Mercurial > emacs
changeset 75860:11fb8423ac0e
Remove obsolete file
| author | Glenn Morris <rgm@gnu.org> |
|---|---|
| date | Wed, 14 Feb 2007 02:18:31 +0000 |
| parents | b9b28df5107e |
| children | 357773137f29 |
| files | etc/OTHER.EMACSES |
| diffstat | 1 files changed, 0 insertions(+), 1051 deletions(-) [+] |
line wrap: on
line diff
--- a/etc/OTHER.EMACSES Tue Feb 13 23:38:22 2007 +0000 +++ /dev/null Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000 @@ -1,1051 +0,0 @@ -How is this Emacs different from all other Emacses? -*-Outline-*- - -This file describes the differences between GNU Emacs 19, Twenex -Emacs, Gosling Emacs (including the commercial versions by Unipress) -and CCA Emacs. - -* Copyright (C) 1985 Richard M. Stallman - - Permission is granted to anyone to make or distribute verbatim copies - of this document as received, in any medium, provided that the - copyright notice and permission notice are preserved, - and that the distributor grants the recipient permission - for further redistribution as permitted by this notice. - - Permission is granted to distribute modified versions - of this document, or of portions of it, - under the above conditions, provided also that they - carry prominent notices stating who last changed them. - -Updated March 1993 for Emacs 19 by Eric S. Raymond - - -* How is this Emacs different from Twenex Emacs? - -** Fundamental concepts. - -*** There is no concept of "typeout" in GNU Emacs. - -Any time that a command wants to display some output, -it creates a buffer (usually with a name surrounded by asterisks) -and displays it in a window. - -This provides some advantages: - you can edit some more while looking at the output; - you can copy parts of the output into other buffers. - -It also has a disadvantage that you must type a command -in order to make the output disappear. -You can use C-x 1 to get rid of all windows except the -selected one. To be more selective, you can switch to -the window you want to get rid of and then type C-x 0 -(delete-window). - -You also need to type a command to scroll the other -window if not all the output fits in it. Meta-Control-v -will usually do the job. - -*** There is no concept of a "subsystem" in GNU Emacs. - -Where Twenex Emacs would use a subsystem, GNU Emacs -instead creates a buffer and redefines commands in it. - -For example, when you send mail in GNU Emacs, you use -a buffer named *mail* which is in Mail Mode. You can -switch away from this buffer to any other buffer and -resume normal editing; then switch back and resume -composing mail. You do not have to "exit" from -composing mail in order to do ordinary editing. - -This has many advantages, but it also has a disadvantage: -Subsystems in Emacs tend to have "exit" commands that return you -to whatever you were doing before entering the subsystem. -In GNU Emacs the idea of what to return to is not well defined, -so it is not clear what an "exit" command should do. -The only way to "exit" in general is to type C-x b, C-x C-f, or -some other suitable command to switch buffers. Some -subsystem-like major modes, such as Info and Mail mode, provide -commands to "exit" by switching to the previously selected -buffer. - -*** Files are always visited in their own buffers. - -Beginning users of Twenex Emacs were told how to edit -using a single buffer and reading one file after another -into that buffer. Use of a new buffer for each file was -regarded as a more advanced mode. - -In GNU Emacs, the idea of using a single buffer for various -files, one by one, has been dropped, given that the address -space is expected to be large enough for many buffers. C-x -C-f (find-file), which behaves nearly the same as in Twenex -Emacs, is in GNU Emacs the canonical way for all users to -visit files. - -Various commands need to read files into Emacs in the course -of their execution. In Twenex Emacs the user must tell them -whether to reuse buffers or create new ones, using the variable -Tags Find File. In GNU Emacs, these commands always use -C-x C-f. - -The command C-x C-v does still exist; it kills the current -buffer and reads the specified file into a new buffer. -It is equivalent to kill-buffer followed by find-file. - -Since there is no reusing of buffers, there is no point in -calling the initial buffer "main". So the initial buffer -in GNU Emacs is called "*scratch*" and is intended for typing -Lisp expressions to be evaluated. - -*** File name defaulting. - -GNU Emacs records a separate working directory for each buffer. -Normally this is the directory on which the buffer's file -resides; for buffers not visiting any file, it is copied from -the buffer that was current when it was created. The current buffer's -working directory can be printed with M-x pwd and set with M-x cd. - -GNU Emacs shows you the default directory by inserting it in -the minibuffer when a file name is being read. You can type -the filename you want at the end of the default as if the -default were not there, or you can edit and alter the default. - -If you want file /lose/big when the default /foo/defaultdir/ -has been inserted for you, you need not kill the default; simply -type at the end of it: /foo/defaultdir//lose/big. Such a file -name is not ordinarily considered valid, but GNU Emacs -considers it equivalent to /lose/big. - -Likewise, if you want file quux in your home directory, just add -~/quux to the end of the supplied text, to get -/foo/defaultdir/~/quux. GNU Emacs sees "/~" and throws away -everything before the "~". - -You can refer to environment variables also within file names. -$ followed by the environment variable name is replaced by the -variable's value. The variable name should either be followed -by a nonalphanumeric character (which counts as part of the -file name) or be surrounded by braces {...