1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
2 @c This file is used for printing the GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual
3 @c in two volumes. It is a modified version of elisp.texi.
4 @c Copyright (C) 1990-1995, 1998-1999, 2001-2012
5 @c Free Software Foundation, Inc.
8 @settitle GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual: Volume 2
11 @c See two-volume-cross-refs.txt.
13 \message{Formatting for two volume edition...Volume 2...}
15 % Read special toc file, set up in two-volume.make.
16 \gdef\tocreadfilename{elisp2-toc-ready.toc}
18 % Don't make outlines, they're not needed and \readdatafile can't pay
19 % attention to the special definition above.
20 \global\let\pdfmakeoutlines=\relax
22 % Start volume 2 chapter numbering at 27; this must be listed as chapno26
26 @c Version of the manual and of Emacs.
27 @c Please remember to update the edition number in README as well.
29 @include emacsver.texi
34 * Elisp: (elisp). The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual.
37 @c in general, keep the following line commented out, unless doing a
38 @c copy of this manual that will be published. the manual should go
39 @c onto the distribution in the full, 8.5 x 11" size.
46 @c per rms and peterb, use 10pt fonts for the main text, mostly to
47 @c save on paper cost.
48 @c Do this inside @tex for now, so current makeinfo does not complain.
52 \global\let\urlcolor=\Black % don't print links in grayscale
53 \global\let\linkcolor=\Black
55 \global\hbadness=6666 % don't worry about not-too-underfull boxes
63 @c We use the "type index" to index new functions and variables.
64 @c @syncodeindex tp fn
67 This is edition @value{VERSION} of the GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual,@*
68 corresponding to Emacs version @value{EMACSVER}.
70 Copyright @copyright{} 1990-1996, 1998-2012 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
73 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
74 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or
75 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
76 Invariant Sections being ``GNU General Public License,'' with the
77 Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU Manual,'' and with the Back-Cover
78 Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the license is included in the
79 section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation License.''
81 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have the freedom to copy and
82 modify this GNU manual. Buying copies from the FSF supports it in
83 developing GNU and promoting software freedom.''
88 @title GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual
90 @subtitle For Emacs Version @value{EMACSVER}
91 @subtitle Revision @value{VERSION}, @value{DATE}
93 @author by Bil Lewis, Dan LaLiberte, Richard Stallman
94 @author and the GNU Manual Group
96 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
100 Published by the Free Software Foundation @*
101 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor @*
102 Boston, MA 02110-1301 @*
107 Cover art by Etienne Suvasa.
111 @c Print the tables of contents
117 @node Top, Introduction, (dir), (dir)
120 This Info file contains edition @value{VERSION} of the GNU Emacs Lisp
121 Reference Manual, corresponding to GNU Emacs version @value{EMACSVER}.
125 * Introduction:: Introduction and conventions used.
127 * Lisp Data Types:: Data types of objects in Emacs Lisp.
128 * Numbers:: Numbers and arithmetic functions.
129 * Strings and Characters:: Strings, and functions that work on them.
130 * Lists:: Lists, cons cells, and related functions.
131 * Sequences Arrays Vectors:: Lists, strings and vectors are called sequences.
132 Certain functions act on any kind of sequence.
133 The description of vectors is here as well.
134 * Hash Tables:: Very fast lookup-tables.
135 * Symbols:: Symbols represent names, uniquely.
137 * Evaluation:: How Lisp expressions are evaluated.
138 * Control Structures:: Conditionals, loops, nonlocal exits.
139 * Variables:: Using symbols in programs to stand for values.
140 * Functions:: A function is a Lisp program
141 that can be invoked from other functions.
142 * Macros:: Macros are a way to extend the Lisp language.
143 * Customization:: Writing customization declarations.
145 * Loading:: Reading files of Lisp code into Lisp.
146 * Byte Compilation:: Compilation makes programs run faster.
147 * Advising Functions:: Adding to the definition of a function.
148 * Debugging:: Tools and tips for debugging Lisp programs.
150 * Read and Print:: Converting Lisp objects to text and back.
151 * Minibuffers:: Using the minibuffer to read input.
152 * Command Loop:: How the editor command loop works,
153 and how you can call its subroutines.
154 * Keymaps:: Defining the bindings from keys to commands.
155 * Modes:: Defining major and minor modes.
156 * Documentation:: Writing and using documentation strings.
158 * Files:: Accessing files.
159 * Backups and Auto-Saving:: Controlling how backups and auto-save
161 * Buffers:: Creating and using buffer objects.
162 * Windows:: Manipulating windows and displaying buffers.
163 * Frames:: Making multiple system-level windows.
164 * Positions:: Buffer positions and motion functions.
165 * Markers:: Markers represent positions and update
166 automatically when the text is changed.
168 * Text:: Examining and changing text in buffers.
169 * Non-ASCII Characters:: Non-ASCII text in buffers and strings.
170 * Searching and Matching:: Searching buffers for strings or regexps.
171 * Syntax Tables:: The syntax table controls word and list parsing.
172 * Abbrevs:: How Abbrev mode works, and its data structures.
174 * Processes:: Running and communicating with subprocesses.
175 * Display:: Features for controlling the screen display.
176 * System Interface:: Getting the user id, system type, environment
177 variables, and other such things.
179 * Packaging:: Preparing Lisp code for distribution.
183 * Antinews:: Info for users downgrading to Emacs 22.
184 * GNU Free Documentation License:: The license for this documentation.
185 * GPL:: Conditions for copying and changing GNU Emacs.
186 * Tips:: Advice and coding conventions for Emacs Lisp.
187 * GNU Emacs Internals:: Building and dumping Emacs;
188 internal data structures.
189 * Standard Errors:: List of all error symbols.
190 * Standard Buffer-Local Variables::
191 List of variables buffer-local in all buffers.
192 * Standard Keymaps:: List of standard keymaps.
193 * Standard Hooks:: List of standard hook variables.
195 * Index:: Index including concepts, functions, variables,
199 * New Symbols:: New functions and variables in Emacs @value{EMACSVER}.
202 @c Do NOT modify the following 3 lines! They must have this form to
203 @c be correctly identified by `texinfo-multiple-files-update'. In
204 @c particular, the detailed menu header line MUST be identical to the
205 @c value of `texinfo-master-menu-header'. See texnfo-upd.el.
208 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
209 ---------------------------------
211 Here are other nodes that are subnodes of those already listed,
212 mentioned here so you can get to them in one step:
216 * Caveats:: Flaws and a request for help.
217 * Lisp History:: Emacs Lisp is descended from Maclisp.
218 * Conventions:: How the manual is formatted.
219 * Version Info:: Which Emacs version is running?
220 * Acknowledgements:: The authors, editors, and sponsors of this manual.
224 * Some Terms:: Explanation of terms we use in this manual.
225 * nil and t:: How the symbols @code{nil} and @code{t} are used.
226 * Evaluation Notation:: The format we use for examples of evaluation.
227 * Printing Notation:: The format we use when examples print text.
228 * Error Messages:: The format we use for examples of errors.
229 * Buffer Text Notation:: The format we use for buffer contents in examples.
230 * Format of Descriptions:: Notation for describing functions, variables, etc.
232 Format of Descriptions
234 * A Sample Function Description:: A description of an imaginary
235 function, @code{foo}.
236 * A Sample Variable Description:: A description of an imaginary
237 variable, @code{electric-future-map}.
241 * Printed Representation:: How Lisp objects are represented as text.
242 * Comments:: Comments and their formatting conventions.
243 * Programming Types:: Types found in all Lisp systems.
244 * Editing Types:: Types specific to Emacs.
245 * Circular Objects:: Read syntax for circular structure.
246 * Type Predicates:: Tests related to types.
247 * Equality Predicates:: Tests of equality between any two objects.
