OReilly learning GNU emacs 3rd edition dec 2004 ISBN 0596006489

LearningGNUEmacs,3rdEdition
ByDebraCameron,JamesElliott,

MarcLoy

Publisher :O'Reilly




PubDate :December2004
Tableof
•
ISBN :0-596-00648-9
Contents
Pages :534
• Index

• Reviews
Reader
•
Reviews ThethirdeditionofLearningGNUEmacsdescribesEmacs21.3
fromthegroundup,includingnewuserinterfacefeaturessuchas
anicon-basedtoolbarandaninteractiveinterfacetoEmacs
• Errata
customization.AnewchapterdetailshowtoinstallandrunEmacs
• Academic onMacOSX,Windows,andLinux,includingtipsforusingEmacs
effectivelyonthoseplatforms.

Tableof
•
Contents
• Index
• Reviews
Reader
•
Reviews
• Errata
• Academic

LearningGNUEmacs,3rdEdition
ByDebraCameron,JamesElliott,

MarcLoy

Publisher :O'Reilly
PubDate :December2004
ISBN :0-596-00648-9
Pages :534


Copyright

Preface
WhyReadThisBook?

WhichEmacsIsWhich?

What'sNewinThisEdition?




AnApproachtoLearningEmacs




TheMetaKey




HowtoContactUs

GNUEmacsandtheFreeSoftwareFoundation
WhatWeHaven'tIncluded
ConventionsUsedinThisBook
Acknowledgments


Chapter1.EmacsBasics
Section1.1.IntroducingEmacs!

Section1.2.UnderstandingFilesandBuffers




Section1.3.AWordAboutModes




Section1.5.AbouttheEmacsDisplay

Section1.4.StartingEmacs
Section1.6.EmacsCommands







Section1.7.OpeningaFile




Section1.9.LeavingEmacs

Section1.8.SavingFiles
Section1.10.GettingHelp

Section1.11.Summary


Chapter2.Editing
Section2.1.MovingtheCursor




Section2.2.DeletingText




Section2.4.EmacsandtheClipboard




Section2.6.CancelingCommandsandUndoingChanges

Section2.3.MarkingTexttoDelete,Move,orCopy
Section2.5.EditingTricksandShortcuts
Section2.7.MakingEmacsWorktheWayYouWant


Chapter3.SearchandReplace
Section3.1.DifferentKindsofSearches

Section3.2.SearchandReplace




Section3.3.CheckingSpellingUsingIspell
Section3.4.WordAbbreviations


Chapter4.UsingBuffers,Windows,andFrames
Section4.1.UnderstandingBuffers,Windows,andFrames

Section4.2.WorkingwithMultipleBuffers




Section4.3.WorkingwithWindows




Section4.5.MoreAboutBuffers

Section4.4.WorkingwithFrames
Section4.6.MoreAboutWindows

Section4.7.HoldingYourPlacewithBookmarks

Chapter5.EmacsasaWorkEnvironment
Section5.1.ExecutingCommandsinShellBuffers




Section5.2.UsingDired,theDirectoryEditor




Section5.4.ReadingManpagesinEmacs

Section5.3.PrintingfromEmacs
Section5.5.UsingTimeManagementTools


Chapter6.WritingMacros
Section6.1.DefiningaMacro

Section6.2.TipsforCreatingGoodMacros




Section6.3.AMoreComplicatedMacroExample

Section6.5.TheMacroRing

Section6.4.EditingaMacro
Section6.6.BindingYourMacrotoaKey




Section6.7.Naming,Saving,andExecutingYourMacros




Section6.8.BuildingMoreComplicatedMacros
Section6.9.ExecutingMacrosonaRegion

Section6.10.BeyondMacros


Chapter7.SimpleTextFormattingandSpecializedEditing
Section7.1.UsingTabs




Section7.2.IndentingText

Section7.4.UsingOutlineMode

Section7.3.CenteringText
Section7.5.RectangleEditing

Section7.6.MakingSimpleDrawings


Chapter8.MarkupLanguageSupport
Section8.1.Comments




Section8.2.Font-LockMode




Section8.4.WritingXML

Section8.3.WritingHTML
Section8.5.MarkingupTextforTEXandLATEX


Chapter9.ComputerLanguageSupport
Section9.1.EmacsasanIDE

Section9.2.WritingCode

Section9.3.CandC++Support




Section9.5.TheJavaDevelopmentEnvironmentforEmacs(JDEE)




