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author Gerd Moellmann <gerd@gnu.org>
date Thu, 02 Nov 2000 13:36:58 +0000
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1 GNU Emacs NEWS -- history of user-visible changes. 26-Mar-1986
2 Copyright (C) 1986 Richard M. Stallman.
3 See the end for copying conditions.
4
5 For older news, see the file NEWS.1.
6
7 Changes in Emacs 17
8
9 * Frustrated?
10
11 Try M-x doctor.
12
13 * Bored?
14
15 Try M-x hanoi.
16
17 * Brain-damaged?
18
19 Try M-x yow.
20
21 * Sun3, Tahoe, Apollo, HP9000s300, Celerity, NCR Tower 32,
22 Sequent, Stride, Encore, Plexus and AT&T 7300 machines supported.
23
24 The Tahoe, Sun3, Sequent and Celerity use 4.2. In regard to the
25 Apollo, see the file APOLLO in this directory. NCR Tower32,
26 HP9000s300, Stride and Nu run forms of System V. System V rel 2 also
27 works on Vaxes now. See etc/MACHINES.
28
29 * System V Unix supported, including subprocesses.
30
31 It should be possible now to bring up Emacs on a machine running
32 mere unameliorated system V Unix with no major work; just possible bug
33 fixes. But you can expect to find a handful of those on any machine
34 that Emacs has not been run on before.
35
36 * Berkeley 4.1 Unix supported.
37
38 See etc/MACHINES.
39
40 * Portable `alloca' provided.
41
42 Emacs can now run on machines that do not and cannot support the library
43 subroutine `alloca' in the canonical fashion, using an `alloca' emulation
44 written in C.
45
46 * On-line manual.
47
48 Info now contains an Emacs manual, with essentially the same text
49 as in the printed manual.
50
51 The manual can now be printed with a standard TeX.
52
53 Nicely typeset and printed copies of the manual are available
54 from the Free Software Foundation.
55
56 * Backup file version numbers.
57
58 Emacs now supports version numbers in backup files.
59
60 The first time you save a particular file in one editing session,
61 the old file is copied or renamed to serve as a backup file.
62 In the past, the name for the backup file was made by appending `~'
63 to the end of the original file name.
64
65 Now the backup file name can instead be made by appending ".~NN~" to
66 the original file name, where NN stands for a numeric version. Each
67 time this is done, the new version number is one higher than the
68 highest previously used.
69
70 Thus, the active, current file does not have a version number.
71 Only the backups have them.
72
73 This feature is controlled by the variable `version-control'. If it
74 is `nil', as normally, then numbered backups are made only for files
75 that already have numbered backups. Backup names with just `~' are
76 used for files that have no numbered backups.
77
78 If `version-control' is `never', then the backup file's name is
79 made with just `~' in any case.
80
81 If `version-control' is not `nil' or `never', numbered backups are
82 made unconditionally.
83
84 To prevent unlimited consumption of disk space, Emacs can delete
85 old backup versions automatically. Generally Emacs keeps the first
86 few backups and the latest few backups, deleting any in between.
87 This happens every time a new backup is made. The two variables that
88 control the deletion are `kept-old-versions' and `kept-new-versions'.
89 Their values are, respectively, the number of oldest backups to keep
90 and the number of newest ones to keep, each time a new backup is made.
91 The value of `kept-new-versions' includes the backup just created.
92 By default, both values are 2.
93
94 If `trim-versions-without-asking' is non-`nil', the excess middle versions
95 are deleted without a murmur. If it is `nil', the default, then you
96 are asked whether the excess middle versions should really be deleted.
97
98 Dired has a new command `.' which marks for deletion all but the latest
99 and oldest few of every numeric series of backups. `kept-old-versions'
100 controls the number of oldest versions to keep, and `dired-kept-versions'
101 controls the number of latest versions to keep. A numeric argument to
102 the `.' command, if positive, specifies the number of latest versions
103 to keep, overriding `dired-kept-versions'. A negative argument specifies
104 the number of oldest versions to keep, using minus the argument to override
105 `kept-old-versions'.
106
107 * Immediate conflict detection.
108
109 Emacs now locks the files it is modifying, so that if
110 you start to modify within Emacs a file that is being
111 modified in another Emacs, you get an immediate warning.
112
113 The warning gives you three choices:
114 1. Give up, and do not make any changes.
115 2. Make changes anyway at your own risk.
116 3. Make changes anyway, and record yourself as
117 the person locking the file (instead of whoever
118 was previously recorded.)
119
120 Just visiting a file does not lock it. It is locked
121 when you try to change the buffer that is visiting the file.
122 Saving the file unlocks it until you make another change.
123
124 Locking is done by writing a lock file in a special designated
125 directory. If such a directory is not provided and told to
126 Emacs as part of configuring it for your machine, the lock feature
127 is turned off.
128
129 * M-x recover-file.
130
131 This command is used to get a file back from an auto-save
132 (after a system crash, for example). It takes a file name
133 as argument and visits that file, but gets the data from the
134 file's last auto save rather than from the file itself.
135
136 * M-x normal-mode.
137
138 This command resets the current buffer's major mode and local
139 variables to be as specified by the visit filename, the -*- line
140 and/or the Local Variables: block at the end of the buffer.
141 It is the same thing normally done when a file is first visited.
142
143 * Echo area messages disappear shortly if minibuffer is in use.
144
145 Any message in the echo area disappears after 2 seconds
146 if the minibuffer is active. This allows the minibuffer
147 to become visible again.
148
149 * C-z on System V runs a subshell.
150
151 On systems which do not allow programs to be suspended, the C-z command
152 forks a subshell that talks directly to the terminal, and then waits
153 for the subshell to exit. This gets almost the effect of suspending
154 in that you can run other programs and then return to Emacs. However,
155 you cannot log out from the subshell.
156
157 * C-c is always a prefix character.
158
159 Also, subcommands of C-c which are letters are always
160 reserved for the user. No standard Emacs major mode
161 defines any of them.
162
163 * Picture mode C-c commands changed.
164
165 The old C-c k command is now C-c C-w.
166 The old C-c y command is now C-c C-x.
167
168 * Shell mode commands changed.
169
170 All the special commands of Shell mode are now moved onto
171 the C-c prefix. Most are not changed aside from that.
172 Thus, the old Shell mode C-c command (kill current job)
173 is now C-c C-c; the old C-z (suspend current job) is now C-c C-z,
174 etc.