251 * Integer Type:: Numbers without fractional parts.
252 * Floating Point Type:: Numbers with fractional parts and with a large range.
253 * Character Type:: The representation of letters, numbers and
255 * Symbol Type:: A multi-use object that refers to a function,
256 variable, or property list, and has a unique identity.
257 * Sequence Type:: Both lists and arrays are classified as sequences.
258 * Cons Cell Type:: Cons cells, and lists (which are made from cons cells).
259 * Array Type:: Arrays include strings and vectors.
260 * String Type:: An (efficient) array of characters.
261 * Vector Type:: One-dimensional arrays.
262 * Char-Table Type:: One-dimensional sparse arrays indexed by characters.
263 * Bool-Vector Type:: One-dimensional arrays of @code{t} or @code{nil}.
264 * Hash Table Type:: Super-fast lookup tables.
265 * Function Type:: A piece of executable code you can call from elsewhere.
266 * Macro Type:: A method of expanding an expression into another
267 expression, more fundamental but less pretty.
268 * Primitive Function Type:: A function written in C, callable from Lisp.
269 * Byte-Code Type:: A function written in Lisp, then compiled.
270 * Autoload Type:: A type used for automatically loading seldom-used
275 * Basic Char Syntax:: Syntax for regular characters.
276 * General Escape Syntax:: How to specify characters by their codes.
277 * Ctl-Char Syntax:: Syntax for control characters.
278 * Meta-Char Syntax:: Syntax for meta-characters.
279 * Other Char Bits:: Syntax for hyper-, super-, and alt-characters.
281 Cons Cell and List Types
283 * Box Diagrams:: Drawing pictures of lists.
284 * Dotted Pair Notation:: A general syntax for cons cells.
285 * Association List Type:: A specially constructed list.
289 * Syntax for Strings:: How to specify Lisp strings.
290 * Non-ASCII in Strings:: International characters in strings.
291 * Nonprinting Characters:: Literal unprintable characters in strings.
292 * Text Props and Strings:: Strings with text properties.
296 * Buffer Type:: The basic object of editing.
297 * Marker Type:: A position in a buffer.
298 * Window Type:: Buffers are displayed in windows.
299 * Frame Type:: Windows subdivide frames.
300 * Terminal Type:: A terminal device displays frames.
301 * Window Configuration Type:: Recording the way a frame is subdivided.
302 * Frame Configuration Type:: Recording the status of all frames.
303 * Process Type:: A subprocess of Emacs running on the underlying OS.
304 * Stream Type:: Receive or send characters.
305 * Keymap Type:: What function a keystroke invokes.
306 * Overlay Type:: How an overlay is represented.
307 * Font Type:: Fonts for displaying text.
311 * Integer Basics:: Representation and range of integers.
312 * Float Basics:: Representation and range of floating point.
313 * Predicates on Numbers:: Testing for numbers.
314 * Comparison of Numbers:: Equality and inequality predicates.
315 * Numeric Conversions:: Converting float to integer and vice versa.
316 * Arithmetic Operations:: How to add, subtract, multiply and divide.
317 * Rounding Operations:: Explicitly rounding floating point numbers.
318 * Bitwise Operations:: Logical and, or, not, shifting.
319 * Math Functions:: Trig, exponential and logarithmic functions.
320 * Random Numbers:: Obtaining random integers, predictable or not.
322 Strings and Characters
324 * String Basics:: Basic properties of strings and characters.
325 * Predicates for Strings:: Testing whether an object is a string or char.
326 * Creating Strings:: Functions to allocate new strings.
327 * Modifying Strings:: Altering the contents of an existing string.
328 * Text Comparison:: Comparing characters or strings.
329 * String Conversion:: Converting to and from characters and strings.
330 * Formatting Strings:: @code{format}: Emacs's analogue of @code{printf}.
331 * Case Conversion:: Case conversion functions.
332 * Case Tables:: Customizing case conversion.
336 * Cons Cells:: How lists are made out of cons cells.
337 * List-related Predicates:: Is this object a list? Comparing two lists.
338 * List Elements:: Extracting the pieces of a list.
339 * Building Lists:: Creating list structure.
340 * List Variables:: Modifying lists stored in variables.
341 * Modifying Lists:: Storing new pieces into an existing list.
342 * Sets And Lists:: A list can represent a finite mathematical set.
343 * Association Lists:: A list can represent a finite relation or mapping.
344 * Rings:: Managing a fixed-size ring of objects.
346 Modifying Existing List Structure
348 * Setcar:: Replacing an element in a list.
349 * Setcdr:: Replacing part of the list backbone.
350 This can be used to remove or add elements.
351 * Rearrangement:: Reordering the elements in a list; combining lists.
353 Sequences, Arrays, and Vectors
355 * Sequence Functions:: Functions that accept any kind of sequence.
356 * Arrays:: Characteristics of arrays in Emacs Lisp.
357 * Array Functions:: Functions specifically for arrays.
358 * Vectors:: Special characteristics of Emacs Lisp vectors.
359 * Vector Functions:: Functions specifically for vectors.
360 * Char-Tables:: How to work with char-tables.
361 * Bool-Vectors:: How to work with bool-vectors.
365 * Creating Hash:: Functions to create hash tables.
366 * Hash Access:: Reading and writing the hash table contents.
367 * Defining Hash:: Defining new comparison methods.
368 * Other Hash:: Miscellaneous.
372 * Symbol Components:: Symbols have names, values, function definitions
374 * Definitions:: A definition says how a symbol will be used.
375 * Creating Symbols:: How symbols are kept unique.
376 * Property Lists:: Each symbol has a property list
377 for recording miscellaneous information.
381 * Plists and Alists:: Comparison of the advantages of property
382 lists and association lists.
383 * Symbol Plists:: Functions to access symbols' property lists.
384 * Other Plists:: Accessing property lists stored elsewhere.
388 * Intro Eval:: Evaluation in the scheme of things.
389 * Forms:: How various sorts of objects are evaluated.
390 * Quoting:: Avoiding evaluation (to put constants in
392 * Backquote:: Easier construction of list structure.
393 * Eval:: How to invoke the Lisp interpreter explicitly.
397 * Self-Evaluating Forms:: Forms that evaluate to themselves.
398 * Symbol Forms:: Symbols evaluate as variables.
399 * Classifying Lists:: How to distinguish various sorts of list forms.
400 * Function Indirection:: When a symbol appears as the car of a list,
401 we find the real function via the symbol.
402 * Function Forms:: Forms that call functions.
403 * Macro Forms:: Forms that call macros.
404 * Special Forms:: "Special forms" are idiosyncratic primitives,
405 most of them extremely important.
406 * Autoloading:: Functions set up to load files
407 containing their real definitions.
411 * Sequencing:: Evaluation in textual order.
412 * Conditionals:: @code{if}, @code{cond}, @code{when}, @code{unless}.
413 * Combining Conditions:: @code{and}, @code{or}, @code{not}.
414 * Iteration:: @code{while} loops.
415 * Nonlocal Exits:: Jumping out of a sequence.
419 * Catch and Throw:: Nonlocal exits for the program's own purposes.
420 * Examples of Catch:: Showing how such nonlocal exits can be written.
421 * Errors:: How errors are signaled and handled.
422 * Cleanups:: Arranging to run a cleanup form if an
427 * Signaling Errors:: How to report an error.
428 * Processing of Errors:: What Emacs does when you report an error.
429 * Handling Errors:: How you can trap errors and continue execution.
430 * Error Symbols:: How errors are classified for trapping them.
434 * Global Variables:: Variable values that exist permanently, everywhere.
435 * Constant Variables:: Certain "variables" have values that never change.
436 * Local Variables:: Variable values that exist only temporarily.
437 * Void Variables:: Symbols that lack values.