Section9.7.SQLSupport

Section9.4.JavaSupport
Section9.6.PerlSupport
Section9.8.TheLispModes


Chapter10.CustomizingEmacs
Section10.1.UsingCustom

Section10.2.Modifyingthe.emacsFileDirectly




Section10.3.ModifyingFontsandColors

Section10.5.SettingEmacsVariables




Section10.7.StartingModesviaAuto-ModeCustomization

Section10.4.CustomizingYourKeyBindings
Section10.6.FindingEmacsLispPackages
Section10.8.MakingEmacsWorktheWayYouThinkItShould


Chapter11.EmacsLispProgramming
Section11.1.IntroductiontoLisp

Section11.2.LispPrimitiveFunctions



Section11.3.UsefulBuilt-inEmacsFunctions




Section11.4.BuildinganAutomaticTemplateSystem

Section11.5.ProgrammingaMajorMode
Section11.6.CustomizingExistingModes

Section11.7.BuildingYourOwnLispLibrary


Chapter12.VersionControl
Section12.1.TheUsesofVersionControl




Section12.2.VersionControlConcepts




Section12.4.EditingCommentBuffers




Section12.6.VCModeIndicators




Section12.8.IndividualVCCommands

Section12.10.ExtendingVC




Section12.12.UsingVCEffectively

Section12.3.HowVCHelpswithBasicOperations
Section12.5.VCCommandSummary
Section12.7.WhichVersionControlSystem?
Section12.9.CustomizingVC
Section12.11.WhatVCIsNot
Section12.13.ComparingwithEdiff


Chapter13.Platform-SpecificConsiderations
Section13.1.EmacsandUnix

Section13.2.EmacsandMacOSX

Section13.3.EmacsandWindows


Chapter14.TheHelpSystem
Section14.1.UsingtheTutorial

Section14.2.HelpCommands




Section14.4.NavigatingEmacsDocumentation









Section14.3.HelpwithComplexEmacsCommands
Section14.5.Completion
AppendixA.EmacsVariables
AppendixB.EmacsLispPackages
AppendixC.BugsandBugFixes
AppendixD.OnlineResources
AppendixE.QuickReference
Colophon
Index


Copyright©2005O'ReillyMedia,Inc.Allrightsreserved.

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theinformationcontainedherein.


Preface
Emacsisthemostpowerfultexteditoravailabletoday.Unlike
mostothereditors(inparticular,unlikethestandardUnix
editor,vi),Emacsisacompleteworkingenvironment.No
matterwhatyoudo,youcanstartEmacsinthemorning,work
alldayandallnight,andneverleaveit:youcanuseittoedit,
rename,delete,andorganizefiles;tocompileprograms;torun

shellcommands;andsoon.BeforewindowingsystemslikeX
andMicrosoftWindowsbecamepopular,Emacsoftenservedas
acompletewindowingsystemofitsown.Allyouneededwasa
terminal,andyoucouldlivewithinEmacsforever.Emacsisalso
infinitelyflexible;youcanwriteyourowncommands,change
thekeysthatareassociatedwithcommands,and(ifyouare
willingtotakethetime)dojustaboutanythingyouwant.


WhyReadThisBook?
Becauseitdoessomuch,Emacshasareputationforbeing
extremelycomplicated.Wedon'tthinkthat'swarranted;we
teachyouEmacsfromthegroundup,coveringfirstthebasics
andthensomeofthemoreadvancedfeatures.
Inthisbook,wehavetriedtoreachasbroadanaudienceas
possible:fromcasualuserstoprofessionalwritersandweb
authorstoprogrammerstosystemadministrators.Nomatter
whatyoudowithEmacs,youwillfindit'seasytolearn;after
oneortwosessions,you'llknowthebasicsofeditinganyfile.
Afteryoulearnthebasics,youcangoontolearnaboutmore
advancedtopicsthatprovidetherealbenefitsofusingEmacs.
Theseinclude:
Usingmultiplewindowsandbufferssoyoucanworkon
severalfilesatonce
Customizingkeyboardcommands
TailoringEmacstofityourworkstyle
MakingEmacsyourworkenvironmentwhereyoucandoall
youreverydaytasks,suchasorganizingfiles,compiling
programs,andissuingshellcommands
Creatingmacrostostreamlinerepetitivetasks