175
176 The old C-x commands are now C-c commands. C-x C-k (kill output)
177 is now C-c C-o, and C-x C-v (show output) is now C-c C-r.
178
179 The old M-= (copy previous input) command is now C-c C-y.
180
181 * Shell mode recognizes aliases for `pushd', `popd' and `cd'.
182
183 Shell mode now uses the variable `shell-pushd-regexp' as a
184 regular expression to recognize any command name that is
185 equivalent to a `pushd' command. By default it is set up
186 to recognize just `pushd' itself. If you use aliases for
187 `pushd', change the regexp to recognize them as well.
188
189 There are also `shell-popd-regexp' to recognize commands
190 with the effect of a `popd', and `shell-cd-regexp' to recognize
191 commands with the effect of a `cd'.
192
193 * "Exit" command in certain modes now C-c C-c.
194
195 These include electric buffer menu mode, electric command history
196 mode, Info node edit mode, and Rmail edit mode. In all these
197 modes, the command to exit used to be just C-c.
198
199 * Outline mode changes.
200
201 Lines that are not heading lines are now called "body" lines.
202 The command `hide-text' is renamed to `hide-body'.
203 The key M-H is renamed to C-c C-h.
204 The key M-S is renamed to C-c C-s.
205 The key M-s is renamed to C-c C-i.
206
207 Changes of line visibility are no longer undoable. As a result,
208 they no longer use up undo memory and no longer interfere with
209 undoing earlier commands.
210
211 * Rmail changes.
212
213 The s and q commands now both expunge deleted messages before saving;
214 use C-x C-s to save without expunging.
215
216 The u command now undeletes the current message if it is deleted;
217 otherwise, it backs up as far as necessary to reach a deleted message,
218 and undeletes that one. The u command in the summary behaves likewise,
219 but considers only messages listed in the summary. The M-u command
220 has been eliminated.
221
222 The o and C-o keys' meanings are interchanged.
223 o now outputs to an Rmail file, and C-o to a Unix mail file.
224
225 The F command (rmail-find) is renamed to M-s (rmail-search).
226 Various new commands and features exist; see the Emacs manual.
227
228 * Local bindings described first in describe-bindings.
229
230 * [...], {...} now balance in Fundamental mode.
231
232 * Nroff mode and TeX mode.
233
234 The are two new major modes for editing nroff input and TeX input.
235 See the Emacs manual for full information.
236
237 * New C indentation style variable `c-brace-imaginary-offset'.
238
239 The value of `c-brace-imaginary-offset', normally zero, controls the
240 indentation of a statement inside a brace-group where the open-brace
241 is not the first thing on a line. The value says where the open-brace
242 is imagined to be, relative to the first nonblank character on the line.
243
244 * Dired improvements.
245
246 Dired now normally keeps the cursor at the beginning of the file name,
247 not at the beginning of the line. The most used motion commands are
248 redefined in Dired to position the cursor this way.
249
250 `n' and `p' are now equivalent in dired to `C-n' and `C-p'.
251
252 If any files to be deleted cannot be deleted, their names are
253 printed in an error message.
254
255 If the `v' command is invoked on a file which is a directory,
256 dired is run on that directory.
257
258 * `visit-tag-table' renamed `visit-tags-table'.
259
260 This is so apropos of `tags' finds everything you need to
261 know about in connection with Tags.
262
263 * `mh-e' library uses C-c as prefix.
264
265 All the special commands of `mh-rmail' now are placed on a
266 C-c prefix rather than on the C-x prefix. This is for
267 consistency with other special modes with their own commands.
268
269 * M-$ or `spell-word' checks word before point.
270
271 It used to check the word after point.
272
273 * Quitting during autoloading no longer causes trouble.
274
275 Now, when a file is autoloaded, all function redefinitions
276 and `provide' calls are recorded and are undone if you quit
277 before the file is finished loading.
278
279 As a result, it no longer happens that some of the entry points
280 which are normally autoloading have been defined already, but the
281 entire file is not really present to support them.
282
283 * `else' can now be indented correctly in C mode.
284
285 TAB in C mode now knows which `if' statement an `else' matches
286 up with, and can indent the `else' correctly under the `if',
287 even if the `if' contained such things as another `if' statement,
288 or a `while' or `for' statement, with no braces around it.
289
290 * `batch-byte-compile'
291
292 Runs byte-compile-file on the files specified on the command line.
293 All the rest of the command line arguments are taken as files to
294 compile (or, if directories, to do byte-recompile-directory on).
295 Must be used only with -batch, and kills emacs on completion.
296 Each file will be processed even if an error occurred previously.
297 For example, invoke `emacs -batch -f batch-byte-compile *.el'.
298
299 * `-batch' changes.
300
301 `-batch' now implies `-q': no init file is loaded by Emacs when
302 `-batch' is used. Also, no `term/TERMTYPE.el' file is loaded. Auto
303 saving is not done except in buffers in which it is explicitly
304 requested. Also, many echo-area printouts describing what is going on
305 are inhibited in batch mode, so that the only output you get is the
306 output you program specifically.
307
308 One echo-area message that is not suppressed is the one that says
309 that a file is being loaded. That is because you can prevent this
310 message by passing `t' as the third argument to `load'.
311
312 * Display of search string in incremental search.
313
314 Now, when you type C-s or C-r to reuse the previous search
315 string, that search string is displayed immediately in the echo area.
316
317 Three dots are displayed after the search string while search
318 is actually going on.
319
320 * View commands.
321
322 The commands C-x ], C-x [, C-x /, C-x j and C-x o are now
323 available inside `view-buffer' and `view-file', with their
324 normal meanings.
325
326 * Full-width windows preferred.
327
328 The ``other-window'' commands prefer other full width windows,
329 and will split only full width windows.
330
331 * M-x rename-file can copy if necessary.
332
333 When used between different file systems, since actual renaming does
334 not work, the old file will be copied and deleted.
335
336 * Within C-x ESC, you can pick the command to repeat.
337
338 While editing a previous command to be repeated, inside C-x ESC,
339 you can now use the commands M-p and M-n to pick an earlier or
340 later command to repeat. M-n picks the next earlier command
341 and M-p picks the next later one. The new command appears in
342 the minibuffer, and you can go ahead and edit it, and repeat it
343 when you exit the minibuffer.