438 * Defining Variables:: A definition says a symbol is used as a variable.
439 * Tips for Defining:: Things you should think about when you
441 * Accessing Variables:: Examining values of variables whose names
442 are known only at run time.
443 * Setting Variables:: Storing new values in variables.
444 * Variable Scoping:: How Lisp chooses among local and global values.
445 * Buffer-Local Variables:: Variable values in effect only in one buffer.
446 * File Local Variables:: Handling local variable lists in files.
447 * Directory Local Variables:: Local variables common to all files in a
449 * Frame-Local Variables:: Frame-local bindings for variables.
450 * Variable Aliases:: Variables that are aliases for other variables.
451 * Variables with Restricted Values:: Non-constant variables whose value can
452 @emph{not} be an arbitrary Lisp object.
454 Scoping Rules for Variable Bindings
456 * Scope:: Scope means where in the program a value
457 is visible. Comparison with other languages.
458 * Extent:: Extent means how long in time a value exists.
459 * Impl of Scope:: Two ways to implement dynamic scoping.
460 * Using Scoping:: How to use dynamic scoping carefully and
463 Buffer-Local Variables
465 * Intro to Buffer-Local:: Introduction and concepts.
466 * Creating Buffer-Local:: Creating and destroying buffer-local bindings.
467 * Default Value:: The default value is seen in buffers
468 that don't have their own buffer-local values.
472 * What Is a Function:: Lisp functions vs. primitives; terminology.
473 * Lambda Expressions:: How functions are expressed as Lisp objects.
474 * Function Names:: A symbol can serve as the name of a function.
475 * Defining Functions:: Lisp expressions for defining functions.
476 * Calling Functions:: How to use an existing function.
477 * Mapping Functions:: Applying a function to each element of a list, etc.
478 * Anonymous Functions:: Lambda expressions are functions with no names.
479 * Function Cells:: Accessing or setting the function definition
481 * Closures:: Functions that enclose a lexical environment.
482 * Obsolete Functions:: Declaring functions obsolete.
483 * Inline Functions:: Defining functions that the compiler
485 * Declaring Functions:: Telling the compiler that a function is defined.
486 * Function Safety:: Determining whether a function is safe to call.
487 * Related Topics:: Cross-references to specific Lisp primitives
488 that have a special bearing on how
493 * Lambda Components:: The parts of a lambda expression.
494 * Simple Lambda:: A simple example.
495 * Argument List:: Details and special features of argument lists.
496 * Function Documentation:: How to put documentation in a function.
500 * Simple Macro:: A basic example.
501 * Expansion:: How, when and why macros are expanded.
502 * Compiling Macros:: How macros are expanded by the compiler.
503 * Defining Macros:: How to write a macro definition.
504 * Problems with Macros:: Don't evaluate the macro arguments too many times.
505 Don't hide the user's variables.
506 * Indenting Macros:: Specifying how to indent macro calls.
508 Common Problems Using Macros
510 * Wrong Time:: Do the work in the expansion, not in the macro.
511 * Argument Evaluation:: The expansion should evaluate each macro arg once.
512 * Surprising Local Vars:: Local variable bindings in the expansion
513 require special care.
514 * Eval During Expansion:: Don't evaluate them; put them in the expansion.
515 * Repeated Expansion:: Avoid depending on how many times expansion is done.
517 Writing Customization Definitions
519 * Common Keywords:: Common keyword arguments for all kinds of
520 customization declarations.
521 * Group Definitions:: Writing customization group definitions.
522 * Variable Definitions:: Declaring user options.
523 * Customization Types:: Specifying the type of a user option.
527 * Simple Types:: Simple customization types: sexp, integer, number,
528 string, file, directory, alist.
529 * Composite Types:: Build new types from other types or data.
530 * Splicing into Lists:: Splice elements into list with @code{:inline}.
531 * Type Keywords:: Keyword-argument pairs in a customization type.
532 * Defining New Types:: Give your type a name.
536 * How Programs Do Loading:: The @code{load} function and others.
537 * Load Suffixes:: Details about the suffixes that @code{load} tries.
538 * Library Search:: Finding a library to load.
539 * Loading Non-ASCII:: Non-@acronym{ASCII} characters in Emacs Lisp files.
540 * Autoload:: Setting up a function to autoload.
541 * Repeated Loading:: Precautions about loading a file twice.
542 * Named Features:: Loading a library if it isn't already loaded.
543 * Where Defined:: Finding which file defined a certain symbol.
544 * Unloading:: How to "unload" a library that was loaded.
545 * Hooks for Loading:: Providing code to be run when
546 particular libraries are loaded.
550 * Speed of Byte-Code:: An example of speedup from byte compilation.
551 * Compilation Functions:: Byte compilation functions.
552 * Docs and Compilation:: Dynamic loading of documentation strings.
553 * Dynamic Loading:: Dynamic loading of individual functions.
554 * Eval During Compile:: Code to be evaluated when you compile.
555 * Compiler Errors:: Handling compiler error messages.
556 * Byte-Code Objects:: The data type used for byte-compiled functions.
557 * Disassembly:: Disassembling byte-code; how to read byte-code.
559 Advising Emacs Lisp Functions
561 * Simple Advice:: A simple example to explain the basics of advice.
562 * Defining Advice:: Detailed description of @code{defadvice}.
563 * Around-Advice:: Wrapping advice around a function's definition.
564 * Computed Advice:: ...is to @code{defadvice} as @code{fset} is to @code{defun}.
565 * Activation of Advice:: Advice doesn't do anything until you activate it.
566 * Enabling Advice:: You can enable or disable each piece of advice.
567 * Preactivation:: Preactivation is a way of speeding up the
568 loading of compiled advice.
569 * Argument Access in Advice:: How advice can access the function's arguments.
570 * Combined Definition:: How advice is implemented.
572 Debugging Lisp Programs
574 * Debugger:: A debugger for the Emacs Lisp evaluator.
575 * Edebug:: A source-level Emacs Lisp debugger.
576 * Syntax Errors:: How to find syntax errors.
577 * Test Coverage:: Ensuring you have tested all branches in your code.
581 * Error Debugging:: Entering the debugger when an error happens.
582 * Infinite Loops:: Stopping and debugging a program that doesn't exit.
583 * Function Debugging:: Entering it when a certain function is called.
584 * Explicit Debug:: Entering it at a certain point in the program.
585 * Using Debugger:: What the debugger does; what you see while in it.
586 * Debugger Commands:: Commands used while in the debugger.
587 * Invoking the Debugger:: How to call the function @code{debug}.
588 * Internals of Debugger:: Subroutines of the debugger, and global variables.
592 * Using Edebug:: Introduction to use of Edebug.
593 * Instrumenting:: You must instrument your code
594 in order to debug it with Edebug.
595 * Edebug Execution Modes:: Execution modes, stopping more or less often.
596 * Jumping:: Commands to jump to a specified place.
597 * Edebug Misc:: Miscellaneous commands.
598 * Breaks:: Setting breakpoints to make the program stop.
599 * Trapping Errors:: Trapping errors with Edebug.
600 * Edebug Views:: Views inside and outside of Edebug.
601 * Edebug Eval:: Evaluating expressions within Edebug.
602 * Eval List:: Expressions whose values are displayed
603 each time you enter Edebug.
604 * Printing in Edebug:: Customization of printing.
605 * Trace Buffer:: How to produce trace output in a buffer.
606 * Coverage Testing:: How to test evaluation coverage.
607 * The Outside Context:: Data that Edebug saves and restores.
608 * Edebug and Macros:: Specifying how to handle macro calls.
609 * Edebug Options:: Option variables for customizing Edebug.
613 * Breakpoints:: Breakpoints at stop points.
614 * Global Break Condition:: Breaking on an event.