} (which do not count -as part of the file name). Thus, if variable USER has value "rms", -"x/$USER-foo" is expanded to "x/rms-foo", and "x${USER}foo" -is expanded to "xrmsfoo". Note that this substitution is not -performed by the primitive file operation functions of GNU Emacs, -but rather by the interactive file name reader. It is also -available as a separate primitive, in the function -substitute-in-file-name. - -*** Exit commands C-z, C-x C-c and C-x C-z. - -There are two ways to exit GNU Emacs: killing and suspending. -Killing is like what Control-c does to ordinary Unix programs. -In GNU Emacs, you type C-x C-c to kill it. (This offers to -save any modified file buffers before really killing Emacs.) -Suspending is like what Control-z does to ordinary Unix programs. -To suspend GNU Emacs, type C-x C-z, or type just C-z. -Note that C-z suspends ordinary programs instantly, but -Emacs does not suspend until it reads the C-z. - -Usually it is better to suspend: once a system is smart -enough to have job control, why ever kill an editor? -You'll just have to make a new one in a minute. -This is why the convenient command C-z is provided for -suspending. - -C-c is used as a prefix key for mode-specific commands and for users' -own commands. We deliberately do not make C-c ever kill Emacs, -because it should not be so easy to do something irreversible. - -*** Quitting with C-g. - -If you type C-g while GNU Emacs is waiting for input, it -is an ordinary command (which is defined to beep). If you -type C-g while Lisp code is executing, it sets a flag which -causes a special signal, nearly the same as an error, to -happen at the next safe place in Lisp execution. This usually -has the effect of aborting the current command in a safe way. - -Because at times there have been bugs causing GNU Emacs to loop -without checking the quit flag, a special feature causes -GNU Emacs to be suspended immediately if you type a second C-g -while the flag is already set. So you can always get out -of GNU Emacs. Normally GNU Emacs recognizes and clears the quit flag -quickly enough to prevent this from happening. - -When you resume GNU Emacs after a suspension caused by multiple C-g, it -asks two questions before resuming execution: - Checkpoint? - Dump core? -Answer each one with `y' or `n' and a Return. - `y' to Checkpoint? causes immediate auto-saving of all - buffers in which auto-saving is enabled. - `y' to Dump core? causes an illegal instruction to be executed. - This is to enable a wizard to figure out why GNU Emacs was - looping without checking for quits. Execution does not continue - after a core dump. If you answer `n', execution continues. -With luck, GNU Emacs will ultimately check the quit flag, -and quit normally. If not, and you type another C-g, it -is suspended again. - -If GNU Emacs is not really hung, just slow, you may invoke -the double C-g feature without really meaning to. Then just -resume and answer `n' to both questions, and you will -arrive at your former state. Presumably the quit you -wanted will finish happening soon. - -These questions are not asked if you suspend GNU Emacs with the C-z -command. Continuing GNU Emacs after a C-z takes you straight back -into editing. - -*** Undoing with C-x u or C-_ - -You can undo many commands--up to 10,000 characters worth. -Each time you type C-x u or C-_, another command or batch of change -is undone. Undo information is stored per buffer, and the undo -command always applies to the current buffer. A numeric argument -serves as a repeat count. - -Consecutive self-inserting characters are undone in groups of twenty. - -*** Different character set. - -GNU Emacs does not expect anyone ever to have a keyboard in which -the Control key sets an independent bit which may accompany any -character. The only control characters that can exist are the -ASCII control characters. - -There is, as a result, no "control prefix" character. - -*** Control-h is the Help character. - -I'm amazed it took me so long to get this idea. In Twenex Emacs, C-h -and C-b are equivalent commands, making C-h redundant. C-h is not -only easy to type, it is mnemonic for "Help". So in GNU Emacs the -Help character is C-h. - -*** Completion is done by TAB, not ESC. - -ESC in the minibuffer is a Meta prefix, same as at top level. - -*** The string-argument reader is the minibuffer is an editor window. - -In GNU Emacs, the line at the bottom of the screen is the minibuffer. -Commands that want string arguments always use this line to read them, -and you can use the ordinary Emacs editing commands to edit the -input. You can terminate input with Return because Return