GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual

GNU Emacs Version 19

for Unix Users

Revision 2.4.2, December 1996

by Bil Lewis, Dan LaLiberte, Richard Stallman

and the GNU Manual Group

GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
- Preamble
- TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING, DISTRIBUTION AND MODIFICATION
- How to Apply These Terms to Your New Programs
Introduction
- Caveats
- Lisp History
- Conventions
- Acknowledgements
Lisp Data Types
- Printed Representation and Read Syntax
- Comments
- Programming Types
- Editing Types
- Type Predicates
- Equality Predicates
Numbers
- Integer Basics
- Floating Point Basics
- Type Predicates for Numbers
- Comparison of Numbers
- Numeric Conversions
- Arithmetic Operations
- Rounding Operations
- Bitwise Operations on Integers
- Standard Mathematical Functions
- Random Numbers
Strings and Characters
- String and Character Basics
- The Predicates for Strings
- Creating Strings
- Comparison of Characters and Strings
- Conversion of Characters and Strings
- Formatting Strings
- Character Case
- The Case Table
Lists
- Lists and Cons Cells
- Lists as Linked Pairs of Boxes
- Predicates on Lists
- Accessing Elements of Lists
- Building Cons Cells and Lists
- Modifying Existing List Structure
- Using Lists as Sets
- Association Lists
Sequences, Arrays, and Vectors
- Sequences
- Arrays
- Functions that Operate on Arrays
- Vectors
- Functions That Operate on Vectors
Symbols
- Symbol Components
- Defining Symbols
- Creating and Interning Symbols
- Property Lists
Evaluation
- Eval
- Kinds of Forms
- Quoting
Control Structures
- Sequencing
- Conditionals
- Constructs for Combining Conditions
- Iteration
- Nonlocal Exits
Variables
- Global Variables
- Variables That Never Change
- Local Variables
- When a Variable is "Void"
- Defining Global Variables
- Tips for Defining Variables Robustly
- Accessing Variable Values
- How to Alter a Variable Value
- Scoping Rules for Variable Bindings
- Buffer-Local Variables
Functions
- What Is a Function?
- Lambda Expressions
- Naming a Function
- Defining Functions
- Calling Functions
- Mapping Functions
- Anonymous Functions
- Accessing Function Cell Contents
- Inline Functions
- Other Topics Related to Functions
Macros
- A Simple Example of a Macro
- Expansion of a Macro Call
- Macros and Byte Compilation
- Defining Macros
- Backquote
- Common Problems Using Macros
Loading
- How Programs Do Loading
- Autoload
- Repeated Loading
- Features
- Unloading
- Hooks for Loading
Byte Compilation
- Performance of Byte-Compiled Code
- The Compilation Functions
- Documentation Strings and Compilation
- Dynamic Loading of Individual Functions
- Evaluation During Compilation
- Byte-Code Function Objects
- Disassembled Byte-Code
Debugging Lisp Programs
- The Lisp Debugger
- Debugging Invalid Lisp Syntax
  - Excess Open Parentheses
  - Excess Close Parentheses
- Debugging Problems in Compilation
- Edebug
Reading and Printing Lisp Objects
- Introduction to Reading and Printing
- Input Streams
- Input Functions
- Output Streams
- Output Functions
- Variables Affecting Output
Minibuffers
- Introduction to Minibuffers
- Reading Text Strings with the Minibuffer
- Reading Lisp Objects with the Minibuffer
- Minibuffer History
- Completion
- Yes-or-No Queries
- Asking Multiple Y-or-N Questions
- Minibuffer Miscellany
Command Loop
- Command Loop Overview
- Defining Commands
- Interactive Call
- Information from the Command Loop
- Input Events
- Reading Input
- Waiting for Elapsed Time or Input
- Quitting
- Prefix Command Arguments
- Recursive Editing
- Disabling Commands
- Command History
- Keyboard Macros
Keymaps
- Keymap Terminology
- Format of Keymaps
- Creating Keymaps
- Inheritance and Keymaps
- Prefix Keys
- Active Keymaps
- Key Lookup
- Functions for Key Lookup
- Changing Key Bindings
- Commands for Binding Keys
- Scanning Keymaps
- Menu Keymaps
Major and Minor Modes
- Major Modes
- Minor Modes
  - Conventions for Writing Minor Modes
  - Keymaps and Minor Modes
- Mode Line Format
- Hooks
Documentation
- Documentation Basics
- Access to Documentation Strings
- Substituting Key Bindings in Documentation
- Describing Characters for Help Messages
- Help Functions
Files
- Visiting Files
  - Functions for Visiting Files
  - Subroutines of Visiting
- Saving Buffers
- Reading from Files
- Writing to Files
- File Locks
- Information about Files
- Changing File Names and Attributes
- File Names
- Contents of Directories
- Creating and Deleting Directories
- Making Certain File Names "Magic"
- File Format Conversion
- Files and MS-DOS
Backups and Auto-Saving
- Backup Files
- Auto-Saving
- Reverting
Buffers
- Buffer Basics
- The Current Buffer
- Buffer Names
- Buffer File Name
- Buffer Modification
- Comparison of Modification Time
- Read-Only Buffers