615 * Source Breakpoints:: Embedding breakpoints in source code.
619 * Checking Whether to Stop::When Edebug decides what to do.
620 * Edebug Display Update:: When Edebug updates the display.
621 * Edebug Recursive Edit:: When Edebug stops execution.
625 * Instrumenting Macro Calls::The basic problem.
626 * Specification List:: How to specify complex patterns of evaluation.
627 * Backtracking:: What Edebug does when matching fails.
628 * Specification Examples:: To help understand specifications.
630 Debugging Invalid Lisp Syntax
632 * Excess Open:: How to find a spurious open paren or missing close.
633 * Excess Close:: How to find a spurious close paren or missing open.
635 Reading and Printing Lisp Objects
637 * Streams Intro:: Overview of streams, reading and printing.
638 * Input Streams:: Various data types that can be used as
640 * Input Functions:: Functions to read Lisp objects from text.
641 * Output Streams:: Various data types that can be used as
643 * Output Functions:: Functions to print Lisp objects as text.
644 * Output Variables:: Variables that control what the printing
649 * Intro to Minibuffers:: Basic information about minibuffers.
650 * Text from Minibuffer:: How to read a straight text string.
651 * Object from Minibuffer:: How to read a Lisp object or expression.
652 * Minibuffer History:: Recording previous minibuffer inputs
653 so the user can reuse them.
654 * Initial Input:: Specifying initial contents for the minibuffer.
655 * Completion:: How to invoke and customize completion.
656 * Yes-or-No Queries:: Asking a question with a simple answer.
657 * Multiple Queries:: Asking a series of similar questions.
658 * Reading a Password:: Reading a password from the terminal.
659 * Minibuffer Commands:: Commands used as key bindings in minibuffers.
660 * Minibuffer Contents:: How such commands access the minibuffer text.
661 * Minibuffer Windows:: Operating on the special minibuffer windows.
662 * Recursive Mini:: Whether recursive entry to minibuffer is allowed.
663 * Minibuffer Misc:: Various customization hooks and variables.
667 * Basic Completion:: Low-level functions for completing strings.
668 (These are too low level to use the minibuffer.)
669 * Minibuffer Completion:: Invoking the minibuffer with completion.
670 * Completion Commands:: Minibuffer commands that do completion.
671 * High-Level Completion:: Convenient special cases of completion
672 (reading buffer name, file name, etc.).
673 * Reading File Names:: Using completion to read file names and
675 * Completion Styles:: Specifying rules for performing completion.
676 * Programmed Completion:: Writing your own completion-function.
680 * Command Overview:: How the command loop reads commands.
681 * Defining Commands:: Specifying how a function should read arguments.
682 * Interactive Call:: Calling a command, so that it will read arguments.
683 * Distinguish Interactive:: Making a command distinguish interactive calls.
684 * Command Loop Info:: Variables set by the command loop for you to examine.
685 * Adjusting Point:: Adjustment of point after a command.
686 * Input Events:: What input looks like when you read it.
687 * Reading Input:: How to read input events from the keyboard or mouse.
688 * Special Events:: Events processed immediately and individually.
689 * Waiting:: Waiting for user input or elapsed time.
690 * Quitting:: How @kbd{C-g} works. How to catch or defer quitting.
691 * Prefix Command Arguments:: How the commands to set prefix args work.
692 * Recursive Editing:: Entering a recursive edit,
693 and why you usually shouldn't.
694 * Disabling Commands:: How the command loop handles disabled commands.
695 * Command History:: How the command history is set up, and how accessed.
696 * Keyboard Macros:: How keyboard macros are implemented.
700 * Using Interactive:: General rules for @code{interactive}.
701 * Interactive Codes:: The standard letter-codes for reading arguments
703 * Interactive Examples:: Examples of how to read interactive arguments.
707 * Keyboard Events:: Ordinary characters--keys with symbols on them.
708 * Function Keys:: Function keys--keys with names, not symbols.
709 * Mouse Events:: Overview of mouse events.
710 * Click Events:: Pushing and releasing a mouse button.
711 * Drag Events:: Moving the mouse before releasing the button.
712 * Button-Down Events:: A button was pushed and not yet released.
713 * Repeat Events:: Double and triple click (or drag, or down).
714 * Motion Events:: Just moving the mouse, not pushing a button.
715 * Focus Events:: Moving the mouse between frames.
716 * Misc Events:: Other events the system can generate.
717 * Event Examples:: Examples of the lists for mouse events.
718 * Classifying Events:: Finding the modifier keys in an event symbol.
720 * Accessing Mouse:: Functions to extract info from mouse events.
721 * Accessing Scroll:: Functions to get info from scroll bar events.
722 * Strings of Events:: Special considerations for putting
723 keyboard character events in a string.
727 * Key Sequence Input:: How to read one key sequence.
728 * Reading One Event:: How to read just one event.
729 * Event Mod:: How Emacs modifies events as they are read.
730 * Invoking the Input Method:: How reading an event uses the input method.
731 * Quoted Character Input:: Asking the user to specify a character.
732 * Event Input Misc:: How to reread or throw away input events.
736 * Key Sequences:: Key sequences as Lisp objects.
737 * Keymap Basics:: Basic concepts of keymaps.
738 * Format of Keymaps:: What a keymap looks like as a Lisp object.
739 * Creating Keymaps:: Functions to create and copy keymaps.
740 * Inheritance and Keymaps:: How one keymap can inherit the bindings
742 * Prefix Keys:: Defining a key with a keymap as its definition.
743 * Active Keymaps:: How Emacs searches the active keymaps
745 * Searching Keymaps:: A pseudo-Lisp summary of searching active maps.
746 * Controlling Active Maps:: Each buffer has a local keymap
747 to override the standard (global) bindings.
748 A minor mode can also override them.
749 * Key Lookup:: Finding a key's binding in one keymap.
750 * Functions for Key Lookup:: How to request key lookup.
751 * Changing Key Bindings:: Redefining a key in a keymap.
752 * Remapping Commands:: A keymap can translate one command to another.
753 * Translation Keymaps:: Keymaps for translating sequences of events.
754 * Key Binding Commands:: Interactive interfaces for redefining keys.
755 * Scanning Keymaps:: Looking through all keymaps, for printing help.
756 * Menu Keymaps:: Defining a menu as a keymap.
760 * Defining Menus:: How to make a keymap that defines a menu.
761 * Mouse Menus:: How users actuate the menu with the mouse.
762 * Keyboard Menus:: How users actuate the menu with the keyboard.
763 * Menu Example:: Making a simple menu.
764 * Menu Bar:: How to customize the menu bar.
765 * Tool Bar:: A tool bar is a row of images.
766 * Modifying Menus:: How to add new items to a menu.
770 * Simple Menu Items:: A simple kind of menu key binding,
771 limited in capabilities.
772 * Extended Menu Items:: More powerful menu item definitions
773 let you specify keywords to enable
775 * Menu Separators:: Drawing a horizontal line through a menu.
776 * Alias Menu Items:: Using command aliases in menu items.
778 Major and Minor Modes
780 * Hooks:: How to use hooks; how to write code that provides hooks.
781 * Major Modes:: Defining major modes.
782 * Minor Modes:: Defining minor modes.
783 * Mode Line Format:: Customizing the text that appears in the mode line.
784 * Imenu:: Providing a menu of definitions made in a buffer.
785 * Font Lock Mode:: How modes can highlight text according to syntax.
786 * Desktop Save Mode:: How modes can have buffer state saved between
791 * Running Hooks:: How to run a hook.
792 * Setting Hooks:: How to put functions on a hook, or remove them.
796 * Major Mode Conventions:: Coding conventions for keymaps, etc.
797 * Auto Major Mode:: How Emacs chooses the major mode automatically.