is defined -as the exit-minibuffer command when in the minibuffer. If you -are using a command that needs several arguments, terminate each -one with Return. You cannot separate arguments with Escape -the way you would in Twenex Emacs. - -The minibuffer window does not overlay other editor windows; -it is a nearly ordinary editor window which lacks a mode line -and is "turned off" when not in use. While it IS in use, you -can switch windows to and from the minibuffer, kill text in other -windows and yank in the minibuffer, etc. - -You can even issue a command that uses the minibuffer while in the -minibuffer. This gets you temporarily into a recursive minibuffer. -However, this is allowed only if you enable it, since it could be -confusing for beginners. - -When you exit the minibuffer, the cursor immediately moves back to -column zero of the minibuffer line, to show you that the exit -command has been obeyed. The minibuffer contents remain on the screen -until the end of the command, unless some other text is displayed there. - -A single Control-g exits the minibuffer. - -*** There are no &'s or ^R's or spaces in function names. - -For example, the function which is called ^R Forward Word -in Twenex Emacs is called forward-word in GNU Emacs. - -*** The extension language is Lisp rather than TECO. - -Libraries must be written in Lisp. Meta-ESC reads a Lisp -expression, evaluates it, and prints the result. Note that -Meta-ESC is "disabled" by default, so that beginning users -do not get into the minibuffer by accident in a confusing way. - -Data types available include integers (which double as characters), -strings, symbols, lists, vectors, buffers, buffer pointers, -windows, and process channels. - -For now, to learn about writing Lisp code for GNU Emacs, read some of -the source code, which is in directory ../lisp. Read the GNU Emacs Lisp -Reference Manual. Also, all Lisp primitives have self-documentation you can -read with C-h f. - -*** Enabling the error handler. - -GNU Emacs has a Lisp debugger/stepper/trace package, but normally -errors do not enter the debugger because that is slow, and unlikely to -be of interest to most users. Set the variable debug-on-error to t to -cause errors to invoke the debugger. Set debug-on-quit to cause quit -signals (caused by C-g) to invoke the debugger. - -** Other changes. - -*** More than two windows are allowed. - -C-x 2 splits the current window into two windows, - one above the other. Initially they both display - the same buffer. - - C-x 2 now accepts a numeric argument to specify the number of - lines to give to the uppermost of the two windows it makes. - -C-x 0 kills the current window, making all others larger. -C-x 1 kills all windows except the current one. -C-x O switches to the next window down. - It rotates from the bottom one to the top one. - An argument serves as a repeat count; negative arguments - circulate in the reverse order. - -If the same buffer is displayed in several windows, -changes made in it are redisplayed in all of them. - -*** Side by side windows are supported. - -The command C-x 3 splits the current window into -two side-by-side windows. - -C-x } makes the selected window ARG columns wider at the -expense of the windows at its sides. C-x { makes the selected -window ARG columns narrower. An argument to C-x 5 specifies -how many columns to give to the leftmost of the two windows made. - -*** Horizontal scrolling of the lines in a window is implemented. - -C-x < (scroll-left) scrolls all displayed lines left, -with the numeric argument (default 1) saying how far to scroll. -When the window is scrolled left, some amount of the beginning -of each nonempty line is replaced by an "$". -C-x > scrolls right. If a window has no text hidden at the left -margin, it cannot be scrolled any farther right than that. -When nonzero leftwards scrolling is in effect in a window. -lines are automatically truncated at the window's right margin -regardless of the value of the variable truncate-lines in the -buffer being displayed. - -*** Return key does not use up empty lines. - -In Twenex Emacs, the Return command advances over an existing -empty line in some cases. In GNU Emacs, the Return command always -makes inserts a newline. Twenex Emacs was designed at a time when -most display terminals did not have the ability to scroll part -of the screen, and using existing empty lines made redisplay faster. -Nowadays, terminals that cannot scroll part of the screen are rare, -so there is no need to make Return behave in a more complicated manner. - -*** Help m. - -Typing C-h m displays documentation of the current major mode., -telling you what special commands and features are available -and how to use them or get more information on them. - -This is simply the documentation, as a function, of the -symbol which is the value of major-mode. Each major mode -function has been given documentation intended for C-h m. - -*** Display-hiding features. - -**** Hiding indented lines - -The command C-x $ with numeric argument N causes lines indented by N -or more columns to become invisible. All you see is " ..." appended -to the previous line, in place of any number of consecutive invisible -lines. - -**** Outline