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author | John Wiegley <johnw@newartisans.com> |
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date | Thu, 10 May 2001 03:28:51 +0000 |
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25829 | 1 @c This is part of the Emacs manual. |
2 @c Copyright (C) 1985, 86, 87, 93, 94, 95, 1997 Free Software Foundation, Inc. | |
3 @c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions. | |
4 @iftex | |
5 @chapter Characters, Keys and Commands | |
6 | |
7 This chapter explains the character sets used by Emacs for input | |
8 commands and for the contents of files, and also explains the concepts | |
9 of @dfn{keys} and @dfn{commands}, which are fundamental for understanding | |
10 how Emacs interprets your keyboard and mouse input. | |
11 @end iftex | |
12 | |
13 @node User Input, Keys, Screen, Top | |
14 @section Kinds of User Input | |
15 @cindex input with the keyboard | |
16 @cindex keyboard input | |
17 @cindex character set (keyboard) | |
18 @cindex ASCII | |
19 @cindex C- | |
20 @cindex Control | |
21 @cindex control characters | |
22 | |
23 GNU Emacs uses an extension of the ASCII character set for keyboard | |
24 input; it also accepts non-character input events including function | |
25 keys and mouse button actions. | |
26 | |
27 ASCII consists of 128 character codes. Some of these codes are | |
28 assigned graphic symbols such as @samp{a} and @samp{=}; the rest are | |
29 control characters, such as @kbd{Control-a} (usually written @kbd{C-a} | |
30 for short). @kbd{C-a} gets its name from the fact that you type it by | |
31 holding down the @key{CTRL} key while pressing @kbd{a}. | |
32 | |
33 Some ASCII control characters have special names, and most terminals | |
34 have special keys you can type them with: for example, @key{RET}, | |
35 @key{TAB}, @key{DEL} and @key{ESC}. The space character is usually | |
36 referred to below as @key{SPC}, even though strictly speaking it is a | |
37 graphic character whose graphic happens to be blank. Some keyboards | |
38 have a key labeled ``linefeed'' which is an alias for @kbd{C-j}. | |
39 | |
40 Emacs extends the ASCII character set with thousands more printing | |
41 characters (@pxref{International}), additional control characters, and a | |
42 few more modifiers that can be combined with any character. | |
43 | |
44 On ASCII terminals, there are only 32 possible control characters. | |
45 These are the control variants of letters and @samp{@@[]\^_}. In | |
46 addition, the shift key is meaningless with control characters: | |
47 @kbd{C-a} and @kbd{C-A} are the same character, and Emacs cannot | |
48 distinguish them. | |
49 | |
50 But the Emacs character set has room for control variants of all | |
51 printing characters, and for distinguishing between @kbd{C-a} and | |
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52 @kbd{C-A}. The X Window System makes it possible to enter all these |
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53 characters. For example, @kbd{C--} (that's Control-Minus) and @kbd{C-5} |
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54 are meaningful Emacs commands under X. |
25829 | 55 |
56 Another Emacs character-set extension is additional modifier bits. | |
57 Only one modifier bit is commonly used; it is called Meta. Every | |
58 character has a Meta variant; examples include @kbd{Meta-a} (normally | |
59 written @kbd{M-a}, for short), @kbd{M-A} (not the same character as | |
60 @kbd{M-a}, but those two characters normally have the same meaning in | |
61 Emacs), @kbd{M-@key{RET}}, and @kbd{M-C-a}. For reasons of tradition, | |
62 we usually write @kbd{C-M-a} rather than @kbd{M-C-a}; logically | |
63 speaking, the order in which the modifier keys @key{CTRL} and @key{META} | |
64 are mentioned does not matter. | |
65 | |
66 @cindex Meta | |
67 @cindex M- | |
68 @cindex @key{ESC} replacing @key{META} key | |
69 Some terminals have a @key{META} key, and allow you to type Meta | |
70 characters by holding this key down. Thus, @kbd{Meta-a} is typed by | |
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71 holding down @key{META} and pressing @kbd{a}. The @key{META} key |
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72 works much like the @key{SHIFT} key. Such a key is not always labeled |
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73 @key{META}, however, as this function is often a special option for a |
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74 key with some other primary purpose. Sometimes it is labeled |
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75 @key{ALT} or @key{EDIT}; on a Sun keyboard, it may have a diamond on |
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76 it. |
25829 | 77 |
78 If there is no @key{META} key, you can still type Meta characters | |
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79 using two-character sequences starting with @key{ESC}. Thus, you can enter |
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80 @kbd{M-a} by typing @kbd{@key{ESC} a}. You can enter @kbd{C-M-a} by |
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81 typing @kbd{@key{ESC} C-a}. @key{ESC} is allowed on terminals with |
25829 | 82 @key{META} keys, too, in case you have formed a habit of using it. |
83 | |
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84 The X Window System provides several other modifier keys that can be |
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85 applied to any input character. These are called @key{SUPER}, |
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86 @key{HYPER} and @key{ALT}. We write @samp{s-}, @samp{H-} and @samp{A-} |
