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[emacs.git] / lisp / eshell / eshell.el
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1 ;;; eshell.el --- the Emacs command shell -*- lexical-binding:t -*-
3 ;; Copyright (C) 1999-2015 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
5 ;; Author: John Wiegley <johnw@gnu.org>
6 ;; Version: 2.4.2
7 ;; Keywords: processes
9 ;; This file is part of GNU Emacs.
11 ;; GNU Emacs is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
12 ;; it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
13 ;; the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
14 ;; (at your option) any later version.
16 ;; GNU Emacs is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
17 ;; but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
18 ;; MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
19 ;; GNU General Public License for more details.
21 ;; You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
22 ;; along with GNU Emacs. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
24 ;;; Commentary:
26 ;;;_* What does Eshell offer you?
28 ;; Despite the sheer fact that running an Emacs shell can be fun, here
29 ;; are a few of the unique features offered by Eshell:
31 ;; @ Integration with the Emacs Lisp programming environment
33 ;; @ A high degree of configurability
35 ;; @ The ability to have the same shell on every system Emacs has been
36 ;; ported to. Since Eshell imposes no external requirements, and
37 ;; relies upon only the Lisp functions exposed by Emacs, it is quite
38 ;; operating system independent. Several of the common UNIX
39 ;; commands, such as ls, mv, rm, ln, etc., have been implemented in
40 ;; Lisp in order to provide a more consistent work environment.
42 ;; For those who might be using an older version of Eshell, version
43 ;; 2.1 represents an entirely new, module-based architecture. It
44 ;; supports most of the features offered by modern shells. Here is a
45 ;; brief list of some of its more visible features:
47 ;; @ Command argument completion (tcsh, zsh)
48 ;; @ Input history management (bash)
49 ;; @ Intelligent output scrolling
50 ;; @ Pseudo-devices (such as "/dev/clip" for copying to the clipboard)
51 ;; @ Extended globbing (zsh)
52 ;; @ Argument and globbing predication (zsh)
53 ;; @ I/O redirection to buffers, files, symbols, processes, etc.
54 ;; @ Many niceties otherwise seen only in 4DOS
55 ;; @ Alias functions, both Lisp and Eshell-syntax
56 ;; @ Piping, sequenced commands, background jobs, etc...
58 ;;;_* How to begin
60 ;; To start using Eshell, simply type `M-x eshell'.
62 ;;;_* Philosophy
64 ;; A shell is a layer which metaphorically surrounds the kernel, or
65 ;; heart of an operating system. This kernel can be seen as an engine
66 ;; of pure functionality, waiting to serve, while the user programs
67 ;; take advantage of that functionality to accomplish their purpose.
69 ;; The shell's role is to make that functionality accessible to the
70 ;; user in an unformed state. Very roughly, it associates kernel
71 ;; functionality with textual commands, allowing the user to interact
72 ;; with the operating system via linguistic constructs. Process
73 ;; invocation is perhaps the most significant form this takes, using
74 ;; the kernel's `fork' and `exec' functions.
76 ;; Other programs also interact with the functionality of the kernel,
77 ;; but these user applications typically offer a specific range of
78 ;; functionality, and thus are not classed as "shells" proper.
79 ;; (What they lose in quiddity, they gain in rigidity).
81 ;; Emacs is also a user application, but it does make the
82 ;; functionality of the kernel accessible through an interpreted
83 ;; language -- namely, Lisp. For that reason, there is little
84 ;; preventing Emacs from serving the same role as a modern shell. It
85 ;; too can manipulate the kernel in an unpredetermined way to cause
86 ;; system changes. All it's missing is the shell-ish linguistic
87 ;; model.
89 ;; Enter Eshell. Eshell translates "shell-like" syntax into Lisp
90 ;; in order to exercise the kernel in the same manner as typical
91 ;; system shells. There is a fundamental difference here, however,
92 ;; although it may seem subtle at first...
94 ;; Shells like csh and Bourne shell were written several decades ago,
95 ;; in different times, under more restrictive circumstances. This
96 ;; confined perspective shows itself in the paradigm used by nearly
97 ;; all command-line shells since. They are linear in conception, byte
98 ;; stream-based, sequential, and confined to movement within a single
99 ;; host machine.