Mode. - -Outline mode is designed for editing outline-structured -files, such as this one. - -Headings should be lines starting with one or more asterisks. -Major headings have one asterisk, subheadings two, etc. -Lines not starting with asterisks are body text. - -You can make the body under a heading, or the subheadings -under a heading, temporarily invisible, or visible again. -Invisible lines are attached to the end of the previous line -so they go with it if you kill it and yank it back. - -Commands: -Meta-} next-visible-heading move by visible headings -Meta-{ previous-visible-heading move by visible headings - -Meta-x hide-body make all body text invisible (not headings). -Meta-x show-all make everything in buffer visible. - -The remaining commands are used when dot is on a heading line. -They apply to some of the body or subheadings of that heading. -C-c C-h hide-subtree make text and subheadings invisible. -C-c C-s show-subtree make text and subheadings visible. -C-c C-i show-children make direct subheadings visible. - No effect on body, or subheadings 2 or more levels down. - With arg N, affects subheadings N levels down. -M-x hide-entry make immediately following body invisible. -M-x show-entry make it visible. -M-x hide-leaves make text under heading and under its subheadings invisible. - The subheadings remain visible. -M-x show-branches make all subheadings at all levels visible. - -*** C mode is fancy. - -C mode assumes that you put the initial open-brace of -a function definition at the beginning of a line. -If you use the popular indenting style that puts this -open-brace at the end of a line containing a type declaration, -YOU WILL LOSE: C mode does not know a function starts there. - -Open-brace at the beginning of a line makes it possible -for C mode to find function boundaries with total reliability; -something I consider vital and which cannot be done -if the other style is used. - -The Tab command indents C code very cleverly. -I know of only one cases in which Tab does not indent C code nicely: - Expressions continued over several lines with few parentheses. - Tab does not know the precedences of C operators, so it does - not know which lines of the expression should go where. - Using parentheses to indicate the nesting of operators - except within a line makes this problem go away. - -The indenting algorithm is entirely written in Lisp. - -Tab with a numeric argument in Twenex Emacs indents -that many lines. It is different in GNU Emacs: it means -to shift all the lines of a bracketed expression by the -same amount as the line being indented. For example, if you have - if (foo) - { - hack (); - /** Well? */ - } -and type C-u Tab on the line with the open brace, you get - if (foo) - { - hack (); - /* Well? */ - } -from indenting the brace line and then shifting the -lines within the braces rigidly with the first one. - -Meta-Control-q works as in Lisp mode; it should be -used with dot just before a bracketed grouping, and -indents each line INSIDE that grouping using Tab. -If used instead of C-u Tab in the previous example, it makes - if (foo) - { - hack (); - /* Well? */ - } - -Meta-Control-h puts mark at the end of the current C function -and puts dot before it. - -Most other Meta-Control commands intended for Lisp expressions -work usefully in C mode as well. - -*** Meta-g (fill-region) is different. - -In Twenex Emacs, Meta-g fills the region with no paragraph -boundaries except for blank and indented lines. In GNU Emacs, -it divides the region into paragraphs in the same manner as -Meta-], and fills each paragraph separately. There is also -the function fill-region-as-paragraph which fills the region -regarding at as a single paragraph regardless even of blank -or indented lines. - -*** Indented Text Mode instead of Edit Indented Text. - -Twenex Emacs has a command Edit Indented Text which temporarily -alters some commands for editing indented paragraphs. -GNU Emacs has instead a separate major mode, Indented Text Mode, -which is different from ordinary Text Mode in just the same -alterations. Specifically, in Indented Text Mode, -Tab runs the function indent-relative, and auto filling indents -the newly created lines. - -*** But rectangle commands are implemented. - -C-x r r stores the rectangle described by dot and mark -into a register; it reads the register name from the keyboard. -C-x r g, the command to insert the contents of a register, -can be used to reinsert the rectangle elsewhere. - -Other rectangle commands include - open-rectangle: - insert a blank rectangle in the position and size - described by dot and mark, at its corners; - the existing text is pushed to the right. - clear-rectangle: - replace the rectangle described by dot ane mark - with blanks. The previous text is deleted. - delete-rectangle: - delete the text of the specified rectangle, - moving the text beyond it on each line leftward. - kill-rectangle - like delete-rectangle but also stores the text of - the rectangle in the "rectangle kill buffer". - More precisely, it stores the text as a list of strings - (one string for each line) in the variable killed-rectangle. - yank-rectangle - inserts the text of the last killed rectangle. - extract-rectangle