344
345 Using M-n or M-p within C-x ESC is like having used a different
346 numeric argument when you ran C-x ESC in the first place.
347
348 The command you finally execute using C-x ESC is added to the
349 front of the command history, unless it is identical with the
350 first thing in the command history.
351
352 * Use C-c C-c to exit from editing within Info.
353
354 It used to be C-z for this. Somehow this use of C-z was
355 left out when all the others were moved. The intention is that
356 C-z should always suspend Emacs.
357
358 * Default arg to C-x < and C-x > now window width minus 2.
359
360 These commands, which scroll the current window horizontally
361 by a specified number of columns, now scroll a considerable
362 distance rather than a single column if used with no argument.
363
364 * Auto Save Files Deleted.
365
366 The default value of `delete-auto-save-files' is now `t', so that
367 when you save a file for real, its auto save file is deleted.
368
369 * Rnews changes.
370
371 The N, P and J keys in Rnews are renamed to M-n, M-p and M-j.
372 These keys move among newsgroups.
373
374 The n and p keys for moving sequentially between news articles now
375 accept repeat count arguments, and the + and - keys, made redundant by
376 this change, are eliminated.
377
378 The s command for outputting the current article to a file
379 is renamed as o, to be compatible with Rmail.
380
381 * Sendmail changes.
382
383 If you have a ~/.mailrc file, Emacs searches it for mailing address
384 aliases, and these aliases are expanded when you send mail in Emacs.
385
386 Fcc fields can now be used in the headers in the *mail* buffer
387 to specify files in which copies of the message should be put.
388 The message is written into those files in Unix mail file format.
389 The message as sent does not contain any Fcc fields in its header.
390 You can use any number of Fcc fields, but only one file name in each one.
391 The variable `mail-archive-file-name', if non-`nil', can be a string
392 which is a file name; an Fcc to that file will be inserted in every
393 message when you begin to compose it.
394
395 A new command C-c q now exists in Mail mode. It fills the
396 paragraphs of an old message that had been inserted with C-c y.
397
398 When the *mail* buffer is put in Mail mode, text-mode-hook
399 is now run in addition to mail-mode-hook. text-mode-hook
400 is run first.
401
402 The new variable `mail-header-separator' now specifies the string
403 to use on the line that goes between the headers and the message text.
404 By default it is still "--text follows this line--".
405
406 * Command history truncated automatically.
407
408 Just before each garbage collection, all but the last 30 elements
409 of the command history are discarded.
410
411 Incompatible Lisp Programming Changes in Emacs 17
412
413 * `&quote' no longer supported.
414
415 This feature, which allowed Lisp functions to take arguments
416 that were not evaluated, has been eliminated, because it is
417 inescapably hard to make the compiler work properly with such
418 functions.
419
420 You should use macros instead. A simple way to change any
421 code that uses `&quote' is to replace
422
423 (defun foo (&quote x y z) ...
424
425 with
426
427 (defmacro foo (x y z)
428 (list 'foo-1 (list 'quote x) (list 'quote y) (list 'quote z)))
429
430 (defun foo-1 (x y z) ...
431
432 * Functions `region-to-string' and `region-around-match' removed.
433
434 These functions were made for compatibility with Gosling Emacs, but it
435 turns out to be undesirable to use them in GNU Emacs because they use
436 the mark. They have been eliminated from Emacs proper, but are
437 present in mlsupport.el for the sake of converted mocklisp programs.
438
439 If you were using `region-to-string', you should instead use
440 `buffer-substring'; then you can pass the bounds as arguments and
441 can avoid setting the mark.
442
443 If you were using `region-around-match', you can use instead
444 the two functions `match-beginning' and `match-end'. These give
445 you one bound at a time, as a numeric value, without changing
446 point or the mark.
447
448 * Function `function-type' removed.
449
450 This just appeared not to be very useful. It can easily be written in
451 Lisp if you happen to want it. Just use `symbol-function' to get the
452 function definition of a symbol, and look at its data type or its car
453 if it is a list.
454
455 * Variable `buffer-number' removed.
456
457 You can still use the function `buffer-number' to find out
458 a buffer's unique number (assigned in order of creation).
459
460 * Variable `executing-macro' renamed `executing-kbd-macro'.
461
462 This variable is the currently executing keyboard macro, as
463 a string, or `nil' when no keyboard macro is being executed.
464
465 * Loading term/$TERM.
466
467 The library term/$TERM (where $TERM get replaced by your terminal
468 type), which is done by Emacs automatically when it starts up, now
469 happens after the user's .emacs file is loaded.
470
471 In previous versions of Emacs, these files had names of the form
472 term-$TERM; thus, for example, term-vt100.el, but now they live
473 in a special subdirectory named term, and have names like
474 term/vt100.el.
475
476 * `command-history' format changed.
477
478 The elements of this list are now Lisp expressions which can
479 be evaluated directly to repeat a command.
480
481 * Unused editing commands removed.
482
483 The functions `forward-to-word', `backward-to-word',
484 `upcase-char', `mark-beginning-of-buffer' and `mark-end-of-buffer'
485 have been removed. Their definitions can be found in file
486 lisp/unused.el if you need them.
487
488 Upward Compatible Lisp Programming Changes in Emacs 17
489
490 * You can now continue after errors and quits.
491
492 When the debugger is entered because of a C-g, due to
493 a non-`nil' value of `debug-on-quit', the `c' command in the debugger
494 resumes execution of the code that was running when the quit happened.
495 Use the `q' command to go ahead and quit.
496
497 The same applies to some kinds of errors, but not all. Errors
498 signaled with the Lisp function `signal' can be continued; the `c'
499 command causes `signal' to return. The `r' command causes `signal' to
500 return the value you specify. The `c' command is equivalent to `r'
501 with the value `nil'.
502
503 For a `wrong-type-argument' error, the value returned with the `r'
504 command is used in place of the invalid argument. If this new value
505 is not valid, another error occurs.
506
507 Errors signaled with the function `error' cannot be continued.
508 If you try to continue, the error just happens again.
509
510 * `dot' renamed `point'.
511
512 The word `dot' has been replaced with `point' in all
513 function and variable names, including:
514
515 point, point-min, point-max,
516 point-marker, point-min-marker, point-max-marker,
517 window-point, set-window-point,
518 point-to-register, register-to-point,
519 exchange-point-and-mark.
