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annotate man/major.texi @ 42707:8d5458375774
(read_key_sequence): Remove unused variable `extra_maps'.
Fix typo.
author | Pavel Janík <Pavel@Janik.cz> |
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date | Sun, 13 Jan 2002 10:14:47 +0000 |
parents | 5464ee1ba8e2 |
children | 695cf19ef79e d7ddb3e565de |
rev | line source |
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25829 | 1 @c This is part of the Emacs manual. |
28550 | 2 @c Copyright (C) 1985, 86, 87, 93, 94, 95, 97, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc. |
25829 | 3 @c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions. |
4 @node Major Modes, Indentation, International, Top | |
5 @chapter Major Modes | |
6 @cindex major modes | |
7 @cindex mode, major | |
8 @kindex TAB @r{(and major modes)} | |
9 @kindex DEL @r{(and major modes)} | |
10 @kindex C-j @r{(and major modes)} | |
11 | |
12 Emacs provides many alternative @dfn{major modes}, each of which | |
13 customizes Emacs for editing text of a particular sort. The major modes | |
14 are mutually exclusive, and each buffer has one major mode at any time. | |
15 The mode line normally shows the name of the current major mode, in | |
16 parentheses (@pxref{Mode Line}). | |
17 | |
18 The least specialized major mode is called @dfn{Fundamental mode}. | |
19 This mode has no mode-specific redefinitions or variable settings, so | |
20 that each Emacs command behaves in its most general manner, and each | |
21 option is in its default state. For editing text of a specific type | |
22 that Emacs knows about, such as Lisp code or English text, you should | |
23 switch to the appropriate major mode, such as Lisp mode or Text mode. | |
24 | |
25 Selecting a major mode changes the meanings of a few keys to become | |
26 more specifically adapted to the language being edited. The ones that | |
27 are changed frequently are @key{TAB}, @key{DEL}, and @kbd{C-j}. The | |
28 prefix key @kbd{C-c} normally contains mode-specific commands. In | |
29 addition, the commands which handle comments use the mode to determine | |
30 how comments are to be delimited. Many major modes redefine the | |
31 syntactical properties of characters appearing in the buffer. | |
32 @xref{Syntax}. | |
33 | |
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Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
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34 The major modes fall into three major groups. The first group |
38745 | 35 contains modes for normal text, either plain or with mark-up. It |
36 includes Text mode, HTML mode, SGML mode, @TeX{} mode and Outline | |
37 mode. The second group contains modes for specific programming | |
38 languages. These include Lisp mode (which has several variants), C | |
39 mode, Fortran mode, and others. The remaining major modes are not | |
40 intended for use on users' files; they are used in buffers created for | |
41 specific purposes by Emacs, such as Dired mode for buffers made by | |
42 Dired (@pxref{Dired}), Mail mode for buffers made by @kbd{C-x m} | |
43 (@pxref{Sending Mail}), and Shell mode for buffers used for | |
44 communicating with an inferior shell process (@pxref{Interactive | |
45 Shell}). | |
25829 | 46 |
47 Most programming-language major modes specify that only blank lines | |
48 separate paragraphs. This is to make the paragraph commands useful. | |
49 (@xref{Paragraphs}.) They also cause Auto Fill mode to use the | |
50 definition of @key{TAB} to indent the new lines it creates. This is | |
28550 | 51 because most lines in a program are usually indented |
52 (@pxref{Indentation}). | |
25829 | 53 |
54 @menu | |
55 * Choosing Modes:: How major modes are specified or chosen. | |
56 @end menu | |
57 | |
58 @node Choosing Modes,,Major Modes,Major Modes | |
59 @section How Major Modes are Chosen | |
60 | |
61 @cindex choosing a major mode | |
62 You can select a major mode explicitly for the current buffer, but | |
63 most of the time Emacs determines which mode to use based on the file | |
64 name or on special text in the file. | |
65 | |
66 Explicit selection of a new major mode is done with a @kbd{M-x} command. | |
67 From the name of a major mode, add @code{-mode} to get the name of a | |
68 command to select that mode. Thus, you can enter Lisp mode by executing | |
69 @kbd{M-x lisp-mode}. | |
70 | |
71 @vindex auto-mode-alist | |
72 When you visit a file, Emacs usually chooses the right major mode based | |
73 on the file's name. For example, files whose names end in @samp{.c} are | |
74 edited in C mode. The correspondence between file names and major modes is | |
75 controlled by the variable @code{auto-mode-alist}. Its value is a list in | |
76 which each element has this form, | |
77 | |
78 @example | |
79 (@var{regexp} . @var{mode-function}) | |
80 @end example | |
81 | |
82 @noindent | |
83 or this form, | |
84 | |
85 @example | |
86 (@var{regexp} @var{mode-function} @var{flag}) | |
87 @end example | |
88 | |
89 @noindent | |
90 For example, one element normally found in the list has the form | |
91 @code{(@t{"\\.c\\'"} . c-mode)}, and it is responsible for selecting C | |