101 ;; Emacs, on the other hand, is more than just a limited translator
102 ;; that can invoke subprocesses and redirect file handles. It also
103 ;; manages character buffers, windowing frames, network connections,
104 ;; registers, bookmarks, processes, etc. In other words, it's a very
105 ;; multi-dimensional environment, within which eshell emulates a highly
106 ;; linear methodology.
108 ;; Taking a moment, let's look at how this could affect the future of
109 ;; a shell allowed to develop in such a wider field of play:
111 ;; @ There is no reason why directory movement should be linear, and
112 ;; confined to a single file-system. Emacs, through w3 and ange-ftp,
113 ;; has access to the entire Web. Why not allow a user to cd to
114 ;; multiple directories simultaneously, for example? It might make
115 ;; some tasks easier, such as diff'ing files separated by very long
116 ;; pathnames.
118 ;; @ Data sources are available from anywhere Emacs can derive
119 ;; information from: not just from files or the output of other
120 ;; processes.
122 ;; @ Multiple shell invocations all share the same environment -- even
123 ;; the same process list! It would be possible to have "process
124 ;; views", so that one buffer is watching standard output, another
125 ;; standard error, and another the result of standard output grep'd
126 ;; through a regular expression...
128 ;; @ It is not necessary to "leave" the shell, losing all input and
129 ;; output history, environment variables, directory stack, etc.
130 ;; Emacs could save the contents of your eshell environment, and
131 ;; restore all of it (or at least as much as possible) each time you
132 ;; restart. This could occur automatically, without requiring
133 ;; complex initialization scripts.
135 ;; @ Typos occur all of the time; many of them are repeats of common
136 ;; errors, such as 'dri' for `dir'. Since executing non-existent
137 ;; programs is rarely the intention of the user, eshell could prompt
138 ;; for the replacement string, and then record that in a database of
139 ;; known misspellings. (Note: The typo at the beginning of this
140 ;; paragraph wasn't discovered until two months after I wrote the
141 ;; text; it was not intentional).
143 ;; @ Emacs's register and bookmarking facilities can be used for
144 ;; remembering where you've been, and what you've seen -- to varying
145 ;; levels of persistence. They could perhaps even be tied to
146 ;; specific "moments" during eshell execution, which would include
147 ;; the environment at that time, as well as other variables.
148 ;; Although this would require functionality orthogonal to Emacs's
149 ;; own bookmarking facilities, the interface used could be made to
150 ;; operate very similarly.
152 ;; This presents a brief idea of what the fuller dimensionality of an
153 ;; Emacs shell could offer. It's not just the language of a shell
154 ;; that determines how it's used, but also the Weltanschauung
155 ;; underlying its design -- and which is felt behind even the smallest
156 ;; feature. I would hope the freedom provided by using Emacs as a
157 ;; parent environment will invite rich ideas from others. It
158 ;; certainly feels as though all I've done so far is to tie down the
159 ;; horse, so to speak, so that he will run at a man's pace.
161 ;;;_* Influences
163 ;; The author of Eshell has been a long-time user of the following
164 ;; shells, all of which contributed to Eshell's design:
166 ;; @ rc
167 ;; @ bash
168 ;; @ zsh
169 ;; @ sh
170 ;; @ 4nt
171 ;; @ csh
173 ;;; Code:
175 (eval-when-compile
176 (require 'cl-lib))
177 (require 'esh-util)
178 (require 'esh-mode)
180 (defgroup eshell nil
181 "Command shell implemented entirely in Emacs Lisp.
182 It invokes no external processes beyond those requested by the
183 user, and is intended to be a functional replacement for command
184 shells such as bash, zsh, rc, 4dos."
185 :link '(info-link "(eshell)Top")
186 :version "21.1"
187 :group 'applications)
189 ;;;_* User Options
191 ;; The following user options modify the behavior of Eshell overall.
192 (defvar eshell-buffer-name)
194 (defun eshell-add-to-window-buffer-names ()
195 "Add `eshell-buffer-name' to `same-window-buffer-names'."
196 (declare (obsolete nil "24.3"))
197 (add-to-list 'same-window-buffer-names eshell-buffer-name))
199 (defun eshell-remove-from-window-buffer-names ()
200 "Remove `eshell-buffer-name' from `same-window-buffer-names'."