520
521 The old names are still supported, for now.
522
523 * `string-match' records position of end of match.
524
525 After a successful call to `string-match', `(match-end 0)' will
526 return the index in the string of the first character after the match.
527 Also, `match-begin' and `match-end' with nonzero arguments can be
528 used to find the indices of beginnings and ends of substrings matched
529 by subpatterns surrounded by parentheses.
530
531 * New function `insert-before-markers'.
532
533 This function is just like `insert' except in the handling of any
534 relocatable markers that are located at the point of insertion.
535 With `insert', such markers end up pointing before the inserted text.
536 With `insert-before-markers', they end up pointing after the inserted
537 text.
538
539 * New function `copy-alist'.
540
541 This function takes one argument, a list, and makes a disjoint copy
542 of the alist structure. The list itself is copied, and each element
543 that is a cons cell is copied, but the cars and cdrs of elements
544 remain shared with the original argument.
545
546 This is what it takes to get two alists disjoint enough that changes
547 in one do not change the result of `assq' on the other.
548
549 * New function `copy-keymap'.
550
551 This function takes a keymap as argument and returns a new keymap
552 containing initially the same bindings. Rebindings in either one of
553 them will not alter the bindings in the other.
554
555 * New function `copy-syntax-table'.
556
557 This function takes a syntax table as argument and returns a new
558 syntax table containing initially the same syntax settings. Changes
559 in either one of them will not alter the other.
560
561 * Randomizing the random numbers.
562
563 `(random t)' causes the random number generator's seed to be set
564 based on the current time and Emacs's process id.
565
566 * Third argument to `modify-syntax-entry'.
567
568 The optional third argument to `modify-syntax-entry', if specified
569 should be a syntax table. The modification is made in that syntax table
570 rather than in the current syntax table.
571
572 * New function `run-hooks'.
573
574 This function takes any number of symbols as arguments.
575 It processes the symbols in order. For each symbol which
576 has a value (as a variable) that is non-nil, the value is
577 called as a function, with no arguments.
578
579 This is useful in major mode commands.
580
581 * Second arg to `switch-to-buffer'.
582
583 If this function is given a non-`nil' second argument, then the
584 selection being done is not recorded on the selection history.
585 The buffer's position in the history remains unchanged. This
586 feature is used by the view commands, so that the selection history
587 after exiting from viewing is the same as it was before.
588
589 * Second arg to `display-buffer' and `pop-to-buffer'.
590
591 These two functions both accept an optional second argument which
592 defaults to `nil'. If the argument is not `nil', it means that
593 another window (not the selected one) must be found or created to
594 display the specified buffer in, even if it is already shown in
595 the selected window.
596
597 This feature is used by `switch-to-buffer-other-window'.
598
599 * New variable `completion-ignore-case'.
600
601 If this variable is non-`nil', completion allows strings
602 in different cases to be considered matching. The global value
603 is `nil'
604
605 This variable exists for the sake of commands that are completing
606 an argument in which case is not significant. It is possible
607 to change the value globally, but you might not like the consequences
608 in the many situations (buffer names, command names, file names)
609 where case makes a difference.
610
611 * Major modes related to Text mode call text-mode-hook, then their own hooks.
612
613 For example, turning on Outline mode first calls the value of
614 `text-mode-hook' as a function, if it exists and is non-`nil',
615 and then does likewise for the variable `outline-mode-hook'.
616
617 * Defining new command line switches.
618
619 You can define a new command line switch in your .emacs file
620 by putting elements on the value of `command-switch-alist'.
621 Each element of this list should look like
622 (SWITCHSTRING . FUNCTION)
623 where SWITCHSTRING is a string containing the switch to be
624 defined, such as "-foo", and FUNCTION is a function to be called
625 if such an argument is found in the command line. FUNCTION
626 receives the command line argument, a string, as its argument.
627
628 To implement a switch that uses up one or more following arguments,
629 use the fact that the remaining command line arguments are kept
630 as a list in the variable `command-line-args'. FUNCTION can
631 examine this variable, and do
632 (setq command-line-args (cdr command-line-args)
633 to "use up" an argument.
634
635 * New variable `load-in-progress'.
636
637 This variable is non-`nil' when a file of Lisp code is being read
638 and executed by `load'.
639
640 * New variable `print-length'.
641
642 The value of this variable is normally `nil'. It may instead be
643 a number; in that case, when a list is printed by `prin1' or
644 `princ' only that many initial elements are printed; the rest are
645 replaced by `...'.
646
647 * New variable `find-file-not-found-hook'.
648
649 If `find-file' or any of its variants is used on a nonexistent file,
650 the value of `find-file-not-found-hook' is called (if it is not `nil')
651 with no arguments, after creating an empty buffer. The file's name
652 can be found as the value of `buffer-file-name'.
653
654 * Processes without buffers.
655
656 In the function `start-process', you can now specify `nil' as
657 the process's buffer. You can also set a process's buffer to `nil'
658 using `set-process-buffer'.
659
660 The reason you might want to do this is to prevent the process
661 from being killed because any particular buffer is killed.
662 When a process has a buffer, killing that buffer kills the
663 process too.
664
665 When a process has no buffer, its output is lost unless it has a
666 filter, and no indication of its being stopped or killed is given
667 unless it has a sentinel.
668
669 * New function `user-variable-p'. `v' arg prompting changed.
670
671 This function takes a symbol as argument and returns `t' if
672 the symbol is defined as a user option variable. This means
673 that it has a `variable-documentation' property whose value is
674 a string starting with `*'.
675
676 Code `v' in an interactive arg reading string now accepts
677 user variables only, and completion is limited to the space of
678 user variables.
679
680 The function `read-variable' also now accepts and completes
681 over user variables only.
682
683 * CBREAK mode input is the default in Unix 4.3 bsd.
684
685 In Berkeley 4.3 Unix, there are sufficient features for Emacs to
686 work fully correctly using CBREAK mode and not using SIGIO.
687 Therefore, this mode is the default when running under 4.3.
688 This mode corresponds to `nil' as the first argument to
689 `set-input-mode'. You can still select either mode by calling
690 that function.
691
692 * Information on memory usage.
693
694 The new variable `data-bytes-used' contains the number
695 of bytes of impure space allocated in Emacs.
696 `data-bytes-free' contains the number of additional bytes
697 Emacs could allocate. Note that space formerly allocated
698 and freed again still counts as `used', since it is still
699 in Emacs's address space.
