Remote emacs access to my main computer

Question

I have a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 which runs the Android OS. I have a nice keyboard for it and would like to be able to keep editing and working in emacs when I am not by my main computer.

My desire is best explained through example:

Suppose I am not by my main computer but I have my tablet with me. I would like to connect to my main computer (I would imagine through a terminal and ssh?) type emacs and then continue working on my tablet in emacs as if I were on my main computer. That would mean that all my emacs settings would be apparent and I can access the files and programs that I normally edit on my main computer from my tablet. These would be various programming language interpreters, git and various files.

How is this best accomplished? Note that I use emacs 24.3 and Ubuntu 12.04 LTS. Let me know if you need more information. All help is greatly appreciated!

EDIT: I have discovered OpenSSH and learned about config files, and public/private keys. These concepts are simple, however I do not know the necessary commands to set up a connection between both of my machines. Could someone link me to an example? Or provide an example?

Answer 1

Yes, you may easily connect your main computer via and use Emacs on it.

First of all you need to set up your main computer connectable via ssh on your local network (NAT) and connect to it (Dynamic DNS would be good if you have dynamic IP). It depends on your network.

Then you need to install a ssh client on your tablet. There are many ssh clients for android on Google Play, you may use one of them or you may install arch linux/debian to your tablet and use openssh if it is rooted.

After installing ssh client, connect your computer and fire up Emacs!

PS: There is an article on Linux Journal that you may found interesting: http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/swap-your-laptop-ipad-linode

Answer 2

You have two problems. 1. Your "main computer" must be running sshd (daemon for ssh sever), and should be set up correctly. The try to login to it from a windows machine using putty, for example. For that, you will need the ip address of your main computer. 2. Setting a ssh client program on android is another independent problem that you have to solve. I myself am in that stage since I got the 10.1 yesterday...