and delete-extract-rectangle - these functions return the text of a rectangle - as a list of strings. They are for use in writing - other functions that operate on rectangles. - -*** Keyboard Macros - -The C-x ( command for defining a keyboard macro can in GNU Emacs -be given a numeric argument, which means that the new macro -starts out not empty but rather as the same as the last -keyboard macro entered. In addition, that last keyboard -macro is replayed when the C-x ( is typed. C-x ( with an -argument is thus equivalent to typing plain C-x ( and then -retyping the last keyboard macro entered. - -The command write-kbd-macro and append-kbd-macro can be used to -save a keyboard macro definition in a file. It is represented as -a Lisp expression which, when evaluated, will define the keyboard -macro. write-kbd-macro writes the specified file from scratch, -whereas append-kbd-macro adds to any existing text in the file. -Both expect the keyboard macro to be saved to be specified by -name; this means you must use the command name-last-kbd-macro to -give the macro a name before you can save it. - -*** The command to resume a terminated tags-search or tags-query-replace - -is Meta-comma in GNU Emacs. - -*** Auto Save is on by default. - -Auto Save mode is enabled by default in all buffers -that are visiting files. - -The file name used for auto saving is made by prepending -"#" to the file name visited. - -*** Backup files. - -Since Unix stupidly fails to have file version numbers, -GNU Emacs compensates slightly in the customary fashion: -when a file is modified and saved for the first time in -a particular GNU Emacs run, the original file is renamed, -appending "~" to its name. Thus, foo.c becomes foo.c~. - -Emacs can also put a version number into the name of the backup file, -as in foo.c.~69~ for version number 69. This is an optional feature -that the user has to enable. - -*** Mode Line differences. - -Each window in GNU Emacs has its own mode line, which always -displays the status of that window's buffer and nothing else. -The mode line appears at the bottom of the window. It is -full of dashes, to emphasize the boundaries between windows, -and is displayed in inverse video if the terminal supports it. -The information usually available includes: - -*** Local Modes feature changed slightly. - -GNU Emacs supports local mode lists much like those in Twenex Emacs, -but you can only set variables, not commands. You write - -Local variables: -tab-width: 10 -end: - -in the last page of a file, if you want to make tab-width be ten in a -file's buffer. The value you specify must be a Lisp object! -It will be read, but not evaluated. So, to specify a string, -you MUST use doublequotes. For "false", in variables whose -meanings are true or false, you MUST write nil . - -Two variable names are special: "mode" and "eval". -Mode is used for specifying the major mode (as in Twenex Emacs). - -mode: text - -specifies text mode. Eval is used for requesting the evaluation -of a Lisp expression; its value is ignored. Thus, - -eval: (set-syntax-table lisp-mode-syntax-table) - -causes Lisp Mode syntax to be used. - - -Note that GNU Emacs looks for the string "Local variables:" -whereas Twenex Emacs looks for "Local modes:". This incompatibility -id deliberate, so that neither one will see local settings -intended for the other. - -*** Lisp code libraries. - -Libraries of commands, and init files, are written in Lisp. -libraries conventionally have names ending in .el, while the -init file is named .emacs and is in your home directory. - -Use Meta-x load-library to load a library. Most standard libraries -load automatically if you try to use the commands in them. - -Meta-x byte-compile-file filename -compiles the file into byte code which loads and runs faster -than Lisp source code. The file of byte code is given a name -made by appending "c" to the end of the input file name. - -Meta-x byte-recompile-directory directoryname -compiles all files in the specified directory (globbing not allowed) -which have been compiled before but have been changed since then. - -Meta-x load-library automatically checks for a compiled file -before loading the source file. - -Libraries once loaded do not retain their identity within GNU -Emacs. Therefore, you cannot tell just what was loaded from a -library, and you cannot un-load a library. Normally, libraries -are written so that loading one has no effect on the editing -operations that you would have used if you had not loaded the -library. - -*** Dired features. - -You can do dired on partial directories --- any pattern -the shell can glob. Dired creates a buffer named after -the directory or pattern, so you can dired several different -directories. If you repeat dired on the same directory or -pattern, it just reselects the same buffer. Use Meta-x Revert -on that buffer to read in the current contents of the directory. - -*** Directory listing features. - -C-x C-d now uses the default output format of `ls', -which gives just file names in multiple columns. -C-u C-x C-d passes the -l switch to `ls'. - -Both read a directory spec from the minibuffer. It can -be any pattern that the shell can glob. - -*** Compiling other programs. - -Meta-x