UsingEmacstosupportprogramminginmanylanguages
(includingC,C++,Lisp,Java,andPerl)
Formattingfileswithvariousmarkuplanguages,suchas
HTMLandXML


Usingwordabbreviationstoavoidspellingoutlongphrases
ortocorrectcommonmisspellings
Ofcourse,manyofthetopicsmaynotapplytoyou;some
topicsmaybeappropriateforasecondreadingbutnotforthe
first.Towardtheendofthepreface,we'llsketchseveral
differentwaystoapproachthebook,dependingonyour
interestsandexperience.


WhichEmacsIsWhich?
NumerousversionsofEmacsareavailable,offeringawide
rangeoffeatures,buttwoareinwidespreadusetoday:GNU
EmacsandXEmacs.(AnexhaustivelistofEmacs
implementationscanbefoundat
XEmacswas
originallytailoredforGUIusageandhasafairlywideuserbase,
butlackssomeofthefeaturesofGNUEmacs.[1]
[1]QuiteafewissuescomeupindiscussionsofGNUEmacsversusXEmacs,withcharacter
encodingschemes,userinterfacedifferences,andcopyrightissuesamongthem.We'renot
interestedintakingsidesinthebattlesbetweentheseemacsen.

ThisbookcoversGNUEmacs.Sinceitsappearance,GNUEmacs
hasbecomethemostpopular,powerful,andflexibleEmacs,
andthere'snoreasontobelievethatthissituationwillchange.

IfyouknowGNUEmacs,youwillbeabletoadapttoanyother
Emacsimplementationwithnotrouble;it'snotsoeasytogoin
theotherdirection.
Thisbook,however,isn'tlimitedtoGNUEmacsusers.Because
ofthesimilaritiesbetweendifferentEmacsimplementations,
thisbookshouldhelpyougetstartedwithanyEmacseditor.
Thebasickeyboardcommandschangelittlefromoneeditorto
anotheryou'llfindthatC-n(forCtrl-n)almostalwaysmeans
"movetothenextline."Emacseditorstendtodifferinthe
moreadvancedcommandsandfeatures,butifyouareusing
thesemoreadvancedfacilitiesandyouaren'tusingGNUEmacs,
youshouldconsidermakingtheswitch.


What'sNewinThisEdition?
ThisthirdeditioncoversGNUEmacs21,specifically21.3and
evenmorespecifically21.3.5.[2]Thisneweditionhasbeen
completelyrevisedandexpandedtocovernewfeaturesandto
meettheevolvingneedsofEmacsusers.
[2]Typicallywewouldnotfindtheneedtobequitesospecific,buttheuserinterfacechangedat
Emacs21.3.5;inparticularyou'llnoticedifferenttoolbariconsifyouhaveanearlierversion.

Herearesomeofthehighlightsofwhatwe'vechanged:
Userinterfacechanges,includingtheadditionofaniconbasedtoolbar,extensivechangestomenus,andamore
graphicalinterface(Chapter1)
HowEmacsinteractswiththeoperatingsystemclipboard,
includingspecificclipboard-relatedcommands(Chapter2)
Dynamicabbreviations(Chapter3)
Expandedcoverageofthedirectoryeditor,Dired,tohelp
youorganizeandworkwithfilesmoreefficiently(Chapter

5)
ChangestothewayEmacshandlestabsandindentation
andhowtogetEmacstodowhatyouwantitto(Chapter7)
Artistmodefordrawingwiththemouse(Chapter7)
InsertingcharactersfromothercharactersetsinHTMLfiles
(Chapter8)
Usingfont-lockmodeforcoloringtextforeasierediting


(Chapter9)
ExpandedJavacoverage,includinghowtoinstallanduse
theJavaDevelopmentEnvironmentforEmacs(JDEE)
(Chapter9)
PerlsupportwithCperlmode(Chapter9)
Managingchangestolarge,multiplefileprojectsmore
effectivelyusingetags(Chapter9)
CustomizingEmacsthroughtheinteractiveCustom
interfaceorthroughthe.emacsstartupfile(Chapter10)
Expandedcoverageofhowversioncontrolmodeconnects
withavarietyofchangecontrolsystems,includingCVS,
RCS,Subversion,andSCCS(Chapter12)
Anewchapteronplatform-specificconsiderations,including
detailsonhowtoinstallthelatestversionofEmacsonUnix,
Windows,andMacOSX(Chapter13)