798 * Mode Help:: Finding out how to use a mode.
799 * Derived Modes:: Defining a new major mode based on another major
801 * Basic Major Modes:: Modes that other modes are often derived from.
802 * Generic Modes:: Defining a simple major mode that supports
803 comment syntax and Font Lock mode.
804 * Mode Hooks:: Hooks run at the end of major mode commands.
805 * Example Major Modes:: Text mode and Lisp modes.
809 * Minor Mode Conventions:: Tips for writing a minor mode.
810 * Keymaps and Minor Modes:: How a minor mode can have its own keymap.
811 * Defining Minor Modes:: A convenient facility for defining minor modes.
815 * Mode Line Basics:: Basic ideas of mode line control.
816 * Mode Line Data:: The data structure that controls the mode line.
817 * Mode Line Top:: The top level variable, mode-line-format.
818 * Mode Line Variables:: Variables used in that data structure.
819 * %-Constructs:: Putting information into a mode line.
820 * Properties in Mode:: Using text properties in the mode line.
821 * Header Lines:: Like a mode line, but at the top.
822 * Emulating Mode Line:: Formatting text as the mode line would.
826 * Font Lock Basics:: Overview of customizing Font Lock.
827 * Search-based Fontification:: Fontification based on regexps.
828 * Customizing Keywords:: Customizing search-based fontification.
829 * Other Font Lock Variables:: Additional customization facilities.
830 * Levels of Font Lock:: Each mode can define alternative levels
831 so that the user can select more or less.
832 * Precalculated Fontification:: How Lisp programs that produce the buffer
833 contents can also specify how to fontify it.
834 * Faces for Font Lock:: Special faces specifically for Font Lock.
835 * Syntactic Font Lock:: Fontification based on syntax tables.
836 * Setting Syntax Properties:: Defining character syntax based on context
837 using the Font Lock mechanism.
838 * Multiline Font Lock:: How to coerce Font Lock into properly
839 highlighting multiline constructs.
841 Multiline Font Lock Constructs
843 * Font Lock Multiline:: Marking multiline chunks with a text property.
844 * Region to Refontify:: Controlling which region gets refontified
845 after a buffer change.
849 * Documentation Basics:: Good style for doc strings.
850 Where to put them. How Emacs stores them.
851 * Accessing Documentation:: How Lisp programs can access doc strings.
852 * Keys in Documentation:: Substituting current key bindings.
853 * Describing Characters:: Making printable descriptions of
854 non-printing characters and key sequences.
855 * Help Functions:: Subroutines used by Emacs help facilities.
859 * Visiting Files:: Reading files into Emacs buffers for editing.
860 * Saving Buffers:: Writing changed buffers back into files.
861 * Reading from Files:: Reading files into buffers without visiting.
862 * Writing to Files:: Writing new files from parts of buffers.
863 * File Locks:: Locking and unlocking files, to prevent
864 simultaneous editing by two people.
865 * Information about Files:: Testing existence, accessibility, size of files.
866 * Changing Files:: Renaming files, changing protection, etc.
867 * File Names:: Decomposing and expanding file names.
868 * Contents of Directories:: Getting a list of the files in a directory.
869 * Create/Delete Dirs:: Creating and Deleting Directories.
870 * Magic File Names:: Defining "magic" special handling
871 for certain file names.
872 * Format Conversion:: Conversion to and from various file formats.
876 * Visiting Functions:: The usual interface functions for visiting.
877 * Subroutines of Visiting:: Lower-level subroutines that they use.
879 Information about Files
881 * Testing Accessibility:: Is a given file readable? Writable?
882 * Kinds of Files:: Is it a directory? A symbolic link?
883 * Truenames:: Eliminating symbolic links from a file name.
884 * File Attributes:: How large is it? Any other names? Etc.
885 * Locating Files:: How to find a file in standard places.
889 * File Name Components:: The directory part of a file name, and the rest.
890 * Relative File Names:: Some file names are relative to a current directory.
891 * Directory Names:: A directory's name as a directory
892 is different from its name as a file.
893 * File Name Expansion:: Converting relative file names to absolute ones.
894 * Unique File Names:: Generating names for temporary files.
895 * File Name Completion:: Finding the completions for a given file name.
896 * Standard File Names:: If your package uses a fixed file name,
897 how to handle various operating systems simply.
899 File Format Conversion
901 * Format Conversion Overview:: @code{insert-file-contents} and @code{write-region}.
902 * Format Conversion Round-Trip:: Using @code{format-alist}.
903 * Format Conversion Piecemeal:: Specifying non-paired conversion.
905 Backups and Auto-Saving
907 * Backup Files:: How backup files are made; how their names
909 * Auto-Saving:: How auto-save files are made; how their
911 * Reverting:: @code{revert-buffer}, and how to customize
916 * Making Backups:: How Emacs makes backup files, and when.
917 * Rename or Copy:: Two alternatives: renaming the old file
919 * Numbered Backups:: Keeping multiple backups for each source file.
920 * Backup Names:: How backup file names are computed; customization.
924 * Buffer Basics:: What is a buffer?
925 * Current Buffer:: Designating a buffer as current
926 so that primitives will access its contents.
927 * Buffer Names:: Accessing and changing buffer names.
928 * Buffer File Name:: The buffer file name indicates which file
930 * Buffer Modification:: A buffer is @dfn{modified} if it needs to be saved.
931 * Modification Time:: Determining whether the visited file was changed
932 ``behind Emacs's back''.
933 * Read Only Buffers:: Modifying text is not allowed in a
935 * The Buffer List:: How to look at all the existing buffers.
936 * Creating Buffers:: Functions that create buffers.
937 * Killing Buffers:: Buffers exist until explicitly killed.
938 * Indirect Buffers:: An indirect buffer shares text with some
940 * Swapping Text:: Swapping text between two buffers.
941 * Buffer Gap:: The gap in the buffer.
945 * Basic Windows:: Basic information on using windows.
946 * Splitting Windows:: Splitting one window into two windows.
947 * Deleting Windows:: Deleting a window gives its space to other windows.
948 * Selecting Windows:: The selected window is the one that you edit in.
949 * Cyclic Window Ordering:: Moving around the existing windows.
950 * Buffers and Windows:: Each window displays the contents of a buffer.
951 * Switching Buffers:: Higher-level functions for switching to a buffer.
952 * Choosing Window:: How to choose a window for displaying a buffer.
953 * Display Action Functions:: Subroutines for @code{display-buffer}.
954 * Choosing Window Options:: Extra options affecting how buffers are displayed.
955 * Window History:: Each window remembers the buffers displayed in it.
956 * Dedicated Windows:: How to avoid displaying another buffer in
958 * Window Point:: Each window has its own location of point.
959 * Window Start and End:: Buffer positions indicating which text is
960 on-screen in a window.
961 * Textual Scrolling:: Moving text up and down through the window.
962 * Vertical Scrolling:: Moving the contents up and down on the window.
963 * Horizontal Scrolling:: Moving the contents sideways on the window.
964 * Size of Window:: Accessing the size of a window.
965 * Resizing Windows:: Changing the size of a window.
966 * Coordinates and Windows:: Converting coordinates to windows.
967 * Window Tree:: The layout and sizes of all windows in a frame.
968 * Window Configurations:: Saving and restoring the state of the screen.
969 * Window Parameters:: Associating additional information with windows.
970 * Window Hooks:: Hooks for scrolling, window size changes,
971 redisplay going past a certain point,
972 or window configuration changes.
976 * Creating Frames:: Creating additional frames.
977 * Multiple Terminals:: Displaying on several different devices.
978 * Frame Parameters:: Controlling frame size, position, font, etc.
979 * Terminal Parameters:: Parameters common for all frames on terminal.
980 * Frame Titles:: Automatic updating of frame titles.