compile allows you to run make, or any other compilation -command, underneath GNU Emacs. Error messages go into a buffer whose -name is *compilation*. If you get error messages, you can use the -command C-x ` (that is a backquote) to find the text of the next -error message. - -You must specify the command to be run as an argument to M-x compile. -A default is placed in the minibuffer; you can kill it and start -fresh, edit it, or just type Return if it is what you want. -The default is the last compilation command you used; initially, -it is "make -k". - -*** Searching multiple files. - -Meta-x grep searches many files for a regexp by invoking grep -and reading the output of grep into a buffer. You can then -move to the text lines that grep found, using the C-x ` command -just as after M-x compile. - -*** Running inferior shells. - -Do Meta-x shell to make an inferior shell together with a buffer -which serves to hold "terminal" input and output of the shell. -The shell used is specified by the environment variable ESHELL, -or by SHELL if ESHELL is not set. - -Use C-h m whilst in the *shell* buffer to get more detailed info. - -The inferior shell loads the file .emacs_csh or.emacs_sh -(or similar using whatever name the shell has) when it starts up. - -M-! executes a shell command in an inferior shell -and displays the output from it. With a prefix argument, -it inserts the output in the current buffer after dot -and sets the mark after the output. The shell command -gets /dev/null as its standard input. - -M-| is like M-! but passes the contents of the region -as input to the shell command. A prefix argument makes -the output from the command replace the contents of the region. - -*** Sending mail. - -Once you enter Mail Mode using C-x m or C-x 4 m or M-x mail, -C-c becomes a prefix character for mail-related editing commands. -C-c C-s is vital; that's how you send the message. C-c C-c sends -and then switches buffers or kills the current window. -Use C-h m to get a list of the others. - -*** Regular expressions. - -GNU Emacs has regular expression facilities like those of most -Unix editors, but more powerful: - -**** -- + -- - -+ specifies repetition of the preceding expression 1 or more -times. It is in other respect like *, which specifies repetition -0 or more times. - -**** -- ? -- - -? is like * but matches at most one repetition of the preceding -expression. - -**** -- \| -- - -\| specifies an alternative. Two regular expressions A and B with \| in -between form an expression that matches anything that either A or B will -match. Thus, "foo\|bar" matches either "foo" or "bar" but no other -string. - -\| applies to the larges possible surrounding expressions. Only a -surrounding \( ... \) grouping can limit the grouping power of \|. - -Full backtracking capability exists when multiple \|'s are used. - -**** -- \( ... \) -- - -\( ... \) are a grouping construct that serves three purposes: - -1. To enclose a set of \| alternatives for other operations. - Thus, "\(foo\|bar\)x" matches either "foox" or "barx". -2. To enclose a complicated expression for * to operate on. - Thus, "ba\(na\)*" matches "bananana", etc., with any number - of na's (zero or more). -3. To mark a matched substring for future reference. - -Application 3 is not a consequence of the idea of a parenthetical -grouping; it is a separate feature which happens to be assigned as a -second meaning to the same \( ... \) construct because there is no -conflict in practice between the two meanings. Here is an explanation -of this feature. - - -- \digit -- - -After the end of a \( ... \) construct, the matcher remembers the -beginning and end of the text matched by that construct. Then, later on -in the regular expression, you can use \ followed by a digit to mean, -``match the same text matched this time by the \( ... \) construct.'' -The first nine \( ... \) constructs that appear in a regular expression -are assigned numbers 1 through 9 in order of their beginnings. \1 -through \9 can be used to refer to the text matched by the corresponding -\( ... \) construct. - -For example, "\(.*\)\1" matches any string that is composed of two -identical halves. The "\(.*\)" matches the first half, which can be -anything, but the \1 that follows must match the same exact text. - -**** -- \` -- - -Matches the empty string, but only if it is at the beginning of the buffer. - -**** -- \' -- - -Matches the empty string, but only if it is at the end of the buffer. - -**** -- \b -- - -Matches the empty string, but only if it is at the beginning or end of -a word. Thus, "\bfoo\b" matches any occurrence of "foo" as a separate word. -"\bball\(s\|\)\b" matches "ball" or "balls" as a separate word. - -**** -- \B -- - -Matches the empty string, provided it is NOT at the beginning or end of -a word. - -**** -- \< -- - -Matches the empty string, provided it is at the beginning of a word. - -**** -- \> -- - -Matches the empty string, provided it is at the end of a word. - -**** -- \w -- - -Matches any word-constituent character. The editor syntax table determines -which characters these are. - -**** -- \W -- - -Matches any character that is not a word-constituent. - -**** -- \s<code> -- - -Matches any character