- The Buffer List
- Creating Buffers
- Killing Buffers
- Indirect Buffers
Windows
- Basic Concepts of Emacs Windows
- Splitting Windows
- Deleting Windows
- Selecting Windows
- Cyclic Ordering of Windows
- Buffers and Windows
- Displaying Buffers in Windows
- Choosing a Window for Display
- Windows and Point
- The Window Start Position
- Vertical Scrolling
- Hooks for Vertical Scrolling
- Horizontal Scrolling
- The Size of a Window
- Changing the Size of a Window
- Coordinates and Windows
- Window Configurations
Frames
- Creating Frames
- Multiple Displays
- Frame Parameters
  - Access to Frame Parameters
  - Initial Frame Parameters
  - X Window Frame Parameters
  - Frame Size And Position
- Frame Titles
- Deleting Frames
- Finding All Frames
- Frames and Windows
- Minibuffers and Frames
- Input Focus
- Visibility of Frames
- Raising and Lowering Frames
- Frame Configurations
- Mouse Tracking
- Mouse Position
- Pop-Up Menus
- Dialog Boxes
- Pointer Shapes
- X Selections
- Color Names
- X Resources
- Data about the X Server
Positions
- Point
- Motion
- Excursions
- Narrowing
Markers
- Overview of Markers
- Predicates on Markers
- Functions That Create Markers
- Information from Markers
- Changing Marker Positions
- The Mark
- The Region
Text
- Examining Text Near Point
- Examining Buffer Contents
- Comparing Text
- Inserting Text
- User-Level Insertion Commands
- Deleting Text
- User-Level Deletion Commands
- The Kill Ring
  - Kill Ring Concepts
  - Functions for Killing
  - Functions for Yanking
  - Low-Level Kill Ring
  - Internals of the Kill Ring
- Undo
- Maintaining Undo Lists
- Filling
- Margins for Filling
- Auto Filling
- Sorting Text
- Counting Columns
- Indentation
  - Indentation Primitives
  - Indentation Controlled by Major Mode
  - Indenting an Entire Region
  - Indentation Relative to Previous Lines
  - Adjustable "Tab Stops"
  - Indentation-Based Motion Commands
- Case Changes
- Text Properties
  - Examining Text Properties
  - Changing Text Properties
  - Property Search Functions
  - Properties with Special Meanings
  - Formatted Text Properties
  - Stickiness of Text Properties
  - Saving Text Properties in Files
  - Lazy Computation of Text Properties
  - Why Text Properties are not Intervals
- Substituting for a Character Code
- Registers
- Transposition of Text
- Change Hooks
Searching and Matching
- Searching for Strings
- Regular Expressions
  - Syntax of Regular Expressions
  - Complex Regexp Example
- Regular Expression Searching
- POSIX Regular Expression Searching
- Search and Replace
- The Match Data
- Searching and Case
- Standard Regular Expressions Used in Editing
Syntax Tables
- Syntax Table Concepts
- Syntax Descriptors
  - Table of Syntax Classes
  - Syntax Flags
- Syntax Table Functions
- Motion and Syntax
- Parsing Balanced Expressions
- Some Standard Syntax Tables
- Syntax Table Internals
Abbrevs And Abbrev Expansion
- Setting Up Abbrev Mode
- Abbrev Tables
- Defining Abbrevs
- Saving Abbrevs in Files
- Looking Up and Expanding Abbreviations
- Standard Abbrev Tables
Processes
- Functions that Create Subprocesses
- Creating a Synchronous Process
- MS-DOS Subprocesses
- Creating an Asynchronous Process
- Deleting Processes
- Process Information
- Sending Input to Processes
- Sending Signals to Processes
- Receiving Output from Processes
- Sentinels: Detecting Process Status Changes
- Transaction Queues
- Network Connections
Operating System Interface
- Starting Up Emacs
- Getting Out of Emacs
  - Killing Emacs
  - Suspending Emacs
- Operating System Environment
- User Identification
- Time of Day
- Time Conversion
- Timers for Delayed Execution
- Terminal Input
- Terminal Output
- System-Specific X11 Keysyms
- Flow Control
- Batch Mode
Emacs Display
- Refreshing the Screen
- Screen Size
- Truncation
- The Echo Area
- Invisible Text
- Selective Display
- The Overlay Arrow
- Temporary Displays
- Overlays
  - Overlay Properties
  - Managing Overlays
- Faces
- Blinking Parentheses
- Inverse Video
- Usual Display Conventions
- Display Tables
- Beeping
- Window Systems
Customizing the Calendar and Diary
- Customizing the Calendar
- Customizing the Holidays
- Date Display Format
- Time Display Format
- Daylight Savings Time
- Customizing the Diary
- Hebrew- and Islamic-Date Diary Entries
- Fancy Diary Display
- Sexp Entries and the Fancy Diary Display
- Customizing Appointment Reminders
Tips and Standards
- Writing Clean Lisp Programs
- Tips for Making Compiled Code Fast
- Tips for Documentation Strings
- Tips on Writing Comments
- Conventional Headers for Emacs Libraries
GNU Emacs Internals
- Building Emacs
- Pure Storage
- Garbage Collection
- Writing Emacs Primitives
- Object Internals
Standard Errors
Buffer-Local Variables
Standard Keymaps
Standard Hooks
Index

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