Emacs is 50, The Register notes, citing MIT Technology Review. By coincidence, so is its arch-rival vi.
Where it came from
The name means “Editing MACroS.” The macros were for TECO, Dan Murphy’s 1962 “Text Editor and COrrector.” Guy L. Steele Jr. gets credit for early work in 1975, but Steele himself says Richard Stallman deserves “99% or 99.9%… of the credit for taking a package of TECO macros and turning it into the most powerful editor on the planet.” Around late October 1976 RMS took over most of the development.
MIT Technology Review’s subhead says why it matters: it’s how the MIT AI Lab’s editor “gave birth to the free software movement.”
My take
Fifty years and still shipping, and still starting arguments. Whatever side of the editor war you’re on, that’s a legacy. Happy birthday to both.
God Bless, and Happy hacking!