whose syntax is <code>. <code> is a letter that -represents a syntax code: thus, "w" for word constituent, "-" for -whitespace, "(" for open-parenthesis, etc. Thus, "\s(" matches any -character with open-parenthesis syntax. - -**** -- \S<code> -- - -Matches any character whose syntax is not <code>. - -* How is this Emacs different from Gosling Emacs? - -** Advantages of Gosling Emacs: - -1. The program itself is much smaller. -GNU Emacs uses about 250k more pure storage. -As a result, Gosling Emacs can run on machines -that cannot run GNU Emacs. There is not much difference -in the amount of impure storage in the two programs. - -2. In some versions there is support for other forks to -establish communications channels to Emacs (using sockets?). - -3. There is a direct interface to dbm (data bases). - -** Advantages of GNU Emacs: - -*** True Lisp, not Mocklisp. - -GNU Emacs's extension language has real symbols, lists -and vectors. Many extensions are much simpler, and some -become possible that were nearly impossible in Gosling Emacs. -Many primitives can have cleaner interfaces, and some features -need not be put in as special primitives because you can do -them easily yourself. - -*** But Mocklisp still works. - -An automatic conversion package plus a run-time library -allows you to convert a Mocklisp library into a Lisp library. - -*** Commands are better crafted. - -For example, nearly every editing function for which a -numeric argument would make sense as a repeat count does -accept a repeat count, and does handle a negative argument -in the way you would expect. - -*** The manual is clearer. - -Everyone tells me it is a very good manual. - -*** Better on-line documentation. - -Both functions and variables have documentation strings that -describe exactly how to use them. - -*** C mode is smart. - -It really knows how to indent each line correctly, -for most popular indentation styles. (Some variables -control which style is used; popular named styles are also supported.) - -*** Compatible with PDP-10 Emacs, Multics Emacs and Zmacs. - -The commands in GNU Emacs are nearly the same as in the -original Emacs and the other Emacses which imitated it. -(A few have been changed to fit the Unix environment better.) - -*** Support for Gosling's Emacs commands. - -M-x set-gosmacs-bindings rebinds many editing commands for -compatibility with Gosling's Emacs. -M-x set-gnu-bindings reverses the change. - -*** Side-by-side windows. - -You can split a GNU Emacs window either horizontally or -vertically. - -*** Redisplay is faster. - -GNU Emacs sends about the same stuff to the terminal that -Gosling's does, but GNU Emacs uses much less CPU time to -decide what to do. - -*** Entirely termcap-driven. - -GNU Emacs has nearly no special code for any terminal type. Various -new termcap strings make it possible to handle all terminals nearly as -fast as they could be handled by special-case code. - -*** Display-hiding features. - -For example, Outline Mode makes it possible for you to edit -an outline, making entire sub-branches of the outline visible -or invisible when you wish. - -*** You can interrupt with Control-G. - -Even a looping Lisp program can be stopped this way. -And even a loop in C code does not stop you from killing -Emacs and getting back to your shell. - -*** Per-buffer Undo. - -You can undo the last several changes, in each buffer -independently. - -*** The editor code itself is clean. - -Many people have remarked on how much they enjoy reading -the code for GNU Emacs. - -One other note: The program etc/cvtmail that comes with GNU Emacs can -be used to convert a mail directory for Gosling Emacs's Rmail into a -Unix mail file that you could read into GNU Emacs's Rmail. - -* How is this Emacs different from CCA Emacs? - -** GNU Emacs Lisp vs CCA Elisp. - -GNU Emacs Lisp does not have a distinction between Lisp functions -and Emacs functions, or between Lisp variables and Emacs variables. -The Lisp and the editor are integrated. A Lisp function defined -with defun is callable as an editor command if you put an -interactive calling spec in it; for example, - (defun forward-character (n) - (interactive "p") - (goto-char (+ (point) n))) -defines a function of one argument that moves point forward by -a specified number of characters. Programs could call this function, -as in (forward-character 6), or it could be assigned to a key, -in which case the "p" says to pass the prefix numeric arg as -the function's argument. As a result of this feature, you often -need not have two different functions, one to be called by programs -and another to read arguments from the user conveniently; the same -function can do both. - -CCA Elisp tries to be a subset of Common Lisp and tries to -have as many Common Lisp functions as possible (though it is still -only a small fraction of full Common Lisp). GNU Emacs Lisp -is somewhat similar to Common Lisp just because of my Maclisp -and Lisp Machine background, but it has several distinct incompatibilities -in both syntax and semantics. Also, I have not attempted to -provide many Common Lisp functions that you could write in Lisp, -or others that provide no new capability in the circumstances. - -GNU Emacs Lisp does not