981 * Deleting Frames:: Frames last until explicitly deleted.
982 * Finding All Frames:: How to examine all existing frames.
983 * Frames and Windows:: A frame contains windows;
984 display of text always works through windows.
985 * Minibuffers and Frames:: How a frame finds the minibuffer to use.
986 * Input Focus:: Specifying the selected frame.
987 * Visibility of Frames:: Frames may be visible or invisible, or icons.
988 * Raising and Lowering:: Raising a frame makes it hide other windows;
989 lowering it makes the others hide it.
990 * Frame Configurations:: Saving the state of all frames.
991 * Mouse Tracking:: Getting events that say when the mouse moves.
992 * Mouse Position:: Asking where the mouse is, or moving it.
993 * Pop-Up Menus:: Displaying a menu for the user to select from.
994 * Dialog Boxes:: Displaying a box to ask yes or no.
995 * Pointer Shape:: Specifying the shape of the mouse pointer.
996 * Window System Selections::Transferring text to and from other X clients.
997 * Drag and Drop:: Internals of Drag-and-Drop implementation.
998 * Color Names:: Getting the definitions of color names.
999 * Text Terminal Colors:: Defining colors for text-only terminals.
1000 * Resources:: Getting resource values from the server.
1001 * Display Feature Testing:: Determining the features of a terminal.
1005 * Parameter Access:: How to change a frame's parameters.
1006 * Initial Parameters:: Specifying frame parameters when you make a frame.
1007 * Window Frame Parameters:: List of frame parameters for window systems.
1008 * Size and Position:: Changing the size and position of a frame.
1009 * Geometry:: Parsing geometry specifications.
1011 Window Frame Parameters
1013 * Basic Parameters:: Parameters that are fundamental.
1014 * Position Parameters:: The position of the frame on the screen.
1015 * Size Parameters:: Frame's size.
1016 * Layout Parameters:: Size of parts of the frame, and
1017 enabling or disabling some parts.
1018 * Buffer Parameters:: Which buffers have been or should be shown.
1019 * Management Parameters:: Communicating with the window manager.
1020 * Cursor Parameters:: Controlling the cursor appearance.
1021 * Font and Color Parameters:: Fonts and colors for the frame text.
1025 * Point:: The special position where editing takes place.
1026 * Motion:: Changing point.
1027 * Excursions:: Temporary motion and buffer changes.
1028 * Narrowing:: Restricting editing to a portion of the buffer.
1032 * Character Motion:: Moving in terms of characters.
1033 * Word Motion:: Moving in terms of words.
1034 * Buffer End Motion:: Moving to the beginning or end of the buffer.
1035 * Text Lines:: Moving in terms of lines of text.
1036 * Screen Lines:: Moving in terms of lines as displayed.
1037 * List Motion:: Moving by parsing lists and sexps.
1038 * Skipping Characters:: Skipping characters belonging to a certain set.
1042 * Overview of Markers:: The components of a marker, and how it relocates.
1043 * Predicates on Markers:: Testing whether an object is a marker.
1044 * Creating Markers:: Making empty markers or markers at certain places.
1045 * Information from Markers::Finding the marker's buffer or character position.
1046 * Marker Insertion Types:: Two ways a marker can relocate when you
1047 insert where it points.
1048 * Moving Markers:: Moving the marker to a new buffer or position.
1049 * The Mark:: How "the mark" is implemented with a marker.
1050 * The Region:: How to access "the region".
1054 * Near Point:: Examining text in the vicinity of point.
1055 * Buffer Contents:: Examining text in a general fashion.
1056 * Comparing Text:: Comparing substrings of buffers.
1057 * Insertion:: Adding new text to a buffer.
1058 * Commands for Insertion:: User-level commands to insert text.
1059 * Deletion:: Removing text from a buffer.
1060 * User-Level Deletion:: User-level commands to delete text.
1061 * The Kill Ring:: Where removed text sometimes is saved for
1063 * Undo:: Undoing changes to the text of a buffer.
1064 * Maintaining Undo:: How to enable and disable undo information.
1065 How to control how much information is kept.
1066 * Filling:: Functions for explicit filling.
1067 * Margins:: How to specify margins for filling commands.
1068 * Adaptive Fill:: Adaptive Fill mode chooses a fill prefix
1070 * Auto Filling:: How auto-fill mode is implemented to break lines.
1071 * Sorting:: Functions for sorting parts of the buffer.
1072 * Columns:: Computing horizontal positions, and using them.
1073 * Indentation:: Functions to insert or adjust indentation.
1074 * Case Changes:: Case conversion of parts of the buffer.
1075 * Text Properties:: Assigning Lisp property lists to text characters.
1076 * Substitution:: Replacing a given character wherever it appears.
1077 * Transposition:: Swapping two portions of a buffer.
1078 * Registers:: How registers are implemented. Accessing
1079 the text or position stored in a register.
1080 * Base 64:: Conversion to or from base 64 encoding.
1081 * Checksum/Hash:: Computing "message digests"/"checksums"/"hashes".
1082 * Atomic Changes:: Installing several buffer changes "atomically".
1083 * Change Hooks:: Supplying functions to be run when text is changed.
1087 * Kill Ring Concepts:: What text looks like in the kill ring.
1088 * Kill Functions:: Functions that kill text.
1089 * Yanking:: How yanking is done.
1090 * Yank Commands:: Commands that access the kill ring.
1091 * Low-Level Kill Ring:: Functions and variables for kill ring access.
1092 * Internals of Kill Ring:: Variables that hold kill ring data.
1096 * Primitive Indent:: Functions used to count and insert indentation.
1097 * Mode-Specific Indent:: Customize indentation for different modes.
1098 * Region Indent:: Indent all the lines in a region.
1099 * Relative Indent:: Indent the current line based on previous lines.
1100 * Indent Tabs:: Adjustable, typewriter-like tab stops.
1101 * Motion by Indent:: Move to first non-blank character.
1105 * Examining Properties:: Looking at the properties of one character.
1106 * Changing Properties:: Setting the properties of a range of text.
1107 * Property Search:: Searching for where a property changes value.
1108 * Special Properties:: Particular properties with special meanings.
1109 * Format Properties:: Properties for representing formatting of text.
1110 * Sticky Properties:: How inserted text gets properties from
1112 * Lazy Properties:: Computing text properties in a lazy fashion
1113 only when text is examined.
1114 * Clickable Text:: Using text properties to make regions of text
1115 do something when you click on them.
1116 * Fields:: The @code{field} property defines
1117 fields within the buffer.
1118 * Not Intervals:: Why text properties do not use
1119 Lisp-visible text intervals.
1121 Non-@acronym{ASCII} Characters
1123 * Text Representations:: How Emacs represents text.
1124 * Converting Representations:: Converting unibyte to multibyte and vice versa.
1125 * Selecting a Representation:: Treating a byte sequence as unibyte or multi.
1126 * Character Codes:: How unibyte and multibyte relate to
1127 codes of individual characters.
1128 * Character Properties:: Character attributes that define their
1129 behavior and handling.
1130 * Character Sets:: The space of possible character codes
1131 is divided into various character sets.
1132 * Scanning Charsets:: Which character sets are used in a buffer?
1133 * Translation of Characters:: Translation tables are used for conversion.
1134 * Coding Systems:: Coding systems are conversions for saving files.
1135 * Input Methods:: Input methods allow users to enter various
1136 non-ASCII characters without special keyboards.
1137 * Locales:: Interacting with the POSIX locale.
1141 * Coding System Basics:: Basic concepts.
1142 * Encoding and I/O:: How file I/O functions handle coding systems.
1143 * Lisp and Coding Systems:: Functions to operate on coding system names.
1144 * User-Chosen Coding Systems:: Asking the user to choose a coding system.