201 (declare (obsolete nil "24.3"))
202 (setq same-window-buffer-names
203 (delete eshell-buffer-name same-window-buffer-names)))
205 (defcustom eshell-load-hook nil
206 "A hook run once Eshell has been loaded."
207 :type 'hook
208 :group 'eshell)
210 (defcustom eshell-unload-hook '(eshell-unload-all-modules)
211 "A hook run when Eshell is unloaded from memory."
212 :type 'hook
213 :group 'eshell)
215 (defcustom eshell-buffer-name "*eshell*"
216 "The basename used for Eshell buffers."
217 :type 'string
218 :group 'eshell)
220 (defcustom eshell-directory-name
221 (locate-user-emacs-file "eshell/" ".eshell/")
222 "The directory where Eshell control files should be kept."
223 :type 'directory
224 :group 'eshell)
226 ;;;_* Running Eshell
228 ;; There are only three commands used to invoke Eshell. The first two
229 ;; are intended for interactive use, while the third is meant for
230 ;; programmers. They are:
232 ;;;###autoload
233 (defun eshell (&optional arg)
234 "Create an interactive Eshell buffer.
235 The buffer used for Eshell sessions is determined by the value of
236 `eshell-buffer-name'. If there is already an Eshell session active in
237 that buffer, Emacs will simply switch to it. Otherwise, a new session
238 will begin. A numeric prefix arg (as in `C-u 42 M-x eshell RET')
239 switches to the session with that number, creating it if necessary. A
240 nonnumeric prefix arg means to create a new session. Returns the
241 buffer selected (or created)."
242 (interactive "P")
243 (cl-assert eshell-buffer-name)
244 (let ((buf (cond ((numberp arg)
245 (get-buffer-create (format "%s<%d>"
246 eshell-buffer-name
247 arg)))
248 (arg
249 (generate-new-buffer eshell-buffer-name))
251 (get-buffer-create eshell-buffer-name)))))
252 (cl-assert (and buf (buffer-live-p buf)))
253 (pop-to-buffer-same-window buf)
254 (unless (derived-mode-p 'eshell-mode)
255 (eshell-mode))
256 buf))
258 (defun eshell-return-exits-minibuffer ()
259 (define-key eshell-mode-map [(control ?g)] 'abort-recursive-edit)
260 (define-key eshell-mode-map [return] 'exit-minibuffer)
261 (define-key eshell-mode-map [(control ?m)] 'exit-minibuffer)
262 (define-key eshell-mode-map [(control ?j)] 'exit-minibuffer)
263 (define-key eshell-mode-map [(meta return)] 'exit-minibuffer)
264 (define-key eshell-mode-map [(meta control ?m)] 'exit-minibuffer))
266 (defvar eshell-non-interactive-p nil
267 "A variable which is non-nil when Eshell is not running interactively.
268 Modules should use this variable so that they don't clutter
269 non-interactive sessions, such as when using `eshell-command'.")
271 (declare-function eshell-add-input-to-history "em-hist" (input))
273 ;;;###autoload
274 (defun eshell-command (&optional command arg)
275 "Execute the Eshell command string COMMAND.
276 With prefix ARG, insert output into the current buffer at point."
277 (interactive)
278 (require 'esh-cmd)
279 (unless arg
280 (setq arg current-prefix-arg))
281 (let ((eshell-non-interactive-p t))
282 ;; Enable `eshell-mode' only in this minibuffer.
283 (minibuffer-with-setup-hook #'(lambda ()
284 (eshell-mode)
285 (eshell-return-exits-minibuffer))
286 (unless command
287 (setq command (read-from-minibuffer "Emacs shell command: "))
288 (if (eshell-using-module 'eshell-hist)
289 (eshell-add-input-to-history command)))))
290 (unless command
291 (error "No command specified!"))