700
701 * No limit on size of output from `format'.
702
703 The string output from `format' used to be truncated to
704 100 characters in length. Now it can have any length.
705
706 * New errors `void-variable' and `void-function' replace `void-symbol'.
707
708 This change makes it possible to have error messages that
709 clearly distinguish undefined variables from undefined functions.
710 It also allows `condition-case' to handle one case without the other.
711
712 * `replace-match' handling of `\'.
713
714 In `replace-match', when the replacement is not literal,
715 `\' in the replacement string is always treated as an
716 escape marker. The only two special `\' constructs
717 are `\&' and `\DIGIT', so `\' followed by anything other than
718 `&' or a digit has no effect. `\\' is necessary to include
719 a `\' in the replacement text.
720
721 This level of escaping is comparable with what goes on in
722 a regular expression. It is over and above the level of `\'
723 escaping that goes on when strings are read in Lisp syntax.
724
725 * New error `invalid-regexp'.
726
727 A regexp search signals this type of error if the argument does
728 not meet the rules for regexp syntax.
729
730 * `kill-emacs' with argument.
731
732 If the argument is a number, it is returned as the exit status code
733 of the Emacs process. If the argument is a string, its contents
734 are stuffed as pending terminal input, to be read by another program
735 after Emacs is dead.
736
737 * New fifth argument to `subst-char-in-region'.
738
739 This argument is optional and defaults to `nil'. If it is not `nil',
740 then the substitutions made by this function are not recorded
741 in the Undo mechanism.
742
743 This feature should be used with great care. It is now used
744 by Outline mode to make lines visible or invisible.
745
746 * ` *Backtrace*' buffer renamed to `*Backtrace*'.
747
748 As a result, you can now reselect this buffer easily if you switch to
749 another while in the debugger.
750
751 Exiting from the debugger kills the `*Backtrace*' buffer, so you will
752 not try to give commands in it when no longer really in the debugger.
753
754 * New function `switch-to-buffer-other-window'.
755
756 This is the new primitive to select a specified buffer (the
757 argument) in another window. It is not quite the same as
758 `pop-to-buffer', because it is guaranteed to create another
759 window (assuming there is room on the screen) so that it can
760 leave the current window's old buffer displayed as well.
761
762 All functions to select a buffer in another window should
763 do so by calling this new function.
764
765 * New variable `minibuffer-help-form'.
766
767 At entry to the minibuffer, the variable `help-form' is bound
768 to the value of `minibuffer-help-form'.
769
770 `help-form' is expected at all times to contain either `nil'
771 or an expression to be executed when C-h is typed (overriding
772 teh definition of C-h as a command). `minibuffer-help-form'
773 can be used to provide a different default way of handling
774 C-h while in the minibuffer.
775
776 * New \{...} documentation construct.
777
778 It is now possible to set up the documentation string for
779 a major mode in such a way that it always describes the contents
780 of the major mode's keymap, as it has been customized.
781 To do this, include in the documentation string the characters `\{'
782 followed by the name of the variable containing the keymap,
783 terminated with `}'. (The `\' at the beginning probably needs to
784 be quoted with a second `\', to include it in the doc string.)
785 This construct is normally used on a line by itself, with no blank
786 lines before or after.
787
788 For example, the documentation string for the function `c-mode' contains
789 ...
790 Paragraphs are separated by blank lines only.
791 Delete converts tabs to spaces as it moves back.
792 \\{c-mode-map}
793 Variables controlling indentation style:
794 ...
795
796 * New character syntax class "punctuation".
797
798 Punctuation characters behave like whitespace in word and
799 list parsing, but can be distinguished in regexps and in the
800 function `char-syntax'. Punctuation syntax is represented by
801 a period in `modify-syntax-entry'.
802
803 * `auto-mode-alist' no longer needs entries for backup-file names,
804
805 Backup suffixes of all kinds are now stripped from a file's name
806 before searching `auto-mode-alist'.
807
808 Changes in Emacs 16
809
810 * No special code for Ambassadors, VT-100's and Concept-100's.
811
812 Emacs now controls these terminals based on the termcap entry, like
813 all other terminals. Formerly it did not refer to the termcap entries
814 for those terminal types, and often the termcap entries for those
815 terminals are wrong or inadequate. If you experience worse behavior
816 on these terminals than in version 15, you can probably correct it by
817 fixing up the termcap entry. See ./TERMS for more info.
818
819 See ./TERMS in any case if you find that some terminal does not work
820 right with Emacs now.
821
822 * Minibuffer default completion character is TAB (and not ESC).
823
824 So that ESC can be used in minibuffer for more useful prefix commands.
825
826 * C-z suspends Emacs in all modes.
827
828 Formerly, C-z was redefined for other purposes by certain modes,
829 such as Buffer Menu mode. Now other keys are used for those purposes,
830 to keep the meaning of C-z uniform.
831
832 * C-x ESC (repeat-complex-command) allows editing the command it repeats.
833
834 Instead of asking for confirmation to re-execute a command from the
835 command history, the command is placed, in its Lisp form, into the
836 minibuffer for editing. You can confirm by typing RETURN, change some
837 arguments and then confirm, or abort with C-g.
838
839 * Incremental search does less redisplay on slow terminals.
840
841 If the terminal baud rate is <= the value of `isearch-slow-speed',
842 incremental searching outside the text on the screen creates
843 a single-line window and uses that to display the line on which
844 a match has been found. Exiting or quitting the search restores
845 the previous window configuration and redisplays the window you
846 were searching in.
847
848 The initial value of `isearch-slow-speed' is 1200.
849
850 This feature is courtesy of crl@purdue.
851
852 * Recursive minibuffers not allowed.
853
854 If the minibuffer window is selected, most commands that would
855 use the minibuffer gets an error instead. (Specific commands
856 may override this feature and therefore still be allowed.)
857
858 Strictly speaking, recursive entry to the minibuffer is still
859 possible, because you can switch to another window after
860 entering the minibuffer, and then minibuffer-using commands
861 are allowed. This is still allowed by a deliberate decision:
862 if you know enough to switch windows while in the minibuffer,
863 you can probably understand recursive minibuffers.
864
865 This may be overridden by binding the variable
866 `enable-recursive-minibuffers' to t.