1145 * Default Coding Systems:: Controlling the default choices.
1146 * Specifying Coding Systems:: Requesting a particular coding system
1147 for a single file operation.
1148 * Explicit Encoding:: Encoding or decoding text without doing I/O.
1149 * Terminal I/O Encoding:: Use of encoding for terminal I/O.
1150 * MS-DOS File Types:: How DOS "text" and "binary" files
1151 relate to coding systems.
1153 Searching and Matching
1155 * String Search:: Search for an exact match.
1156 * Searching and Case:: Case-independent or case-significant searching.
1157 * Regular Expressions:: Describing classes of strings.
1158 * Regexp Search:: Searching for a match for a regexp.
1159 * POSIX Regexps:: Searching POSIX-style for the longest match.
1160 * Match Data:: Finding out which part of the text matched,
1161 after a string or regexp search.
1162 * Search and Replace:: Commands that loop, searching and replacing.
1163 * Standard Regexps:: Useful regexps for finding sentences, pages,...
1167 * Syntax of Regexps:: Rules for writing regular expressions.
1168 * Regexp Example:: Illustrates regular expression syntax.
1169 * Regexp Functions:: Functions for operating on regular expressions.
1171 Syntax of Regular Expressions
1173 * Regexp Special:: Special characters in regular expressions.
1174 * Char Classes:: Character classes used in regular expressions.
1175 * Regexp Backslash:: Backslash-sequences in regular expressions.
1179 * Replacing Match:: Replacing a substring that was matched.
1180 * Simple Match Data:: Accessing single items of match data,
1181 such as where a particular subexpression started.
1182 * Entire Match Data:: Accessing the entire match data at once, as a list.
1183 * Saving Match Data:: Saving and restoring the match data.
1187 * Syntax Basics:: Basic concepts of syntax tables.
1188 * Syntax Descriptors:: How characters are classified.
1189 * Syntax Table Functions:: How to create, examine and alter syntax tables.
1190 * Syntax Properties:: Overriding syntax with text properties.
1191 * Motion and Syntax:: Moving over characters with certain syntaxes.
1192 * Parsing Expressions:: Parsing balanced expressions
1193 using the syntax table.
1194 * Standard Syntax Tables:: Syntax tables used by various major modes.
1195 * Syntax Table Internals:: How syntax table information is stored.
1196 * Categories:: Another way of classifying character syntax.
1200 * Syntax Class Table:: Table of syntax classes.
1201 * Syntax Flags:: Additional flags each character can have.
1205 * Motion via Parsing:: Motion functions that work by parsing.
1206 * Position Parse:: Determining the syntactic state of a position.
1207 * Parser State:: How Emacs represents a syntactic state.
1208 * Low-Level Parsing:: Parsing across a specified region.
1209 * Control Parsing:: Parameters that affect parsing.
1211 Abbrevs and Abbrev Expansion
1213 * Abbrev Mode:: Setting up Emacs for abbreviation.
1214 * Abbrev Tables:: Creating and working with abbrev tables.
1215 * Defining Abbrevs:: Specifying abbreviations and their expansions.
1216 * Abbrev Files:: Saving abbrevs in files.
1217 * Abbrev Expansion:: Controlling expansion; expansion subroutines.
1218 * Standard Abbrev Tables:: Abbrev tables used by various major modes.
1219 * Abbrev Properties:: How to read and set abbrev properties.
1220 Which properties have which effect.
1221 * Abbrev Table Properties:: How to read and set abbrev table properties.
1222 Which properties have which effect.
1226 * Subprocess Creation:: Functions that start subprocesses.
1227 * Shell Arguments:: Quoting an argument to pass it to a shell.
1228 * Synchronous Processes:: Details of using synchronous subprocesses.
1229 * Asynchronous Processes:: Starting up an asynchronous subprocess.
1230 * Deleting Processes:: Eliminating an asynchronous subprocess.
1231 * Process Information:: Accessing run-status and other attributes.
1232 * Input to Processes:: Sending input to an asynchronous subprocess.
1233 * Signals to Processes:: Stopping, continuing or interrupting
1234 an asynchronous subprocess.
1235 * Output from Processes:: Collecting output from an asynchronous subprocess.
1236 * Sentinels:: Sentinels run when process run-status changes.
1237 * Query Before Exit:: Whether to query if exiting will kill a process.
1238 * System Processes:: Accessing other processes running on your system.
1239 * Transaction Queues:: Transaction-based communication with subprocesses.
1240 * Network:: Opening network connections.
1241 * Network Servers:: Network servers let Emacs accept net connections.
1242 * Datagrams:: UDP network connections.
1243 * Low-Level Network:: Lower-level but more general function
1244 to create connections and servers.
1245 * Misc Network:: Additional relevant functions for
1246 network connections.
1247 * Serial Ports:: Communicating with serial ports.
1248 * Byte Packing:: Using bindat to pack and unpack binary data.
1250 Receiving Output from Processes
1252 * Process Buffers:: If no filter, output is put in a buffer.
1253 * Filter Functions:: Filter functions accept output from the process.
1254 * Decoding Output:: Filters can get unibyte or multibyte strings.
1255 * Accepting Output:: How to wait until process output arrives.
1257 Low-Level Network Access
1259 * Network Processes:: Using @code{make-network-process}.
1260 * Network Options:: Further control over network connections.
1261 * Network Feature Testing:: Determining which network features work on
1262 the machine you are using.
1264 Packing and Unpacking Byte Arrays
1266 * Bindat Spec:: Describing data layout.
1267 * Bindat Functions:: Doing the unpacking and packing.
1268 * Bindat Examples:: Samples of what bindat.el can do for you!
1272 * Refresh Screen:: Clearing the screen and redrawing everything on it.
1273 * Forcing Redisplay:: Forcing redisplay.
1274 * Truncation:: Folding or wrapping long text lines.
1275 * The Echo Area:: Displaying messages at the bottom of the screen.
1276 * Warnings:: Displaying warning messages for the user.
1277 * Invisible Text:: Hiding part of the buffer text.
1278 * Selective Display:: Hiding part of the buffer text (the old way).
1279 * Temporary Displays:: Displays that go away automatically.
1280 * Overlays:: Use overlays to highlight parts of the buffer.
1281 * Width:: How wide a character or string is on the screen.
1282 * Line Height:: Controlling the height of lines.
1283 * Faces:: A face defines a graphics style
1284 for text characters: font, colors, etc.
1285 * Fringes:: Controlling window fringes.
1286 * Scroll Bars:: Controlling vertical scroll bars.
1287 * Display Property:: Enabling special display features.
1288 * Images:: Displaying images in Emacs buffers.
1289 * Buttons:: Adding clickable buttons to Emacs buffers.
1290 * Abstract Display:: Emacs' Widget for Object Collections.
1291 * Blinking:: How Emacs shows the matching open parenthesis.
1292 * Usual Display:: The usual conventions for displaying
1294 * Display Tables:: How to specify other conventions.
1295 * Beeping:: Audible signal to the user.
1296 * Window Systems:: Which window system is being used.
1297 * Bidirectional Display:: Display of bidirectional scripts, such as
1299 * Glyphless Chars:: How glyphless characters are drawn.
1303 * Displaying Messages:: Explicitly displaying text in the echo area.
1304 * Progress:: Informing user about progress of a long operation.
1305 * Logging Messages:: Echo area messages are logged for the user.
1306 * Echo Area Customization:: Controlling the echo area.
1310 * Warning Basics:: Warnings concepts and functions to report them.
1311 * Warning Variables:: Variables programs bind to customize
1313 * Warning Options:: Variables users set to control display of warnings.
1317 * Managing Overlays:: Creating and moving overlays.
1318 * Overlay Properties:: How to read and set properties.
1319 What properties do to the screen display.
1320 * Finding Overlays:: Searching for overlays.
