knowledge on several questions:

  1. Which version/flavor of emacs should I use? X vs. non-X, 22.x vs 21.x, terminal mode vs. gui mode. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each? I develop primarily on Win2K although I hope to put together a Linux workstation soon, and run Linux + apache + mod_perl on the server side.
  2. Resources for learning emacs commands. This could include books, articles, communities, etc. I've briefly looked at the O'Reilly emacs book, but worried that it was too out of date. Any other books to start?
  3. Hints on where to start and any gotchas I can expect in my quest for knowledge.
  4. How much, if any lisp, will I need to learn? I don't currently know lisp, but I'm not opposed to putting another language on my resume.
  5. Any other tips, tricks, emacs settings that have helped you be more productive. After all, this is truly why I'm learning emacs - (hopefully) more productivity.

Thanks for your ideas. All thoughts are welcome, even if you tell me I'm crazy. :-)

In reply to Taking the emacs plunge by drewbie

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