867
868 * New major mode Emacs-Lisp mode, for editing Lisp code to run in Emacs.
869
870 The mode in which emacs lisp files is edited is now called emacs-lisp-mode
871 and is distinct from lisp-mode. The latter is intended for use with
872 lisps external to emacs.
873
874 The hook which is funcalled (if non-nil) on entry to elisp-mode is now
875 called emacs-lisp-mode-hook. A consequence of this changes is that
876 .emacs init files which set the value of lisp-mode-hook may need to be
877 changed to use the new names.
878
879 * Correct matching of parentheses is checked on insertion.
880
881 When you insert a close-paren, the matching open-paren
882 is checked for validity. The close paren must be the kind
883 of close-paren that the open-paren says it should match.
884 Otherwise, a warning message is printed. close-paren immediately
885 preceded by quoting backslash syntax character is not matched.
886
887 This feature was originally written by shane@mit-ajax.
888
889 * M-x list-command-history
890 * M-x command-history-mode
891 * M-x electric-command-history
892
893 `list-command-history' displays forms from the command history subject
894 to user controlled filtering and limit on number of forms. It leaves
895 the buffer in `command-history-mode'. M-x command-history-mode
896 recomputes the command history each time it is invoked via
897 `list-command-history'. It is like Emacs-Lisp mode except that characters
898 don't insert themselves and provision is made for re-evaluating an
899 expression from the list. `electric-command-history' pops up a type
900 out window with the command history displayed. If the very next
901 character is Space, the window goes away and the previous window
902 configuration is restored. Otherwise you can move around in the
903 history and select an expression for evaluation *inside* the buffer
904 which invoked `electric-command-history'. The original window
905 configuration is restored on exit unless the command selected changes
906 it.
907
908 * M-x edit-picture
909
910 Enters a temporary major mode (the previous major mode is remembered
911 and can is restored on exit) designed for editing pictures and tables.
912 Printing characters replace rather than insert themselves with motion
913 afterwards that is user controlled (you can specify any of the 8
914 compass directions). Special commands for movement are provided.
915 Special commands for hacking tabs and tab stops are provided. Special
916 commands for killing rectangles and overlaying them are provided. See
917 the documentation of function edit-picture for more details.
918
919 Calls value of `edit-picture-hook' on entry if non-nil.
920
921 * Stupid C-s/C-q `flow control' supported.
922
923 Do (set-input-mode nil t) to tell Emacs to use CBREAK mode and interpret
924 C-s and C-q as flow control commands. (set-input-mode t nil) switches
925 back to interrupt-driven input. (set-input-mode nil nil) uses CBREAK
926 mode but no `flow control'; this may make it easier to run Emacs under
927 certain debuggers that have trouble dealing with inferiors that use SIGIO.
928
929 CBREAK mode has certain inherent disadvantages, which are why it is
930 not the default:
931
932 Meta-keys are ignored; CBREAK mode discards the 8th bit of
933 input characters.
934
935 Control-G as keyboard input discards buffered output,
936 and therefore can cause incorrect screen updating.
937
938 The use of `flow control' has its own additional disadvantage: the
939 characters C-s and C-q are not available as editing commands. You can
940 partially compensate for this by setting up a keyboard-translate-table
941 (see file ONEWS) that maps two other characters (such as C-^ and C-\) into
942 C-s and C-q. Of course, C-^ and C-\ are commonly used as escape
943 characters in remote-terminal programs. You really can't win except
944 by getting rid of this sort of `flow control.'
945
946 The configuration switch CBREAK_INPUT is now eliminated.
947 INTERRUPT_INPUT exists only to specify the default mode of operation;
948 #define it to make interrupt-driven input the default.
949
950 * Completion of directory names provides a slash.
951
952 If file name completion yields the name of a directory,
953 a slash is appended to it.
954
955 * Undo can clear modified-flag.
956
957 If you undo changes in a buffer back to a state in which the
958 buffer was not considered "modified", then it is labelled as
959 once again "unmodified".
960
961 * M-x run-lisp.
962
963 This command creates an inferior Lisp process whose input and output
964 appear in the Emacs buffer named `*lisp*'. That buffer uses a major mode
965 called inferior-lisp-mode, which has many of the commands of lisp-mode
966 and those of shell-mode. Calls the value of shell-mode-hook and
967 lisp-mode-hook, in that order, if non-nil.
968
969 Meanwhile, in lisp-mode, the command C-M-x is defined to
970 send the current defun as input to the `*lisp*' subprocess.
971
972 * Mode line says `Narrow' when buffer is clipped.
973
974 If a buffer has a clipping restriction (made by `narrow-to-region')
975 then its mode line contains the word `Narrow' after the major and
976 minor modes.
977
978 * Mode line says `Abbrev' when abbrev mode is on.
979
980 * add-change-log-entry takes prefix argument
981
982 Giving a prefix argument makes it prompt for login name, full name,
983 and site name, with defaults. Otherwise the defaults are used
984 with no confirmation.
985
986 * M-x view-buffer and M-x view-file
987
988 view-buffer selects the named buffer, view-file finds the named file; the
989 resulting buffer is placed into view-mode (a recursive edit). The normal
990 emacs commands are not available. Instead a set of special commands is
991 provided which faclitate moving around in the buffer, searching and
992 scrolling by screenfuls. Exiting view-mode returns to the buffer in which
993 the view-file or view-buffer command was given.
994 Type ? or h when viewing for a complete list of view commands.
995 Each calls value of `view-hook' if non-nil on entry.
996
997 written by shane@mit-ajax.
998
999 * New key commands in dired.
1000
1001 `v' views (like more) the file on the current line.
1002 `#' marks auto-save files for deletion.
1003 `~' marks backup files for deletion.
1004 `r' renames a file and updates the directory listing if the
1005 file is renamed to same directory.
1006 `c' copies a file and updates the directory listing if the file is
1007 copied to the same directory.
1008
1009 * New function `electric-buffer-list'.
1010
1011 This pops up a buffer describing the set of emacs buffers.
1012 Immediately typing space makes the buffer list go away and returns
1013 to the buffer and window which were previously selected.
1014
1015 Otherwise one may use the c-p and c-n commands to move around in the
1016 buffer-list buffer and type Space or C-z to select the buffer on the
1017 cursor's line. There are a number of other commands which are the same
1018 as those of buffer-menu-mode.
