# XEmacs is Dead. Long Live XEmacs!

DevFeed: [XEmacs is Dead. Long Live XEmacs!](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/xemacs-is-dead-long-live-xemacs-38757.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2008/04/xemacs-is-dead-long-live-xemacs.html>)

Author: Steve Yegge (noreply@blogger.com)

Published: 2008-04-28T11:01:00Z

Content type: opinion

Language: en

Sources: [Steve Yegge](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/steve-yegge.md>)

Topics: [Emacs](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/emacs.md>), [Lisp](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/lisp.md>), [Programming](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/programming.md>), [Open Source](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/open-source.md>)

Tags: [emacs](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/emacs.md>), [emacs-lisp](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/emacs-lisp.md>), [fork](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/fork.md>), [open-source](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/open-source.md>)

## AI overview

The article reflects on XEmacs, its origins as a fork of the GNU Emacs codebase, and the historical split between XEmacs and FSF Emacs. It argues that discontinuing XEmacs was the right decision at that time.

## Source excerpt

"We're going to get lynched, aren't we?" -- Phouchg And you thought I'd given up on controversial blogs. Hah! Preamble This must be said: Jamie Zawinski is a hero. A living legend. A major powerhouse programmer who, among his many other accomplishments, wrote the original Netscape Navigator and the original XEmacs. A guy who can use the term "downward funargs" and then glare at you just daring you to ask him to explain it, you cretin. A dude with arguably the best cat-picture blog ever created. I've never met him, but I've been in awe of his work since 1993-ish, a time when I was still wearing programming diapers and needing them changed about every 3 hours. Let's see... that would be 15 years ago. I've been slaving away to become a better programmer for fifteen years, and I'm still not as good -- nowhere near as good, mind you -- as he was then. I still marvel at his work, and his shocking writing style, when I'm grubbing around in the guts of the Emacs-Lisp byte-compiler. It makes you wonder how many of him there are out there. You know, programmers at that level. He can't be the only one. What do you suppose they're all working on? Or do they all eventually make 25th level and opt for divine ascension? In any case, I'm sad that I have to write the obit on one of his greater achievements. Sorry, man. Keep up the cat blog. Forking XEmacs I have to include a teeny history lesson. Bear with me. It's short. XEmacs was a fork of the GNU Emacs codebase, created about 17 years ago by a famous-ish startup called Lucid Inc., which, alas, went Tango Uniform circa 1994. As far as I know, their two big software legacies still extant are a Lisp environment now sold by LispWorks, and XEmacs. I'd also count among their legacies an absolutely outstanding collection of software essays called Patterns of Software, by Lucid's founder, Richard P. Gabriel. I go back and re-read them every year or so. They're that good. Back when XEmacs was forked, there were some fireworks. Nothing we ha