292 ;; redirection into the current buffer is achieved by adding an
293 ;; output redirection to the end of the command, of the form
294 ;; 'COMMAND >>> #<buffer BUFFER>'. This will not interfere with
295 ;; other redirections, since multiple redirections merely cause the
296 ;; output to be copied to multiple target locations
297 (if arg
298 (setq command
299 (concat command
300 (format " >>> #<buffer %s>"
301 (buffer-name (current-buffer))))))
302 (save-excursion
303 (let ((buf (set-buffer (generate-new-buffer " *eshell cmd*")))
304 (eshell-non-interactive-p t))
305 (eshell-mode)
306 (let* ((proc (eshell-eval-command
307 (list 'eshell-commands
308 (eshell-parse-command command))))
309 intr
310 (bufname (if (and proc (listp proc))
311 "*EShell Async Command Output*"
312 (setq intr t)
313 "*EShell Command Output*")))
314 (if (buffer-live-p (get-buffer bufname))
315 (kill-buffer bufname))
316 (rename-buffer bufname)
317 ;; things get a little coarse here, since the desire is to
318 ;; make the output as attractive as possible, with no
319 ;; extraneous newlines
320 (when intr
321 (if (eshell-interactive-process)
322 (eshell-wait-for-process (eshell-interactive-process)))
323 (cl-assert (not (eshell-interactive-process)))
324 (goto-char (point-max))
325 (while (and (bolp) (not (bobp)))
326 (delete-char -1)))
327 (cl-assert (and buf (buffer-live-p buf)))
328 (unless arg
329 (let ((len (if (not intr) 2
330 (count-lines (point-min) (point-max)))))
331 (cond
332 ((= len 0)
333 (message "(There was no command output)")
334 (kill-buffer buf))
335 ((= len 1)
336 (message "%s" (buffer-string))
337 (kill-buffer buf))
339 (save-selected-window
340 (select-window (display-buffer buf))
341 (goto-char (point-min))
342 ;; cause the output buffer to take up as little screen
343 ;; real-estate as possible, if temp buffer resizing is
344 ;; enabled
345 (and intr temp-buffer-resize-mode
346 (resize-temp-buffer-window)))))))))))
348 ;;;###autoload
349 (defun eshell-command-result (command &optional status-var)
350 "Execute the given Eshell COMMAND, and return the result.
351 The result might be any Lisp object.
352 If STATUS-VAR is a symbol, it will be set to the exit status of the
353 command. This is the only way to determine whether the value returned
354 corresponding to a successful execution."
355 ;; a null command produces a null, successful result
356 (if (not command)
357 (ignore
358 (if (and status-var (symbolp status-var))
359 (set status-var 0)))
360 (with-temp-buffer
361 (let ((eshell-non-interactive-p t))
362 (eshell-mode)
363 (let ((result (eshell-do-eval
364 (list 'eshell-commands
365 (list 'eshell-command-to-value
366 (eshell-parse-command command))) t)))
367 (cl-assert (eq (car result) 'quote))
368 (if (and status-var (symbolp status-var))
369 (set status-var eshell-last-command-status))
370 (cadr result))))))
372 ;;;_* Reporting bugs
374 ;; If you do encounter a bug, on any system, please report
375 ;; it -- in addition to any particular oddities in your configuration
376 ;; -- so that the problem may be corrected for the benefit of others.
378 ;;;###autoload
379 (define-obsolete-function-alias 'eshell-report-bug 'report-emacs-bug "23.1")
381 ;;; Code:
383 (defun eshell-unload-all-modules ()
384 "Unload all modules that were loaded by Eshell, if possible.
385 If the user has require'd in any of the modules, or customized a
386 variable with a :require tag (such as `eshell-prefer-to-shell'), it
387 will be impossible to unload Eshell completely without restarting
388 Emacs."
389 ;; if the user set `eshell-prefer-to-shell' to t, but never loaded
390 ;; Eshell, then `eshell-subgroups' will be unbound
391 (when (fboundp 'eshell-subgroups)
392 (dolist (module (eshell-subgroups 'eshell))
393 ;; this really only unloads as many modules as possible,
394 ;; since other `require' references (such as by customizing
395 ;; `eshell-prefer-to-shell' to a non-nil value) might make it
396 ;; impossible to unload Eshell completely
397 (if (featurep module)
398 (ignore-errors
399 (message "Unloading %s..." (symbol-name module))
400 (unload-feature module)
401 (message "Unloading %s...done" (symbol-name module)))))
402 (message "Unloading eshell...done")))
404 (run-hooks 'eshell-load-hook)
406 (provide 'eshell)
408 ;;; eshell.el ends here