GNUEmacsandtheFreeSoftwareFoundation
Youdon'tneedtoknowitshistorytouseGNUEmacs,butits
originsareaninterestingpartofcomputerhistory.TheFree
SoftwareFoundation(FSF),whichmaintainsanddistributes

GNUEmacs,hasbecomeanimportantpartofcomputerculture.
Alongtimeago(1975)atMIT,RichardStallmanwrotethefirst
Emacseditor.Accordingtothefolklore,theoriginalEmacs
editorwasasetofmacrosforTECO,analmost
incomprehensibleandnowobsoletelineeditor.Thename
Emacsstandsfor"EditingMacros."Traditionalsohasitthat
Emacsisaplayonthenameofafavoriteicecreamstore.Much
hashappenedsince1975.TECOhasslippedintodeserved
obscurity,andEmacshasbeenrewrittenasanindependent
program.SeveralcommercialversionsofEmacsappeared,of
whichUnipressEmacsandCCAEmacswerethemost
important.Forseveralyears,thesecommercial
implementationsweretheEmacseditorsyouweremostlikely
torunacrossoutsideoftheacademicworld.
Stallman'sEmacsbecameprominentwiththebirthoftheFree
SoftwareFoundation(FSF)andtheGNUProjectin1984.GNU
standsfor"GNU'sNotUnix"andreferstoacompleteUnix-like
operatingsystem(OS)thatStallmanandhisassociateswere
building.
StallmanfoundedtheFSFtoguaranteethatsomesoftware
wouldalwaysremainfree.NotethatFreedoesnotnecessarily
meancheap(youmayhavetopayafeetocoverthecostof
distribution);itmostdefinitelydoesmeanliberatedfrom
restrictionsabouthowitcanbeusedandspecificallyhowitcan
beshared.
Stallmaniswidelyrecognizedasthefounderofthefree
softwaremovement,whichwasanimportantpredecessorofthe


opensourcemovement.Linuxisnowthemostprominent

exampleofopensourcesoftware,anditfallsundertheGNU
PublicLicenseorGPL(availableonlineat
Stallmanarguesthat
muchofLinuxoutsidethekernelitselfisGNUsoftwareandso
hereferstoitasGNU/Linux.Allcontroversiesaside,Stallman's
contributiontotheopensourcemovementcannotbe
underestimated.GNUsoftwareandopensourcesoftware
distributedundertheGPLareamainstayfordevelopersand
computerusersallovertheworld.
TheFSFwascreatedpreciselytodistributeprogramsunder
termsthatencourageyoutoshare,ratherthanhoard,
software.TheGPLisdesignedtopreventanunfortunately
commonpracticenamely,acompanytakingpublicdomaincode,
makingafewmodificationsandbugfixes,andthen
copyrightingthemodifiedversion.Onceacompanydoesthis,
theprogramhasessentiallybecomeprivatepropertyand
disappearsfromthepublicdomain.Stallmanformedthe
foundationbecausehefindsthispracticeabhorrent.Ashe
explainsintheGNUManifesto,"Icannotingoodconscience
signanondisclosureagreementorasoftwarelicense
agreement...SothatIcancontinuetousecomputerswithout
dishonor,Ihavedecidedtoputtogetherasufficientbodyof
freesoftwaresothatIwillbeabletogetalongwithoutany
softwarethatisnotfree."Elsewhereinthemanifesto,Stallman
callssharingsoftwarethe"fundamentalactoffriendshipamong
programmers."Theirsoftwareisfreebecauseitcanbeshared
andwillalwaysbeshareablewithoutrestriction.FSFsoftwareis
notunderrestrictivecopyrightlaws,whichStallmanobjectsto
inprinciple.Infact,hecoinedthetermcopylefttodescribethe
FSF'ssharablesoftwarebase.[3]

[3]FSFprogramssuchasEmacsareoftendistributedwithcommercialsystems.Eveninthese
cases,theGeneralPublicLicenseguaranteesyourrighttouseandgiveawaytheirprograms
withoutrestriction.Ofcourse,thelicensedoesnotapplytootherproprietarysoftwarewithwhich
GNUtoolshavebeenshipped.


