Best introduction to emacs both use and hacking it wise?

I don't see the "big picture", meaning what really happens when Emacs starts, what are the main components of Emacs and how these components communicate with each other, which I think should be the first step needed to customize a software.

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http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/#Manuals
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emacs#Features
http://www.emacswiki.org/

http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/LearningEmacs

http://david.rothlis.net/emacs/howtolearn.html
http://sachachua.com/blog/2013/05/how-to-learn-emacs-a-hand-drawn-one-pager-for-beginners/

http://ergoemacs.org/emacs/emacs_hand_pain_celebrity.html
http://ergoemacs.org/emacs/emacs_pinky.html
http://www.lixo.org/archives/2005/06/01/get-rid-of-the-emacs-pinky/
http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?WhyNotUseEmacs
http://games.greggman.com/game/emacs_causes_rsi_/
http://ask.metafilter.com/85389/Help-save-my-wrists-from-RSI

Don't even bother mentioning the Caps Lock-Ctrl swap, the commands are still C-x C-f C-asf C-M-anus (read: a pain in the ass, and a literal pain in the wrist).

>>3
Which is why you use evil mode. You can also program it as you like. My favourite method is making modes just like in vi, where if I hit Ctrl, it's in Ctrl mode, then I type the sequence, even if it is just one letter, then press Ctrl to end the state, and it inputs Ctrl+ all sequences. The comma is used to define another Ctrl in the sequence. Optionally, you can make make the mode be for one chorded input, and double tap Ctrl to initiate the mode, which I call Ctrl lock. I also have a Meta mode too, and a symbol mode, to input those characters not in my ANSI keyboard, kinda like the compose key.

You can't do the same in vim or sed, unfortunately. Emacs gives you the full freedom to adapt all its features and functions, being an interpreter after all.

If it was not cleat, let me use your example:
C-x C-f C-asf C-M-anus

In one hit Ctrl mode: (you escape , with ,,)
C x,f,asf,M-anus C

Double Tap Ctrl mode no lock: (; = pause, - = chord)
Cx;Cf;C a-s-f;CM a-n-u-s

Double Tap Ctrl mode locked:
CCxCfCasfCManusCC

>>5
I'm fucking sold. I didn't know such thing was possible.

What do more experienced Emacsitors think of evil mode? As a rabid viitor who's curious about ``the power of Emacs'', I'd like to hear their opinions.

There's even more scarier things, that just make my head boggle. But for me, as a long time ex-vi and sed user, I enjoy sending out commands with ':'. It is the most useful feature ever devised on a editor, one that I will always keep. And with on-the-fly 'q' macros, only the limits of your imagination is your one detractor.

But you know what is the most dreadful part: How you use Emacs extensions to pipe the work and editing you are doing to those the extensions. There's IRC clients (ERC), newsreaders and mail clients (Gnus), fucking web browsers (nero.el and alpha ezbl (uzbl in elisp)), SQLite editors, to-die-for org-mode, and much much more. Obviously, you know you can also escape output to the shell, and extend your POSIX programs; and pipe programs' input too

I am still waiting for this project to finish: informatimago.com/linux/emacs-on-user-mode-linux.html