Update copyright notices for 2013.
[emacs.git] / lisp / eshell / eshell.el
bloba76adb1fd944242d5e173d6c850b44226e2d82f3
1 ;;; eshell.el --- the Emacs command shell
3 ;; Copyright (C) 1999-2013 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 ;;;_* Speeding up load time
175 ;; If you find that Eshell loads too slowly, there is something you
176 ;; can do to speed it up.
178 ;; Create a file, named /tmp/elc, containing this filelist:
180 ;; esh-util.elc
181 ;; eshell.elc
182 ;; esh-module.elc
183 ;; esh-var.elc
184 ;; esh-proc.elc
185 ;; esh-arg.elc
186 ;; esh-io.elc
187 ;; esh-ext.elc
188 ;; esh-cmd.elc
189 ;; esh-mode.elc
190 ;; esh-opt.elc
191 ;; em-alias.elc
192 ;; em-banner.elc
193 ;; em-basic.elc
194 ;; em-cmpl.elc
195 ;; em-dirs.elc
196 ;; em-pred.elc
197 ;; em-glob.elc
198 ;; em-hist.elc
199 ;; em-ls.elc
200 ;; em-prompt.elc
201 ;; em-rebind.elc
202 ;; em-script.elc
203 ;; em-smart.elc
204 ;; em-term.elc
205 ;; em-unix.elc
206 ;; em-xtra.elc
208 ;; The order is very important. Remove from the filelist any features
209 ;; you don't use. These all begin with "em-". If you don't use
210 ;; Eshell's key rebinding module, you can remove "em-rebind.elc" from
211 ;; the filelist. The modules you are currently using are listed in
212 ;; `eshell-modules-list'.
214 ;; Now, concatenating all of the above mentioned .elc files, in that
215 ;; order, to another file. Here is how to do this on UNIX:
217 ;; cat `cat /tmp/elc` > tmp.elc ; mv tmp.elc eshell.elc
219 ;; Now your eshell.elc file contains all of the .elc files that make
220 ;; up Eshell, in the right load order. When you next load Eshell, it
221 ;; will only have to read in this one file, which will greatly speed
222 ;; things up.
224 (eval-when-compile
225 (require 'cl-lib)
226 (require 'esh-util))
227 (require 'esh-util)
228 (require 'esh-mode)
230 (defgroup eshell nil
231 "Command shell implemented entirely in Emacs Lisp.
232 It invokes no external processes beyond those requested by the
233 user, and is intended to be a functional replacement for command
234 shells such as bash, zsh, rc, 4dos."
235 :link '(info-link "(eshell)Top")
236 :version "21.1"
237 :group 'applications)
239 ;;;_* User Options
241 ;; The following user options modify the behavior of Eshell overall.
242 (defvar eshell-buffer-name)
244 (defun eshell-add-to-window-buffer-names ()
245 "Add `eshell-buffer-name' to `same-window-buffer-names'."
246 (declare (obsolete nil "24.3"))
247 (add-to-list 'same-window-buffer-names eshell-buffer-name))
249 (defun eshell-remove-from-window-buffer-names ()
250 "Remove `eshell-buffer-name' from `same-window-buffer-names'."
251 (declare (obsolete nil "24.3"))
252 (setq same-window-buffer-names
253 (delete eshell-buffer-name same-window-buffer-names)))
255 (defcustom eshell-load-hook nil
256 "A hook run once Eshell has been loaded."
257 :type 'hook
258 :group 'eshell)
260 (defcustom eshell-unload-hook '(eshell-unload-all-modules)
261 "A hook run when Eshell is unloaded from memory."
262 :type 'hook
263 :group 'eshell)
265 (defcustom eshell-buffer-name "*eshell*"
266 "The basename used for Eshell buffers."
267 :type 'string
268 :group 'eshell)
270 (defcustom eshell-directory-name
271 (locate-user-emacs-file "eshell/" ".eshell/")
272 "The directory where Eshell control files should be kept."
273 :type 'directory
274 :group 'eshell)
276 ;;;_* Running Eshell
278 ;; There are only three commands used to invoke Eshell. The first two
279 ;; are intended for interactive use, while the third is meant for
280 ;; programmers. They are:
282 ;;;###autoload
283 (defun eshell (&optional arg)
284 "Create an interactive Eshell buffer.
285 The buffer used for Eshell sessions is determined by the value of
286 `eshell-buffer-name'. If there is already an Eshell session active in
287 that buffer, Emacs will simply switch to it. Otherwise, a new session
288 will begin. A numeric prefix arg (as in `C-u 42 M-x eshell RET')
289 switches to the session with that number, creating it if necessary. A
290 nonnumeric prefix arg means to create a new session. Returns the
291 buffer selected (or created)."
292 (interactive "P")
293 (cl-assert eshell-buffer-name)
294 (let ((buf (cond ((numberp arg)
295 (get-buffer-create (format "%s<%d>"
296 eshell-buffer-name
297 arg)))
298 (arg
299 (generate-new-buffer eshell-buffer-name))
301 (get-buffer-create eshell-buffer-name)))))
302 (cl-assert (and buf (buffer-live-p buf)))
303 (pop-to-buffer-same-window buf)
304 (unless (eq major-mode 'eshell-mode)
305 (eshell-mode))
306 buf))
308 (defun eshell-return-exits-minibuffer ()
309 (define-key eshell-mode-map [(control ?g)] 'abort-recursive-edit)
310 (define-key eshell-mode-map [return] 'exit-minibuffer)
311 (define-key eshell-mode-map [(control ?m)] 'exit-minibuffer)
312 (define-key eshell-mode-map [(control ?j)] 'exit-minibuffer)
313 (define-key eshell-mode-map [(meta return)] 'exit-minibuffer)
314 (define-key eshell-mode-map [(meta control ?m)] 'exit-minibuffer))
316 (defvar eshell-non-interactive-p nil
317 "A variable which is non-nil when Eshell is not running interactively.