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87 to say that a character uses these modifiers. Thus, @kbd{s-H-C-x} is |
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88 short for @kbd{Super-Hyper-Control-x}. Not all X terminals actually |
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89 provide keys for these modifier flags---in fact, many terminals have a |
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90 key labeled @key{ALT} which is really a @key{META} key. The standard |
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91 key bindings of Emacs do not include any characters with these |
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92 modifiers. But you can assign them meanings of your own by customizing |
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93 Emacs. |
25829 | 94 |
95 Keyboard input includes keyboard keys that are not characters at all: | |
96 for example function keys and arrow keys. Mouse buttons are also | |
97 outside the gamut of characters. You can modify these events with the | |
98 modifier keys @key{CTRL}, @key{META}, @key{SUPER}, @key{HYPER} and | |
99 @key{ALT}, just like keyboard characters. | |
100 | |
101 @cindex input event | |
102 Input characters and non-character inputs are collectively called | |
103 @dfn{input events}. @xref{Input Events,,, elisp, The Emacs Lisp | |
104 Reference Manual}, for more information. If you are not doing Lisp | |
105 programming, but simply want to redefine the meaning of some characters | |
106 or non-character events, see @ref{Customization}. | |
107 | |
108 ASCII terminals cannot really send anything to the computer except | |
109 ASCII characters. These terminals use a sequence of characters to | |
110 represent each function key. But that is invisible to the Emacs user, | |
111 because the keyboard input routines recognize these special sequences | |
112 and convert them to function key events before any other part of Emacs | |
113 gets to see them. | |
114 | |
115 @node Keys, Commands, User Input, Top | |
116 @section Keys | |
117 | |
118 @cindex key sequence | |
119 @cindex key | |
120 A @dfn{key sequence} (@dfn{key}, for short) is a sequence of input | |
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121 events that are meaningful as a unit---as ``a single command.'' Some |
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122 Emacs command sequences are just one character or one event; for |
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123 example, just @kbd{C-f} is enough to move forward one character in the |
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124 buffer. But Emacs also has commands that take two or more events to |
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125 invoke. |
25829 | 126 |
127 @cindex complete key | |
128 @cindex prefix key | |
129 If a sequence of events is enough to invoke a command, it is a | |
130 @dfn{complete key}. Examples of complete keys include @kbd{C-a}, | |
131 @kbd{X}, @key{RET}, @key{NEXT} (a function key), @key{DOWN} (an arrow | |
132 key), @kbd{C-x C-f}, and @kbd{C-x 4 C-f}. If it isn't long enough to be | |
133 complete, we call it a @dfn{prefix key}. The above examples show that | |
134 @kbd{C-x} and @kbd{C-x 4} are prefix keys. Every key sequence is either | |
135 a complete key or a prefix key. | |
136 | |
137 Most single characters constitute complete keys in the standard Emacs | |
138 command bindings. A few of them are prefix keys. A prefix key combines | |
139 with the following input event to make a longer key sequence, which may | |
140 itself be complete or a prefix. For example, @kbd{C-x} is a prefix key, | |
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141 so @kbd{C-x} and the next input event combine to make a two-event |
25829 | 142 key sequence. Most of these key sequences are complete keys, including |
143 @kbd{C-x C-f} and @kbd{C-x b}. A few, such as @kbd{C-x 4} and @kbd{C-x | |
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144 r}, are themselves prefix keys that lead to three-event key |
25829 | 145 sequences. There's no limit to the length of a key sequence, but in |
146 practice people rarely use sequences longer than four events. | |
147 | |
148 By contrast, you can't add more events onto a complete key. For | |
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149 example, the two-event sequence @kbd{C-f C-k} is not a key, because |
25829 | 150 the @kbd{C-f} is a complete key in itself. It's impossible to give |
151 @kbd{C-f C-k} an independent meaning as a command. @kbd{C-f C-k} is two | |
152 key sequences, not one.@refill | |
153 | |
154 All told, the prefix keys in Emacs are @kbd{C-c}, @kbd{C-h}, | |
155 @kbd{C-x}, @kbd{C-x @key{RET}}, @kbd{C-x @@}, @kbd{C-x a}, @kbd{C-x n}, @w{@kbd{C-x | |
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156 r}}, @kbd{C-x v}, @kbd{C-x 4}, @kbd{C-x 5}, @kbd{C-x 6}, @key{ESC}, and |
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157 @kbd{M-g}. But this list is not cast in concrete; it is |
25829 | 158 just a matter of Emacs's standard key bindings. If you customize Emacs, |
159 you can make new prefix keys, or eliminate these. @xref{Key Bindings}. | |
160 | |
161 If you do make or eliminate prefix keys, that changes the set of | |
162 possible key sequences. For example, if you redefine @kbd{C-f} as a | |
163 prefix, @kbd{C-f C-k} automatically becomes a key (complete, unless you | |
164 define it too as a prefix). Conversely, if you remove the prefix | |
165 definition of @kbd{C-x 4}, then @kbd{C-x 4 f} (or @kbd{C-x 4 | |