1019
1020 This is a useful thing to bind to c-x c-b in your `.emacs' file if the
1021 rather non-standard `electric' behaviour of the buffer list suits your taste.
1022 Type C-h after invoking electric-buffer-list for more information.
1023
1024 Calls value of `electric-buffer-menu-mode-hook' if non-nil on entry.
1025 Calls value of `after-electric-buffer-menu' on exit (select) if non-nil.
1026
1027 Changes in version 16 for mail reading and sending
1028
1029 * sendmail prefix character is C-c (and not C-z). New command C-c w.
1030
1031 For instance C-c C-c (or C-c C-s) sends mail now rather than C-z C-z.
1032 C-c w inserts your `signature' (contents of ~/.signature) at the end
1033 of mail.
1034
1035 * New feature in C-c y command in sending mail.
1036
1037 C-c y is the command to insert the message being replied to.
1038 Normally it deletes most header fields and indents everything
1039 by three spaces.
1040
1041 Now, C-c y does not delete header fields or indent.
1042 C-c y with any other numeric argument does delete most header
1043 fields, but indents by the amount specified in the argument.
1044
1045 * C-r command in Rmail edits current message.
1046
1047 It does this by switching to a different major mode
1048 which is nearly the same as Text mode. The only difference
1049 between it and text mode are the two command C-c and C-].
1050 C-c is defined to switch back to Rmail mode, and C-]
1051 is defined to restore the original contents of the message
1052 and then switch back to Rmail mode.
1053
1054 C-c and C-] are the only ways "back into Rmail", but you
1055 can switch to other buffers and edit them as usual.
1056 C-r in Rmail changes only the handling of the Rmail buffer.
1057
1058 * Rmail command `t' toggles header display.
1059
1060 Normally Rmail reformats messages to hide most header fields.
1061 `t' switches to display of all the header fields of the
1062 current message, as long as it remains current.
1063 Another `t' switches back to the usual display.
1064
1065 * Rmail command '>' goes to the last message.
1066
1067 * Rmail commands `a' and `k' set message attributes.
1068 `a' adds an attribute and `k' removes one. You specify
1069 the attrbute by name. You can specify either a built-in
1070 flag such as "deleted" or "filed", or a user-defined keyword
1071 (anything not recognized as built-in).
1072
1073 * Rmail commands `l' and `L' summarize by attributes.
1074
1075 These commands create a summary with one line per message,
1076 like `h', but they list only some of the messages. You
1077 specify which attribute (for `l') or attributes (for `L')
1078 the messages should have.
1079
1080 * Rmail can parse mmdf mail files.
1081
1082 * Interface to MH mail system.
1083
1084 mh-e is a front end for GNU emacs and the MH mail system. It
1085 provides a friendly and convient interface to the MH commands.
1086
1087 To read mail, invoke mh-rmail. This will inc new mail and display the
1088 scan listing on the screen. To see a summary of the mh-e commands,
1089 type ?. Help is available through the usual facilities.
1090
1091 To send mail, invoke mh-smail.
1092
1093 mh-e requires a copy of MH.5 that has been compiled with the MHE
1094 compiler switch.
1095
1096 From larus@berkeley.
1097
1098 New hooks and parameters in version 16
1099
1100 * New variable `blink-matching-paren-distance'.
1101
1102 This is the maximum number of characters to search for
1103 an open-paren to match an inserted close-paren.
1104 The matching open-paren is shown and checked if it is found
1105 within this distance.
1106
1107 `nil' means search all the way to the beginning of the buffer.
1108 In this case, a warning message is printed if no matching
1109 open-paren is found.
1110
1111 This feature was originally written by shane@mit-ajax.
1112
1113 * New variable `find-file-run-dired'
1114
1115 If nil, find-file will report an error if an attempt to visit a
1116 directory is detected; otherwise, it runs dired on that directory.
1117 The default is t.
1118
1119 * Variable `dired-listing-switches' holds switches given to `ls' by dired.
1120
1121 The value should be a string containing `-' followed by letters.
1122 The letter `l' had better be included and letter 'F' had better be excluded!
1123 The default is "-al".
1124
1125 This feature was originally written by shane@mit-ajax.
1126
1127 * New variable `display-time-day-and-date'.
1128
1129 If this variable is set non-`nil', the function M-x display-time
1130 displays the day and date, as well as the time.
1131
1132 * New parameter `c-continued-statement-indent'.
1133
1134 This controls the extra indentation given to a line
1135 that continues a C statement started on the previous line.
1136 By default it is 2, which is why you would see
1137
1138 if (foo)
1139 bar ();
1140
1141
1142 * Changed meaning of `c-indent-level'.
1143
1144 The value of `c-brace-offset' used to be
1145 subtracted from the value of `c-indent-level' whenever
1146 that value was used. Now it is not.
1147
1148 As a result, `c-indent-level' is now the offset of
1149 statements within a block, relative to the line containing
1150 the open-brace that starts the block.
1151
1152 * turn-on-auto-fill is useful value for text-mode-hook.
1153
1154 (setq text-mode-hook 'turn-on-auto-fill)
1155 is all you have to do to make sure Auto Fill mode is turned
1156 on whenever you enter Text mode.
1157
1158 * Parameter explicit-shell-file-name for M-x shell.
1159
1160 This variable, if non-nil, specifies the file name to use
1161 for the shell to run if you do M-x shell.
1162
1163 Changes in version 16 affecting Lisp programming:
1164
1165 * Documentation strings adapt to customization.
1166
1167 Often the documentation string for a command wants to mention
1168 another command. Simply stating the other command as a
1169 character sequence has a disadvantage: if the user customizes
1170 Emacs by moving that function to a different command, the
1171 cross reference in the documentation becomes wrong.
1172
1173 A new feature allows you to write the documentation string
1174 using a function name, and the command to run that function
1175 is looked up when the documentation is printed.
1176
1177 If a documentation string contains `\[' (two characters) then
1178 the following text, up to the next `]', is taken as a function name.
1179 Instead of printing that function name, the command that runs it is printed.
1180 (M-x is used to construct a command if no shorter one exists.)
1181
1182 For example, instead of putting `C-n' in a documentation string
1183 to refer to the C-n command, put in `\[next-line]'. (In practice
1184 you will need to quote the backslash with another backslash,
1185 due to the syntax for strings in Lisp and C.)