318 Modules should use this variable so that they don't clutter
319 non-interactive sessions, such as when using `eshell-command'.")
321 ;;;###autoload
322 (defun eshell-command (&optional command arg)
323 "Execute the Eshell command string COMMAND.
324 With prefix ARG, insert output into the current buffer at point."
325 (interactive)
326 (require 'esh-cmd)
327 (unless arg
328 (setq arg current-prefix-arg))
329 (let ((eshell-non-interactive-p t))
330 ;; Enable `eshell-mode' only in this minibuffer.
331 (minibuffer-with-setup-hook #'(lambda ()
332 (eshell-mode)
333 (eshell-return-exits-minibuffer))
334 (unless command
335 (setq command (read-from-minibuffer "Emacs shell command: "))
336 (eshell-add-input-to-history command))))
337 (unless command
338 (error "No command specified!"))
339 ;; redirection into the current buffer is achieved by adding an
340 ;; output redirection to the end of the command, of the form
341 ;; 'COMMAND >>> #<buffer BUFFER>'. This will not interfere with
342 ;; other redirections, since multiple redirections merely cause the
343 ;; output to be copied to multiple target locations
344 (if arg
345 (setq command
346 (concat command
347 (format " >>> #<buffer %s>"
348 (buffer-name (current-buffer))))))
349 (save-excursion
350 (let ((buf (set-buffer (generate-new-buffer " *eshell cmd*")))
351 (eshell-non-interactive-p t))
352 (eshell-mode)
353 (let* ((proc (eshell-eval-command
354 (list 'eshell-commands
355 (eshell-parse-command command))))
356 intr
357 (bufname (if (and proc (listp proc))
358 "*EShell Async Command Output*"
359 (setq intr t)
360 "*EShell Command Output*")))
361 (if (buffer-live-p (get-buffer bufname))
362 (kill-buffer bufname))
363 (rename-buffer bufname)
364 ;; things get a little coarse here, since the desire is to
365 ;; make the output as attractive as possible, with no
366 ;; extraneous newlines
367 (when intr
368 (if (eshell-interactive-process)
369 (eshell-wait-for-process (eshell-interactive-process)))
370 (cl-assert (not (eshell-interactive-process)))
371 (goto-char (point-max))
372 (while (and (bolp) (not (bobp)))
373 (delete-char -1)))
374 (cl-assert (and buf (buffer-live-p buf)))
375 (unless arg
376 (let ((len (if (not intr) 2
377 (count-lines (point-min) (point-max)))))
378 (cond
379 ((= len 0)
380 (message "(There was no command output)")
381 (kill-buffer buf))
382 ((= len 1)
383 (message "%s" (buffer-string))
384 (kill-buffer buf))
386 (save-selected-window
387 (select-window (display-buffer buf))
388 (goto-char (point-min))
389 ;; cause the output buffer to take up as little screen
390 ;; real-estate as possible, if temp buffer resizing is
391 ;; enabled
392 (and intr temp-buffer-resize-mode
393 (resize-temp-buffer-window)))))))))))
395 ;;;###autoload
396 (defun eshell-command-result (command &optional status-var)
397 "Execute the given Eshell COMMAND, and return the result.
398 The result might be any Lisp object.
399 If STATUS-VAR is a symbol, it will be set to the exit status of the
400 command. This is the only way to determine whether the value returned
401 corresponding to a successful execution."
402 ;; a null command produces a null, successful result
403 (if (not command)
404 (ignore
405 (if (and status-var (symbolp status-var))
406 (set status-var 0)))
407 (with-temp-buffer
408 (let ((eshell-non-interactive-p t))
409 (eshell-mode)
410 (let ((result (eshell-do-eval
411 (list 'eshell-commands
412 (list 'eshell-command-to-value
413 (eshell-parse-command command))) t)))
414 (cl-assert (eq (car result) 'quote))
415 (if (and status-var (symbolp status-var))
416 (set status-var eshell-last-command-status))
417 (cadr result))))))
419 ;;;_* Reporting bugs
421 ;; If you do encounter a bug, on any system, please report
422 ;; it -- in addition to any particular oddities in your configuration
423 ;; -- so that the problem may be corrected for the benefit of others.
425 ;;;###autoload
426 (define-obsolete-function-alias 'eshell-report-bug 'report-emacs-bug "23.1")
428 ;;; Code:
430 (defun eshell-unload-all-modules ()
431 "Unload all modules that were loaded by Eshell, if possible.
432 If the user has require'd in any of the modules, or customized a
433 variable with a :require tag (such as `eshell-prefer-to-shell'), it
434 will be impossible to unload Eshell completely without restarting
435 Emacs."
436 ;; if the user set `eshell-prefer-to-shell' to t, but never loaded
437 ;; Eshell, then `eshell-subgroups' will be unbound
438 (when (fboundp 'eshell-subgroups)
439 (dolist (module (eshell-subgroups 'eshell))
440 ;; this really only unloads as many modules as possible,
441 ;; since other `require' references (such as by customizing
442 ;; `eshell-prefer-to-shell' to a non-nil value) might make it
443 ;; impossible to unload Eshell completely
444 (if (featurep module)
445 (ignore-errors
446 (message "Unloading %s..." (symbol-name module))
447 (unload-feature module)
448 (message "Unloading %s...done" (symbol-name module)))))
449 (message "Unloading eshell...done")))
451 (run-hooks 'eshell-load-hook)
453 (provide 'eshell)
455 ;;; eshell.el ends here