Brian Kernighan's Programming Setup | Lex Fridman | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

A programmer discusses their preferred programming setup, including their choice of computer, operating system, keyboard, and editor.

Key Insights

• ✊ The MacBook Air is favored by the speaker due to its balance of portability and computing power.
• 😃 The big iMac serves as a secondary option for tasks requiring a larger screen.
• 🫥 The editor of choice, Sam, is a command-line-based editor derived from Edie and VI.
• 🫥 Early editors like QED and edy were line-oriented and used on terminals that printed on paper.
• ⚾ VI and Emacs were developed as cursor-based editors with the introduction of CRT displays.
• 😒 The speaker has a personal preference for Lisp and uses Emacs for programming in that language.
• 🫥 Sam is available on most systems and can be downloaded from the plan-line operating system distribution.

Transcript

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Questions & Answers

Q: What computer does the speaker use for programming?

The speaker primarily uses a 13-inch MacBook Air due to its portability and adequate computing power.

Q: Why does the speaker have a big iMac in their office?

The iMac is mainly used when the speaker needs a larger screen, but it is not utilized as frequently as the MacBook Air.

Q: What editor does the speaker use?

The speaker's preferred editor is Sam, which was developed by Rob Pike. It is derived from Edie and VI and offers a command-line interface.

Q: Can you briefly explain the history of text editors?

In the early days, editors like QED and edy were command-based and used on terminals that printed on paper. With the advent of CRT displays, editors like VI and Emacs supported cursor controls and made editing more efficient.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The speaker uses a 13-inch MacBook Air as their primary computer because it offers portability and sufficient computing power.

• They also have a big iMac in their office for tasks that require a larger screen.

• Their preferred editor is Sam, which is derived from Rob Pike's previous work on Edie and VI.