[R] kate editor for R

[Ramon Diaz-Uriarte]

On 1/20/07, Marc Schwartz <marc_schwartz at comcast.net> wrote:
> On Sat, 2007-01-20 at 11:20 +0100, Ramon Diaz-Uriarte wrote:
> > On 1/20/07, Marc Schwartz <marc_schwartz at comcast.net> wrote:
> > > xft anti-aliasing is incorporated into the version 23 unicode trunk.
> > >
> > > So it looks great on a hi-res LCD panel. Without xft, even using
> > > Bitstream fonts, it was still pretty rough on the eyes.
> > >
> >
> >
> > Humm, call me silly, but most of the time I do not like anti-aliased
> > fonts: I tend to agree with
> > http://modeemi.cs.tut.fi/~tuomov/ion/faq/entries/Blurred_fonts.html,
> > where he says "characters look like having been dragged through mud"
> > :-).
> >
> > > It also fully supports GTK widgets, which is great if you are using
> > > GNOME, which I do.
> > >
> >
> > But my .emacs gets rid of the toolbar and scroll bars on start-up (I
> > find toolbars confusing things that take up precious screen space),
> > and often work without the menubar (when I am doing familiar work). I
> > use ion3 (http://modeemi.cs.tut.fi/~tuomov/ion/), which, together with
> > wmii (and followed, at some distance, by fmwv), I find the most usable
> > window managers, and thus the look of widgets is not that relevant to
> > me.
> >
> > So, for most practical purposes (except for resizing with the mouse) I
> > use emacs as if started with the -w command. (I know, I know, this
> > looks like going backwards ... must be a mid-life involution crisis
> > :-).
>
> We'll drag you kicking and screaming into the 21st century...
>
> ;-)
>


I was afraid someone would suggest that sooner or later :-).

> > > xft was added as a patch to version 22, but it was not very stable.
> > >
> > > Note that version 23 is in alpha status, so use at your own risk if you
> > > decide to pursue this. 21 is still the current stable release version,
> > > but 23 has been rock solid for me.
> > >
> > > I can provide you with a shell script to build it. Let me know.
> > >
> >
> >
> > Let me try with the debian packages, and if I have problems, I'll
> > definitely start bugging you. Thanks a lot for your help!
> >
> > Best,
> >
> > R.
>
> FWIW, here are some screen shots so that you can get a feel for what it
> looks like. This is using two 1600x1200 lcd panels.
>
> 1. Basic view of main window, showing ECB and ESS:
>
>   http://home.comcast.net/~marc_schwartz/emacs23.png
>
> 2. Full screen (3200x1600 using nVidia TwinView) capture to show GTK
> file selection widget:
>
>   http://home.comcast.net/~marc_schwartz/emacs23-2.png
>
> 3. View of main window to show the integration of SVN version control,
> which I use my all of my R code:
>
>   http://home.comcast.net/~marc_schwartz/emacs23-3.png
>


Hey, those look very neat! (I'd get rid of all those toolbars :-). But
very neat. Time to try it. (But no way I am giving up ion3).


>
> No doubt that the use of xft is a personal choice, and some folks do not
> like it, perhaps notably on CRTs.  As I have gotten older and need
> bi-focals for computer work and reading, I find the use of xft much
> easier and I am less prone to eye strain, given how many hours I
> typically spend working each day.
>

Marc, but the solution for that problem are not xft fonts. The
solution is ... working less hours. (I'll blackmail my boss: if you
force me to work more hours, I'll use xft fonts. I bet it'll be a
great strategy).


Best

> HTH,
>
> Marc
>
>
>


-- 
Ramon Diaz-Uriarte
Statistical Computing Team
Structural Biology and Biocomputing Programme
Spanish National Cancer Centre (CNIO)
http://ligarto.org/rdiaz