[R0flcopt3r]

emacs really is just an interpreter for emacs lisp. it does whatever you program it to do. it happens to come pre-programmed as a text editor from the "factory".

The beauty of emacs is how easy it is to modify it. Lisp is the easiest syntax to learn, emacs hides nothing from the user, and the user can override or add whatever they wish. It really is a proper example of free and open software. To add to this, it's all very well documented, and everything you need to develop (for) emacs is in emacs itself.