SinceGNUEmacswasfirstreleased,manyotherpiecesofthe
GNUoperatingenvironmenthavefallenintoplace:CandC++
compilers(gccandg++),averypowerfuldebugger(gdb),
substitutesforlexandyacc(calledflexandbison,
respectively),aUnixshell(bash,whichstandsfor"BourneAgainShell"),theGimp(agraphicstoolcomparabletoAdobe
PhotoShop),GNOME(adesktopenvironmentforLinux),and
manyotherprogramsandlibraries.Manyimportantopen
sourceprojectsthatoriginallyusedvariantsoftheGPLorother
licensingschemeshaveadoptedtheGPLastheirlicense,
includingPython,Mozilla,andZope.AuthorDavidWheeler
arguesthatallopensourceprojectsshouldreleasetheir
softwareunderaGPL-compatiblelicense[4](see
forhis
viewsandsomestatisticsaboutGPL'dsoftware).WithLinux,
GNUtools,andotherGPL'dsoftware,it'spossibletohavea
completeoperatingenvironmentconsistentwiththevaluesset
forthbytheFSF.
[4]GPL-compatibleisacriticaldistinctionformanyorganizations.AsourreviewerMikeTrent
pointsout,manyorganizationsreleasetheirsoftwareunderamodifiedGPLbecausetheGPL's
licenseisactually"viral."Thatis,ifonelineofGPL'dcodeappearsinaproject,theentireproject
mustbeGPL'd.Thismeanscorporationsinterestedinprotectingtheirassetsbutstillwantingto
sharecodewiththeopensourcecommunitycannotusetheGPLwithoutsomemodification.

AnApproachtoLearningEmacs
ThisbookisdesignedtogetyoustartedwithEmacsasquickly
aspossible,whetheryouareanexperiencedcomputeruserora
novice.Thefirsttwochaptersgiveyouthebasicsyouneedto
know,andtherestofthebookbuildsonthesebasics.Afterthe
firsttwochapters,youdon'thavetoreadtherest
consecutively;youcanskiptothetopicsthatinterestyou.
Additionally,thebookisdesignedtogiveyoujustthelevelof
hand-holdingyouwant;youcaneitherreadthebookindetail
orskimit,lookingfortablesofcommandsandexamples.
Herearesomereadingpathsyoucouldtake:
If

Read

Youareacasualuser

Preface,Chapter1-Chapter3,Chapter14

Youareaprogrammerorsystem
administrator

Preface,Chapter1-Chapter5,Chapter9Chapter12

Youareawriterorproductionperson

Preface,Chapter1-Chapter3,Chapter7,
Chapter8,Chapter14

YouwanttocustomizeEmacs

Chapter10andpossiblyChapter11

YouwriteHTMLorXML

Preface,Chapter1-Chapter3,Chapter8

Youwanttouseoperatingsystem
commandsinEmacs

Chapter5

YouuseEmacsonWindowsorMacOSX Chapter13


Thesereadingpathsareofferedonlyasaguideline.Emacsis
onegigantic,functionallyricheditor.We'vedivideditupinto
digestiblebitesforyou,soyoudon'thavetobeputoffbyits
sizeandscope.ThebestwaytolearnEmacsisincrementally;
learnalittlenow,thenlearnmorefeaturesasyougetcurious
aboutthem.Ifyouneedtodosomethinganddon'tknowhow
todoitinEmacs,Emacsprobablyalreadydoesit;ifitdoesn't,
youcanlearnhowtowriteaLispfunctiontoaddittoEmacs
(seeChapter11fordetails).Theonlinehelpsystemisan
excellentplacetolearnaboutnewfeaturesonthefly;online
helpisdiscussedinChapter1andinmoredetailinChapter14.
Here'salistofsomefeaturesyoumightwanttolearnabouton
arainyday:
HowtousemultipleEmacsbuffers,windows,andframes
(Chapter4)

Wordabbreviationmode(Chapter3)
Macros(Chapter6)
HowtomapfunctionkeystoEmacscommands(Chapter
10)
Howtoissue(andedit)shellcommands(Chapter5)
HowtoorganizefilesinEmacs(Chapter5)
Usingedifftocomparefiles(Chapter12)
Here'saquicksummaryofwhat'sineachchapter:
Chapter1,EmacsBasics,tellsyouhowtostartEmacsandhow
toworkwithfiles.Italsoprovidesaquickintroductiontothe


onlinehelpsystem.
Chapter2,Editing,explainscommandsformovingaround,
copyingandpastingtext,andundoingchanges.Italso
introducesverybasiccustomization.
Chapter3,SearchandReplace,coversmoreeditingfeatures,
includingsearchandreplace,wordabbreviationmode,andspell
checking.
Chapter4,UsingBuffers,Windows,andFrames,describeshow
tousemultiplebuffersandwindows,bothEmacs-stylewindows
(thatdivideasingleOSwindow)andtraditionalOSwindows
(whichEmacsreferstoasframes).Italsodiscusseshowto
bookmarkyourplaceinlargefiles.
Chapter5,EmacsasaWorkEnvironment,talksaboutissuing
commandsfromwithinEmacs,workingwithfilesand
directories,andusingbasictimemanagementtoolssuchasthe
calendaranddiary.
Chapter6,WritingMacros,discussesusingmacrostoeliminate
repetitivetasks.

Chapter7,SimpleTextFormattingandSpecializedEditing,
coversbasictextformatting(suchastabs,indentation,and
centering)aswellassomeofthemorerarefiedfeatures,like
outlinemodeandrectangleediting.
Chapter8,MarkupLanguageSupport,describesEmacssupport
forHTML,XML,TEX,andLATEX..
Chapter9,ComputerLanguageSupport,coversEmacsasa
programmingenvironment,includingeditingsupportforC,
Java,Lisp,Perl,andSQL,aswellastheinterfacetocompilers
andtheUnixmakeutility.ItalsodescribestheJava
DevelopmentEnvironmentforEmacs(JDEE).
Chapter10,CustomizingEmacs,describesEmacs's


customizationfacilities.TheinteractiveCustomtoolallowsyou
tochangevariableswithouteditingyourstartupfile.The
chapteralsoexplainshowtosetupyour.emacscustomization
file.Itdescribeshowtomodifyyourdisplay,keyboard
commands,andeditingenvironmentaswellashowtoloadLisp
packagesforextrafunctionality.
Chapter11,EmacsLispProgramming,describesthebasicsof
EmacsLisp,thelanguageyoucanusetofurthercustomize
Emacs.
Chapter12,VersionControl,describesVCmodeforversion
controlanditsinterfacetoCVS,RCS,Subversion,andSCCS.
Chapter13,Platform-SpecificConsiderations,discusseshowto
installEmacsonUnix,Windows,andMacOSX.Italsoprovides
platform-specificinformationforWindowsandMacOSX.
Chapter14,TheHelpSystem,describesEmacs'srich,
comprehensiveonlinehelpfacilities.

AppendixA,EmacsVariables,listsmanyimportantEmacs
variables,includingallthevariablesmentionedinthisbook.
AppendixB,EmacsLispPackages,listssomeofthemostuseful
LisppackagesthatcomewithEmacs.
AppendixC,BugsandBugFixes,tellsyouhow(andwhen)to
reportbugsyoufindinEmacs.Italsodescribeshowto
contributetotheGNUProject,whetherthroughcode
enhancementsormonetarily.
AppendixD,OnlineResources,givesatourofsomeimportant
Emacs-relatedwebsites.
AppendixE,QuickReference,providesbriefdescriptionsofthe
mostimportantEmacscommandsdiscussedinthisbook.
ThebookconcludeswithaglossarythatdefinesEmacsterms


you'llencounter,anindex,andadetachablequickreference
cardthatsummarizesimportantcommandsforeasyaccess.


WhatWeHaven'tIncluded
GNUEmacsisalargeandpowerfuleditor;inthisbook,wegive
youonlyasampleofwhatitdoes.Manyfeatureshavebeenleft
out,andmorefeaturesareaddedallthetime.Sometopics,
however,arenotcovered:

Compatibilitymodes
GNUEmacsprovidescompatibilitymodesforvi,for
example.We'veleftadiscussionofthesemodesout.Ifyou
reallywanttousevioranothereditor,doso.You'rebetter
offgettingtoknowEmacsonitsowntermsratherthan

pretendingitissomethingelse.

Manyprogramminglanguagemodes
Inthisbook,wediscusseditingmodesforC++,Java,Lisp,
Perl,andSQL.Therearemanymodesforotherlanguages,
includingrarelanguageslikeScheme.There'snowaywe
coulddiscusseverything.

AdvancedLispprogramming
GNUEmacsincorporatesacompleteLispinterpreter.We
giveaverybasicandbriefintroductiontoEmacsLisp;
Chapter11shouldbeenoughtogetyoustarted,butit
reallyonlyscratchesthesurface.WerecommendtheFSF's
EmacsLispReferenceManual,nowincludedintheEmacs
distribution.


UsingEmacstoaccesstheInternet
Whenourlasteditioncameout,itwascommontouse
EmacstoaccessInternetresourcesorreademail.Nowthat
isn'tsocommon;bettermailers,browsers,andothertools
arecommonlyinuseonallplatforms.

Unicodesupport
Atpresent,EmacsisonitswaytofullUnicodesupport;that
isthemostimportantchangeslatedforthenextmajor
release.Atthiswriting,Unicodesupportisspotty.

Gamesandamusements
GNUEmacsincludesaneclecticbunchofgamesand

amusements,includingtheabilitytopiperandom
quotationsfromZippythePinheadintothefamous"Eliza"
pseudopsychoanalyst.Emacs21includesaGamesmenu
underToolswithseveralcoolwaystowastetimeinEmacs
(anditdoesn'tevenincludeEmacs'sversionofpong,oneof
ourfavorites).Alas,wehadtodrawthelinesomewhere.


TheMetaKey
Emacscommandsconsistofamodifier,suchasControl,which
youholddownasyouwouldtheShiftkey,andaseriesof
keystrokes.Forexample,Control-xControl-ssavesafile.
TheothermodifierEmacsusesistheMetakey.Fewkeyboards
havekeyslabeledMeta.Becauseofthis,inpreviouseditionsof
thisbook,werefusedtotalkabouttheMetakeyand
substitutedEscinallourinstructions.
Inthisedition,wewantyoutolearnwheretheMetakeyis.
TypicallyMetakeysaretotheimmediateleftandrightofthe
Spacebar.OnLinuxandWindowskeyboards,theAltkeyisthe
Metakey.OnMackeyboards,theApplekey,oftencalled
CommandistheMetakeybydefault.
WhylearnaboutandusetheMetakey?Thereasonisspeed.
Weemphasizekeybindingsinthisbook.Newusersmayfind
iconsandmenushelpful,butinthelongrun,learninghowto
keepyourhandsonthekeyboardallowsyoutogainspeedand
boostsyourproductivity.TheMetakeywillhelpyougainthat
speedandmakeiteasyforyoutouseEmacshelp,whichrefers
toMeta.
Dependingonyourstyle,youmaystillprefertouseEscinstead
ofMeta.JustbearinmindthatwithEscyoupressandrelease

thekey,thenpressthenextkey.


ConventionsUsedinThisBook
Thissectioncoverstheconventionsusedinthisbook.

KeystrokeNotation
Emacscommandsconsistofamodifier,suchasCtrlorMeta,
followedbyoneortwocharacters.Commandsshowninthis
bookabbreviateCtrltoCandMetatoM:

C-g
HolddowntheCtrlkeyandpressg.

M-x
HolddowntheMetakeyandpressx.
SometimesMetaisfollowedbyaliteralhyphencharacter.In
thesecases,wespelloutMeta:

MetaHolddowntheMetakeyandpress-.
TocompleteacommandyoumayneedtopressEnter.(This
keymaybelabeledReturn.)


Enter
PresstheEnterkey.

Esc
CanbeusedasanalternativetoMeta.PressEsc,release
it,thenpressthenextkey.

AfewmousecommandsusetheShiftkeyasamodifier,often
incombinationwiththeCtrlkey.Thisisabbreviatedas:

S-right
HolddownShiftandclicktherightmousebutton.

C-S-right
HolddownShiftandCtrlandclicktherightmousebutton.
AllEmacscommands,eventhesimplestones,haveafull
name;forexample,forward-wordisequivalenttothe
keystrokesM-f,andforward-charisequivalenttoC-f.This
tyingofacommandtoakeystrokecombinationiscalledakey
binding.Somecommandshaveonlyfullnames,withno
correspondingkeybinding.
Whenwediscussacommand,we'llgivebothitsfullnameand
thekeystrokes(ifany)thatyoucantypetoinvokeit.

CommandTables