In emacs frames are distinct windows on the display manager. Then you have buffers which usually are a file you are editing but also contain things like directories of files, list of buffers and messages from emacs. It's really easy to switch between buffers using a couple of key commands. Another command brings up the list of buffers which you can search with the same search command you use in a file. You can sort or filter the list. With all this you really don't need tabs cluttering up the screen.