1186
1187 To include the literal characters `\[' in a documentation string,
1188 precede them with `\='. To include the characters `\=', precede
1189 them with `\='. For example, "\\=\\= is the way to quote \\=\\["
1190 will come out as `\= is the way to quote \['.
1191
1192 The new function `substitute-command-keys' takes a string possibly
1193 contaning \[...] constructs and replaces those constructs with
1194 the key sequences they currently stand for.
1195
1196 * Primitives `find-line-comment' and `find-line-comment-body' flushed.
1197
1198 Search for the value of `comment-start-skip' if you want to find
1199 whether and where a line has a comment.
1200
1201 * New function `auto-save-file-name-p'
1202
1203 Should return non-`nil' iff given a string which is the name of an
1204 auto-save file (sans directory name). If you redefine
1205 `make-auto-save-file-name', you should redefine this accordingly. By
1206 default, this function returns `t' for filenames beginning with
1207 character `#'.
1208
1209 * The value of `exec-directory' now ends in a slash.
1210
1211 This is to be compatible with most directory names in GNU Emacs.
1212
1213 * Dribble files and termscript files.
1214
1215 (open-dribble-file FILE) opens a dribble file named FILE. When a
1216 dribble file is open, every character Emacs reads from the terminal is
1217 written to the dribble file.
1218
1219 (open-termscript FILE) opens a termscript file named FILE. When a
1220 termscript file is open, all characters sent to the terminal by Emacs
1221 are also written in the termscript file.
1222
1223 The two of these together are very useful for debugging Emacs problems
1224 in redisplay.
1225
1226 * Upper case command characters by default are same as lower case.
1227
1228 If a character in a command is an upper case letter, and is not defined,
1229 Emacs uses the definition of the corresponding lower case letter.
1230 For example, if C-x U is not directly undefined, it is treated as
1231 a synonym for C-x u (undo).
1232
1233 * Undefined function errors versus undefined variable errors.
1234
1235 Void-symbol errors now say "boundp" if the symbol's value was void
1236 or "fboundp" if the function definition was void.
1237
1238 * New function `bury-buffer'.
1239
1240 The new function `bury-buffer' takes one argument, a buffer object,
1241 and puts that buffer at the end of the internal list of buffers.
1242 So it is the least preferred candidate for use as the default value
1243 of C-x b, or for other-buffer to return.
1244
1245 * Already-displayed buffers have low priority for display.
1246
1247 When a buffer is chosen automatically for display, or to be the
1248 default in C-x b, buffers already displayed in windows have lower
1249 priority than buffers not currently visible.
1250
1251 * `set-window-start' accepts a third argument NOFORCE.
1252
1253 This argument, if non-nil, prevents the window's force_start flag
1254 from being set. Setting the force_start flag causes the next
1255 redisplay to insist on starting display at the specified starting
1256 point, even if dot must be moved to get it onto the screen.
1257
1258 * New function `send-string-to-terminal'.
1259
1260 This function takes one argument, a string, and outputs its contents
1261 to the terminal exactly as specified: control characters, escape
1262 sequences, and all.
1263
1264 * Keypad put in command mode.
1265
1266 The terminal's keypad is now put into command mode, as opposed to
1267 numeric mode, while Emacs is running. This is done by means of the
1268 termcap `ks' and `ke' strings.
1269
1270 * New function `generate-new-buffer'
1271
1272 This function takes a string as an argument NAME and looks for a
1273 creates and returns a buffer called NAME if one did not already exist.
1274 Otherwise, it successively tries appending suffixes of the form "<1>",
1275 "<2>" etc to NAME until it creates a string which does not name an
1276 existing buffer. A new buffer with that name is the created and returned.
1277
1278 * New function `prin1-to-string'
1279 This function takes one argument, a lisp object, and returns a string
1280 containing that object's printed representation, such as `prin1'
1281 would output.
1282
1283 * New function `read-from-minibuffer'
1284 Lets you supply a prompt, initial-contents, a keymap, and specify
1285 whether the result should be interpreted as a string or a lisp object.
1286
1287 Old functions `read-minibuffer', `eval-minibuffer', `read-string' all
1288 take second optional string argument which is initial contents of
1289 minibuffer.
1290
1291 * minibuffer variable names changed (names of keymaps)
1292
1293 minibuf-local-map -> minibuffer-local-map
1294 minibuf-local-ns-map -> minibuffer-local-ns-map
1295 minibuf-local-completion-map -> minibuffer-local-completion-map
1296 minibuf-local-must-match-map -> minibuffer-local-must-match-map
1297
1298 Changes in version 16 affecting configuring and building Emacs
1299
1300 * Configuration switch VT100_INVERSE eliminated.
1301
1302 You can control the use of inverse video on any terminal by setting
1303 the variable `inverse-video', or by changing the termcap entry. If
1304 you like, set `inverse-video' in your `.emacs' file based on
1305 examination of (getenv "TERM").
1306
1307 * New switch `-batch' makes Emacs run noninteractively.
1308
1309 If the switch `-batch' is used, Emacs treats its standard output
1310 and input like ordinary files (even if they are a terminal).
1311 It does not display buffers or windows; the only output to standard output
1312 is what would appear as messages in the echo area, and each
1313 message is followed by a newline.
1314
1315 The terminal modes are not changed, so that C-z and C-c retain
1316 their normal Unix meanings. Emacs does still read commands from
1317 the terminal, but the idea of `-batch' is that you use it with
1318 other command line arguments that tell Emacs a complete task to perform,
1319 including killing itself. `-kill' used as the last argument is a good
1320 way to accomplish this.
1321
1322 The Lisp variable `noninteractive' is now defined, to be `nil'
1323 except when `-batch' has been specified.
1324
1325 * Emacs can be built with output redirected to a file.
1326
1327 This is because -batch (see above) is now used in building Emacs.
1328
1329 For older news, see the file ONEWS.1.
1330
1331 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
1332 Copyright information:
1333
1334 Copyright (C) 1985 Richard M. Stallman
1335
1336 Permission is granted to anyone to make or distribute verbatim copies
1337 of this document as received, in any medium, provided that the
1338 copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved,
1339 thus giving the recipient permission to redistribute in turn.
1340
1341 Permission is granted to distribute modified versions
1342 of this document, or of portions of it,
1343 under the above conditions, provided also that they
1344 carry prominent notices stating who last changed them.
1345
1346 Local variables:
1347 mode: text
1348 end: