Like Slime, for Vim

But having C-c C-c is nice!

Here are some common modes that I use that interact with external processes.

py-shell: kind of obvious, using the python shell is sometimes awkward because of the way that python doesn't reload code.

pdb-mode:in any shell process, if my python code hits a pdb.set_trace() python will pop up a debugging repl. As I step through my code with pdb, emacs opens up whatever file the current stack is in to the position in the stack. I couldn't imagine debugging code without this. This functionality also exists for gdb and rdb I think, I don't use those frequently.

compile-mode: when I run unit tests and I get an error, compile mode lets me click or hit return on that error and instantly jump to that code in another buffer

shell: emacs deals with my bash shell. I can easily scroll up in the buffer to copy and paste output from previous commands. I can search backwards through not just commands I have previously run, but through previous output from the shell. When I open a file from the shell, it defaults to my current shell directory.

sql-mode: gives all the goodness of emacs to an sql repl. I can edit sql in another buffer, craft the query I want, and send just that query to my sql repl.

There is a Vim+screen plugin as well for interacting with shells: http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=2711

I'm not an emacs fan either but I grudgingly use it everyday for R and Octave development. Vim is my preferred text editor but it can't compare to the power of emacs when working with interactive languages. Emacs viper mode is excellent though and gives access to the vi keys anywhere. I'd also recommend those that really hate emacs to try the console mode -- its much snappier and brings the monster closer to a vim-like experience.