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authorBozhidar Batsov <bozhidar@batsov.com>2016-10-06 11:45:08 +0300
committerBozhidar Batsov <bozhidar@batsov.com>2016-10-06 11:45:08 +0300
commit16cc69026006ecfdf81da2ff432f0a7f8defd13a (patch)
tree5ff67894a7e4935994b90b2e821f82840238a726 /doc
parente72011feff295e983d2a0b44d1acc256cf70f70f (diff)
Add a FAQ section to the manual
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+## What does CIDER stand for?
+
+CIDER stands for **C**lojure **I**nteractive **D**evelopment **E**nvironment that **R**ocks.
+
+## Does it really rock?
+
+Yes.
+
+## What are CIDER's installation prerequisites?
+
+CIDER officially supports Emacs 24.3+, Java 7+ and Clojure(Script) 1.7+.
+CIDER 0.10 was the final release which supported Java 6 and Clojure 1.5 and 1.6.
+
+## What's the relationship between CIDER and nrepl.el?
+
+`nrepl.el` was renamed to CIDER in version 0.3 to avoid confusion with the nREPL
+server itself and to better reflect the fact that CIDER is way more than an
+nREPL client for Emacs. Additionally, the new name presents us with the
+opportunity to support alternative evaluation backends (e.g. the socket REPL
+introduced in Clojure 1.8) down the road.
+
+## What's the relationship between CIDER and monroe?
+
+[monroe](https://github.com/sanel/monroe) is basically a fork of an old CIDER
+version before the time we started relying on nREPL middleware.
+
+## What's the relationship between CIDER and inf-clojure?
+
+There's pretty much no relationship. `inf-clojure` provides a REPL based on the
+`comint` Emacs package - you're basically running an external REPL process
+inside of Emacs (there's no network connectivity involved). The advantage of
+this is that you have no external dependencies what-so-ever - you just need some
+command to start a REPL process for you.
+
+## Isn't IntelliJ's Cursive the best Clojure IDE?
+
+Cursive is pretty awesome. Depending on your programming preferences (using an IDE vs
+building a custom editing experience tailored to your needs) it might be a better
+option for you than CIDER.
+
+## What's the deal with the CIDER release codenames?
+
+The codenames are usually some of the favourite places of CIDER's head
+maintainer (Bozhidar).
+
+## Is using CIDER a good idea if I'm new to both Emacs and Clojure?
+
+There's nothing particularly complex in CIDER itself, but getting to
+grips with Emacs might be a bit challenging for some people.
+
+Generally you can simplify the initial learning experience a lot by using some
+Emacs "starter kit" and picking up a good book on Emacs
+(e.g. [Mastering Emacs](https://www.masteringemacs.org/)).
+
+[Prelude](https://github.com/bbatsov/prelude)
+and [Spacemacs](http://spacemacs.org/) are some great Emacs distributions that
+you might consider using.
+
+Prelude is maintained by the primary CIDER author himself, while
+Spacemacs is an excellent option for vim refugees (as it places a heavy emphasis
+on vim emulation via `evil-mode`).
+
+## Do stable CIDER releases follow some predefined cadence?
+
+No. Stable releases are issued when the maintainers feel a new release is
+warranted. The maintainers generally aim to deliver at least 2-3 stable releases
+per year.
+
+## When is CIDER 1.0 going to be released?
+
+There's no exact roadmap for the 1.0 release. Roughly speaking the idea is to
+release 1.0 once our ClojureScript support is as good as the Clojure support and
+when the most important refactoring functionality from our sibling
+project [clj-refactor](https://github.com/clojure-emacs/clj-refactor.el) lands
+into CIDER.
+
+## Is it true that stable CIDER releases often happen around major Clojure conferences?
+
+Yep. We want to give people a reason to talk about CIDER at such events. :-)
+
+## How unstable is the MELPA build of CIDER?
+
+It's pretty stable. Serious regression are introduced rather rarely and are
+usually fixed within a few hours. Using the MELPA build gives you early access to
+new features and you're also helping the maintainers with the testing process.
+
+## Will CIDER eventually support the Clojure 1.8 socket REPL?
+
+Hopefully yes. Adding support for the socket REPL is definitely on our radar, but
+unfortunately it will require both significant changes to CIDER and the development
+of some alternative to essential nREPL functionality (like multiple evaluation sessions)
+for the socket REPL.
+
+## Will CIDER ever drop support for nREPL?
+
+That's extremely unlikely. Even if we eventually add support for the new socket REPL,
+we'll continue supporting nREPL as well.
+
+## Is CIDER's nREPL middleware Emacs specific?
+
+Not at all. The functionality in `cider-nrepl` is pretty editor-agnostic and is
+utilized by various editor plugins. Some prominent examples would be
+`vim-fireplace` and Eclipse's CCW.
+
+## How can I see all the configuration options available in CIDER?
+
+`M-x customize-group RET cider RET`.
+
+## Are there any interesting CIDER add-ons worth checking out?
+
+Sure! See [additional packages](additional_packages.md) for details.
+
+## Where can I get help regarding CIDER?
+
+See the [Support](support.md) section of the manual.
+
+## What should I do if I run into some issues with CIDER?
+
+Don't panic! Next step - visit the [Troubleshooting](troubleshooting.md) section of
+the manual.
+
+## How can I help the project?
+
+There are many ways in which you can help CIDER
+
+* Donate funds
+* Work on improving the documentation
+* Solve open issues
+* File bug reports and suggestions for improvements
+* Promote CIDER via blog posts or at meetups and conferences
+* Invite members of the CIDER team to speak about CIDER at meetups and conferences