The ability to invoke external processes and interface with them via a simple read-eval-loop (REPL) is perhaps one of Emacs’ strongest extension points. This means that a wide variety of computational tools become immediately available for embedding within the Emacs environment — a facility that has been widely exploited by the Emacs community. Over the years, Emacspeak has leveraged many of these facilities to provide a well-integrated auditory interface.
Starting from a tight code, eval, test form of iterative programming as encouraged by Lisp. Applied to languages like Python and Ruby to exploratory computational tools such as R for data analysis and SQL for database interaction, the Emacspeak Audio Desktop has come to encompass a collection of rich computational tools that provide an efficient eyes-free experience.
In this context, module ein — Emacs IPython Notebooks — provides another excellent example of an Emacs tool that helps interface seamlessly with others in the technical domain. IPython Notebooks provide an easy means of reaching a large audience when publishing technical material with interactive computational content; module ein brings the power and convenience of Emacs ’ editing facilities when developing the content. Speech-enabling package ein is a major win since editing program source code in an eyes-free environment is far smoother in Emacs than in a browser-based editor.