have packages, readtables, or character objects -(it uses integers to represent characters). - -On the other hand, windows, buffers, relocatable markers and processes -are first class objects in GNU Emacs Lisp. You can get information about them -and do things to them in a Lispy fashion. Not so in CCA Emacs. - -In GNU Emacs Lisp, you cannot open a file and read or write characters -or Lisp objects from it. This feature is painful to support, and -is not fundamentally necessary in an Emacs, because instead you -can read the file into a buffer, read or write characters or -Lisp objects in the buffer, and then write the buffer into the file. - -On the other hand, GNU Emacs Lisp does allow you to rename, delete, add -names to, and copy files; also to find out whether a file is a -directory, whether it is a symbolic link and to what name, whether -you can read it or write it, find out its directory component, -expand a relative pathname, find completions of a file name, etc., -which you cannot do in CCA Elisp. - -GNU Emacs Lisp uses dynamic scope exclusively. This enables you to -bind variables which affect the execution of the editor, such as -indent-tabs-mode. - -GNU Emacs Lisp code is normally compiled into byte code. Most of the -standard editing commands are written in Lisp, and many are -dumped, pure, in the Emacs that users normally run. - -GNU Emacs allows you to interrupt a runaway Lisp program with -Control-g. - -** GNU Emacs Editing Advantages - -GNU Emacs is faster for many things, especially insertion of text -and file I/O. - -GNU Emacs allows you to undo more than just the last command -with the undo command (C-x u, or C-_). You can undo quite a ways back. -Undo information is separate for each buffer; changes in one buffer -do not affect your ability to undo in another buffer. - -GNU Emacs commands that want to display some output do so by putting -it in a buffer and displaying that buffer in a window. This -technique comes from Gosling Emacs. It has both advantages and -disadvantages when compared with the technique, copied by CCA Emacs -from my original Emacs which inherited it from TECO, of having "type -out" which appears on top of the text in the current window but -disappears automatically at the next input character. - -GNU Emacs does not use the concept of "subsystems". Instead, it uses -highly specialized major modes. For example, dired in GNU Emacs has -the same commands as dired does in other versions of Emacs, give or -take a few, but it is a major mode, not a subsystem. The advantage -of this is that you do not have to "exit" from dired and lose the -state of dired in order to edit files again. You can simply switch -to another buffer, and switch back to the dired buffer later. You -can also have several dired buffers, looking at different directories. - -It is still possible to write a subsystem--your own command loop-- -in GNU Emacs, but it is not recommended, since writing a major mode -for a special buffer is better. - -Recursive edits are also rarely used, for the same reason: it is better -to make a new buffer and put it in a special major mode. Sending -mail is done this way. - -GNU Emacs expects everyone to use find-file (C-x C-f) for reading -in files; its C-x C-v command kills the current buffer and then finds -the specified file. - -As a result, users do not need to think about the complexities -of subsystems, recursive edits, and various ways to read in files -or what to do if a buffer contains changes to some other file. - -GNU Emacs uses its own format of tag table, made by the "etags" -program. This format makes finding a tag much faster. - -Dissociated Press is supported. - - -** GNU Emacs Editing Disadvantages. - -GNU Emacs does not display the location of the mark. - -GNU Emacs does not have a concept of numbers of buffers, -or a permanent ordering of buffers, or searching through multiple -buffers. The tags-search command provides a way to search -through several buffers automatically. - -GNU Emacs does not provide commands to visit files without -setting the buffer's default directory. Users can write such -commands in Lisp by copying the code of the standard file -visiting commands and modifying them. - -GNU Emacs does not support "plus options" in the command -arguments or in buffer-selection commands, except for line numbers. - -GNU Emacs does not support encryption. Down with security! - -GNU Emacs does not support replaying keystroke files, -and does not normally write keystroke files. - - -** Neutral Differences - -GNU Emacs uses TAB, not ESC, to complete file names, buffer names, -command names, etc. - -GNU Emacs uses LFD to terminate searches, instead of -the C-d uses by CCA Emacs. (Actually, this character is controlled -by a parameter in GNU Emacs.) C-M-s in GNU Emacs is an interactive -regular expression search, but you can get to a noninteractive -one by typing ESC right after the C-M-s. - -In GNU Emacs, C-x s asks, for each modified file buffer, whether -to save it. - -GNU Emacs indicates line continuation with "\" and line -truncation (at either margin) with "$". - -The command to resume a tags-search or tags-query-replace in -GNU Emacs is Meta-Comma. - -arch-tag: e5a3da2f-f13d-400e-95e2-b6e1a520af90