166 @var{anything}}) is no longer a key. | |
167 | |
168 Typing the help character (@kbd{C-h} or @key{F1}) after a prefix | |
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169 key displays a list of the commands starting with that prefix. |
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170 There are a few prefix keys for which @kbd{C-h} does not |
25829 | 171 work---for historical reasons, they have other meanings for @kbd{C-h} |
172 which are not easy to change. But @key{F1} should work for all prefix | |
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173 keys. |
25829 | 174 |
175 @node Commands, Text Characters, Keys, Top | |
176 @section Keys and Commands | |
177 | |
178 @cindex binding | |
179 @cindex command | |
180 @cindex function definition | |
181 This manual is full of passages that tell you what particular keys | |
182 do. But Emacs does not assign meanings to keys directly. Instead, | |
183 Emacs assigns meanings to named @dfn{commands}, and then gives keys | |
184 their meanings by @dfn{binding} them to commands. | |
185 | |
186 Every command has a name chosen by a programmer. The name is usually | |
187 made of a few English words separated by dashes; for example, | |
188 @code{next-line} or @code{forward-word}. A command also has a | |
189 @dfn{function definition} which is a Lisp program; this is what makes | |
190 the command do what it does. In Emacs Lisp, a command is actually a | |
191 special kind of Lisp function; one which specifies how to read arguments | |
192 for it and call it interactively. For more information on commands and | |
193 functions, see @ref{What Is a Function,, What Is a Function, elisp, The | |
194 Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}. (The definition we use in this manual is | |
195 simplified slightly.) | |
196 | |
197 The bindings between keys and commands are recorded in various tables | |
198 called @dfn{keymaps}. @xref{Keymaps}. | |
199 | |
200 When we say that ``@kbd{C-n} moves down vertically one line'' we are | |
201 glossing over a distinction that is irrelevant in ordinary use but is vital | |
202 in understanding how to customize Emacs. It is the command | |
203 @code{next-line} that is programmed to move down vertically. @kbd{C-n} has | |
204 this effect @emph{because} it is bound to that command. If you rebind | |
205 @kbd{C-n} to the command @code{forward-word} then @kbd{C-n} will move | |
206 forward by words instead. Rebinding keys is a common method of | |
207 customization.@refill | |
208 | |
209 In the rest of this manual, we usually ignore this subtlety to keep | |
210 things simple. To give the information needed for customization, we | |
211 state the name of the command which really does the work in parentheses | |
212 after mentioning the key that runs it. For example, we will say that | |
213 ``The command @kbd{C-n} (@code{next-line}) moves point vertically | |
214 down,'' meaning that @code{next-line} is a command that moves vertically | |
215 down and @kbd{C-n} is a key that is standardly bound to it. | |
216 | |
217 While we are on the subject of information for customization only, | |
218 it's a good time to tell you about @dfn{variables}. Often the | |
219 description of a command will say, ``To change this, set the variable | |
220 @code{mumble-foo}.'' A variable is a name used to remember a value. | |
221 Most of the variables documented in this manual exist just to facilitate | |
222 customization: some command or other part of Emacs examines the variable | |
223 and behaves differently according to the value that you set. Until you | |
224 are interested in customizing, you can ignore the information about | |
225 variables. When you are ready to be interested, read the basic | |
226 information on variables, and then the information on individual | |
227 variables will make sense. @xref{Variables}. | |
228 | |
229 @node Text Characters, Entering Emacs, Commands, Top | |
230 @section Character Set for Text | |
231 @cindex characters (in text) | |
232 | |
233 Text in Emacs buffers is a sequence of 8-bit bytes. Each byte can | |
234 hold a single ASCII character. Both ASCII control characters (octal | |
235 codes 000 through 037, and 0177) and ASCII printing characters (codes | |
236 040 through 0176) are allowed; however, non-ASCII control characters | |
237 cannot appear in a buffer. The other modifier flags used in keyboard | |
238 input, such as Meta, are not allowed in buffers either. | |
239 | |
240 Some ASCII control characters serve special purposes in text, and have | |
241 special names. For example, the newline character (octal code 012) is | |
242 used in the buffer to end a line, and the tab character (octal code 011) | |
243 is used for indenting to the next tab stop column (normally every 8 | |
244 columns). @xref{Text Display}. | |
245 | |
246 Non-ASCII printing characters can also appear in buffers. When | |
247 multibyte characters are enabled, you can use any of the non-ASCII | |
248 printing characters that Emacs supports. They have character codes | |
249 starting at 256, octal 0400, and each one is represented as a sequence | |
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250 of two or more bytes. @xref{International}. Single-byte characters |
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251 with codes 128 through 255 can also appear in multibyte buffers. |
25829 | 252 |
253 If you disable multibyte characters, then you can use only one | |
254 alphabet of non-ASCII characters, but they all fit in one byte. They | |
27219 | 255 use codes 0200 through 0377. @xref{Single-Byte Character Support}. |