1324 * Defining Faces:: How to define a face with @code{defface}.
1325 * Face Attributes:: What is in a face?
1326 * Attribute Functions:: Functions to examine and set face attributes.
1327 * Displaying Faces:: How Emacs combines the faces specified for
1329 * Face Remapping:: Remapping faces to alternative definitions.
1330 * Face Functions:: How to define and examine faces.
1331 * Auto Faces:: Hook for automatic face assignment.
1332 * Basic Faces:: Faces that are defined by default.
1333 * Font Selection:: Finding the best available font for a face.
1334 * Font Lookup:: Looking up the names of available fonts
1335 and information about them.
1336 * Fontsets:: A fontset is a collection of fonts
1337 that handle a range of character sets.
1338 * Low-Level Font:: Lisp representation for character display fonts.
1342 * Fringe Size/Pos:: Specifying where to put the window fringes.
1343 * Fringe Indicators:: Displaying indicator icons in the window fringes.
1344 * Fringe Cursors:: Displaying cursors in the right fringe.
1345 * Fringe Bitmaps:: Specifying bitmaps for fringe indicators.
1346 * Customizing Bitmaps:: Specifying your own bitmaps to use in the fringes.
1347 * Overlay Arrow:: Display of an arrow to indicate position.
1349 The @code{display} Property
1351 * Replacing Specs:: Display specs that replace the text.
1352 * Specified Space:: Displaying one space with a specified width.
1353 * Pixel Specification:: Specifying space width or height in pixels.
1354 * Other Display Specs:: Displaying an image; adjusting the height,
1355 spacing, and other properties of text.
1356 * Display Margins:: Displaying text or images to the side of
1361 * Image Formats:: Supported image formats.
1362 * Image Descriptors:: How to specify an image for use in @code{:display}.
1363 * XBM Images:: Special features for XBM format.
1364 * XPM Images:: Special features for XPM format.
1365 * GIF Images:: Special features for GIF format.
1366 * TIFF Images:: Special features for TIFF format.
1367 * PostScript Images:: Special features for PostScript format.
1368 * Other Image Types:: Various other formats are supported.
1369 * Defining Images:: Convenient ways to define an image for later use.
1370 * Showing Images:: Convenient ways to display an image once
1372 * Animated Images:: Some image formats can be animated.
1373 * Image Cache:: Internal mechanisms of image display.
1377 * Button Properties:: Button properties with special meanings.
1378 * Button Types:: Defining common properties for classes of buttons.
1379 * Making Buttons:: Adding buttons to Emacs buffers.
1380 * Manipulating Buttons:: Getting and setting properties of buttons.
1381 * Button Buffer Commands:: Buffer-wide commands and bindings for buttons.
1385 * Abstract Display Functions:: Functions in the Ewoc package.
1386 * Abstract Display Example:: Example of using Ewoc.
1390 * Display Table Format:: What a display table consists of.
1391 * Active Display Table:: How Emacs selects a display table to use.
1392 * Glyphs:: How to define a glyph, and what glyphs mean.
1394 Operating System Interface
1396 * Starting Up:: Customizing Emacs startup processing.
1397 * Getting Out:: How exiting works (permanent or temporary).
1398 * System Environment:: Distinguish the name and kind of system.
1399 * User Identification:: Finding the name and user id of the user.
1400 * Time of Day:: Getting the current time.
1401 * Time Conversion:: Converting a time from numeric form to
1402 calendrical data and vice versa.
1403 * Time Parsing:: Converting a time from numeric form to text
1405 * Processor Run Time:: Getting the run time used by Emacs.
1406 * Time Calculations:: Adding, subtracting, comparing times, etc.
1407 * Timers:: Setting a timer to call a function at a
1409 * Idle Timers:: Setting a timer to call a function when Emacs has
1410 been idle for a certain length of time.
1411 * Terminal Input:: Accessing and recording terminal input.
1412 * Terminal Output:: Controlling and recording terminal output.
1413 * Sound Output:: Playing sounds on the computer's speaker.
1414 * X11 Keysyms:: Operating on key symbols for X Windows.
1415 * Batch Mode:: Running Emacs without terminal interaction.
1416 * Session Management:: Saving and restoring state with
1417 X Session Management.
1419 Preparing Lisp code for distribution
1421 * Packaging Basics:: The basic concepts of Emacs Lisp packages.
1422 * Simple Packages:: How to package a single .el file.
1423 * Multi-file Packages:: How to package multiple files.
1427 * Startup Summary:: Sequence of actions Emacs performs at startup.
1428 * Init File:: Details on reading the init file.
1429 * Terminal-Specific:: How the terminal-specific Lisp file is read.
1430 * Command-Line Arguments:: How command-line arguments are processed,
1431 and how you can customize them.
1433 Getting Out of Emacs
1435 * Killing Emacs:: Exiting Emacs irreversibly.
1436 * Suspending Emacs:: Exiting Emacs reversibly.
1440 * Input Modes:: Options for how input is processed.
1441 * Recording Input:: Saving histories of recent or all input events.
1443 Tips and Conventions
1445 * Coding Conventions:: Conventions for clean and robust programs.
1446 * Key Binding Conventions:: Which keys should be bound by which programs.
1447 * Programming Tips:: Making Emacs code fit smoothly in Emacs.
1448 * Compilation Tips:: Making compiled code run fast.
1449 * Warning Tips:: Turning off compiler warnings.
1450 * Documentation Tips:: Writing readable documentation strings.
1451 * Comment Tips:: Conventions for writing comments.
1452 * Library Headers:: Standard headers for library packages.
1456 * Building Emacs:: How the dumped Emacs is made.
1457 * Pure Storage:: Kludge to make preloaded Lisp functions shareable.
1458 * Garbage Collection:: Reclaiming space for Lisp objects no longer used.
1459 * Memory Usage:: Info about total size of Lisp objects made so far.
1460 * Writing Emacs Primitives:: Writing C code for Emacs.
1461 * Object Internals:: Data formats of buffers, windows, processes.
1465 * Buffer Internals:: Components of a buffer structure.
1466 * Window Internals:: Components of a window structure.
1467 * Process Internals:: Components of a process structure.
1471 @c include intro.texi
1472 @c include objects.texi
1473 @c include numbers.texi
1474 @c include strings.texi
1476 @c include lists.texi
1477 @c include sequences.texi
1478 @c include hash.texi
1479 @c include symbols.texi
1480 @c include eval.texi
1482 @c include control.texi
1483 @c include variables.texi
1484 @c include functions.texi
1485 @c include macros.texi
1487 @c include customize.texi
1488 @c include loading.texi
1489 @c include compile.texi
1490 @c include advice.texi
1492 @c This includes edebug.texi.
1493 @c include debugging.texi
1494 @c include streams.texi
1495 @c include minibuf.texi
1496 @c include commands.texi
1498 @c include keymaps.texi
1499 @c include modes.texi
1500 @c include help.texi
1501 @c include files.texi
1503 @c include backups.texi
1505 @c ================ Beginning of Volume 2 ================
1506 @include buffers.texi
1507 @include windows.texi
1508 @include frames.texi
1510 @include positions.texi
1511 @include markers.texi
1513 @include nonascii.texi
1515 @include searching.texi
1516 @include syntax.texi
1517 @include abbrevs.texi
1518 @include processes.texi
1520 @include display.texi
1523 @c MOVE to Emacs Manual: include misc-modes.texi
1527 @c REMOVE this: include non-hacker.texi
1530 @include doclicense.texi
1533 @include internals.texi
1534 @include errors.texi
1535 @include locals.texi
1542 @node New Symbols, , Index, Top
1543 @unnumbered New Symbols Since the Previous Edition
1551 These words prevent "local variables" above from confusing Emacs.