92 mode for files whose names end in @file{.c}. (Note that @samp{\\} is | |
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Proofreading fixes from Chris Green <chris_e_green@yahoo.com>.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents:
37986
diff
changeset
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93 needed in Lisp syntax to include a @samp{\} in the string, which must |
23f63206a867
Proofreading fixes from Chris Green <chris_e_green@yahoo.com>.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents:
37986
diff
changeset
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94 be used to suppress the special meaning of @samp{.} in regexps.) If the |
25829 | 95 element has the form @code{(@var{regexp} @var{mode-function} |
96 @var{flag})} and @var{flag} is non-@code{nil}, then after calling | |
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97 @var{mode-function}, the suffix that matched @var{regexp} is discarded |
04f11a4bb597
Minor fix, @var{function} -> @var{mode-function}.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
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98 and the list is searched again for another match. |
25829 | 99 |
100 You can specify which major mode should be used for editing a certain | |
101 file by a special sort of text in the first nonblank line of the file. The | |
102 mode name should appear in this line both preceded and followed by | |
103 @samp{-*-}. Other text may appear on the line as well. For example, | |
104 | |
105 @example | |
106 ;-*-Lisp-*- | |
107 @end example | |
108 | |
109 @noindent | |
110 tells Emacs to use Lisp mode. Such an explicit specification overrides | |
38461
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Proofreading fixes from Chris Green <chris_e_green@yahoo.com>.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents:
37986
diff
changeset
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111 any defaults based on the file name. Note how the semicolon is used |
25829 | 112 to make Lisp treat this line as a comment. |
113 | |
114 Another format of mode specification is | |
115 | |
116 @example | |
117 -*- mode: @var{modename};-*- | |
118 @end example | |
119 | |
120 @noindent | |
121 which allows you to specify local variables as well, like this: | |
122 | |
123 @example | |
124 -*- mode: @var{modename}; @var{var}: @var{value}; @dots{} -*- | |
125 @end example | |
126 | |
127 @noindent | |
128 @xref{File Variables}, for more information about this. | |
129 | |
130 @vindex interpreter-mode-alist | |
131 When a file's contents begin with @samp{#!}, it can serve as an | |
132 executable shell command, which works by running an interpreter named on | |
133 the file's first line. The rest of the file is used as input to the | |
134 interpreter. | |
135 | |
136 When you visit such a file in Emacs, if the file's name does not | |
137 specify a major mode, Emacs uses the interpreter name on the first line | |
138 to choose a mode. If the first line is the name of a recognized | |
139 interpreter program, such as @samp{perl} or @samp{tcl}, Emacs uses a | |
140 mode appropriate for programs for that interpreter. The variable | |
141 @code{interpreter-mode-alist} specifies the correspondence between | |
142 interpreter program names and major modes. | |
143 | |
144 When the first line starts with @samp{#!}, you cannot (on many | |
145 systems) use the @samp{-*-} feature on the first line, because the | |
146 system would get confused when running the interpreter. So Emacs looks | |
147 for @samp{-*-} on the second line in such files as well as on the | |
148 first line. | |
149 | |
150 @vindex default-major-mode | |
151 When you visit a file that does not specify a major mode to use, or | |
152 when you create a new buffer with @kbd{C-x b}, the variable | |
153 @code{default-major-mode} specifies which major mode to use. Normally | |
154 its value is the symbol @code{fundamental-mode}, which specifies | |
155 Fundamental mode. If @code{default-major-mode} is @code{nil}, the major | |
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156 mode is taken from the previously current buffer. |
25829 | 157 |
158 @findex normal-mode | |
159 If you change the major mode of a buffer, you can go back to the major | |
160 mode Emacs would choose automatically: use the command @kbd{M-x | |
161 normal-mode} to do this. This is the same function that | |
162 @code{find-file} calls to choose the major mode. It also processes | |
38461
23f63206a867
Proofreading fixes from Chris Green <chris_e_green@yahoo.com>.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents:
37986
diff
changeset
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163 the file's local variables list (if any). |
25829 | 164 |
165 @vindex change-major-mode-with-file-name | |
166 The commands @kbd{C-x C-w} and @code{set-visited-file-name} change to | |
167 a new major mode if the new file name implies a mode (@pxref{Saving}). | |
168 However, this does not happen if the buffer contents specify a major | |
169 mode, and certain ``special'' major modes do not allow the mode to | |
170 change. You can turn off this mode-changing feature by setting | |
171 @code{change-major-mode-with-file-name} to @code{nil}. |