2 @c This is part of the GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual.
3 @c Copyright (C) 1998, 1999 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
4 @c See the file elisp.texi for copying conditions.
5 @setfilename ../info/characters
6 @node Non-ASCII Characters, Searching and Matching, Text, Top
7 @chapter Non-@acronym{ASCII} Characters
8 @cindex multibyte characters
9 @cindex non-@acronym{ASCII} characters
11 This chapter covers the special issues relating to non-@acronym{ASCII}
12 characters and how they are stored in strings and buffers.
15 * Text Representations:: Unibyte and multibyte representations
16 * Converting Representations:: Converting unibyte to multibyte and vice versa.
17 * Selecting a Representation:: Treating a byte sequence as unibyte or multi.
18 * Character Codes:: How unibyte and multibyte relate to
19 codes of individual characters.
20 * Character Sets:: The space of possible characters codes
21 is divided into various character sets.
22 * Chars and Bytes:: More information about multibyte encodings.
23 * Splitting Characters:: Converting a character to its byte sequence.
24 * Scanning Charsets:: Which character sets are used in a buffer?
25 * Translation of Characters:: Translation tables are used for conversion.
26 * Coding Systems:: Coding systems are conversions for saving files.
27 * Input Methods:: Input methods allow users to enter various
28 non-ASCII characters without special keyboards.
29 * Locales:: Interacting with the POSIX locale.
32 @node Text Representations
33 @section Text Representations
34 @cindex text representations
36 Emacs has two @dfn{text representations}---two ways to represent text
37 in a string or buffer. These are called @dfn{unibyte} and
38 @dfn{multibyte}. Each string, and each buffer, uses one of these two
39 representations. For most purposes, you can ignore the issue of
40 representations, because Emacs converts text between them as
41 appropriate. Occasionally in Lisp programming you will need to pay
42 attention to the difference.
45 In unibyte representation, each character occupies one byte and
46 therefore the possible character codes range from 0 to 255. Codes 0
47 through 127 are @acronym{ASCII} characters; the codes from 128 through 255
48 are used for one non-@acronym{ASCII} character set (you can choose which
49 character set by setting the variable @code{nonascii-insert-offset}).
52 @cindex multibyte text
53 @cindex trailing codes
54 In multibyte representation, a character may occupy more than one
55 byte, and as a result, the full range of Emacs character codes can be
56 stored. The first byte of a multibyte character is always in the range
57 128 through 159 (octal 0200 through 0237). These values are called
58 @dfn{leading codes}. The second and subsequent bytes of a multibyte
59 character are always in the range 160 through 255 (octal 0240 through
60 0377); these values are @dfn{trailing codes}.
62 Some sequences of bytes are not valid in multibyte text: for example,
63 a single isolated byte in the range 128 through 159 is not allowed. But
64 character codes 128 through 159 can appear in multibyte text,
65 represented as two-byte sequences. All the character codes 128 through
66 255 are possible (though slightly abnormal) in multibyte text; they
67 appear in multibyte buffers and strings when you do explicit encoding
68 and decoding (@pxref{Explicit Encoding}).
70 In a buffer, the buffer-local value of the variable
71 @code{enable-multibyte-characters} specifies the representation used.
72 The representation for a string is determined and recorded in the string
73 when the string is constructed.
75 @defvar enable-multibyte-characters
76 This variable specifies the current buffer's text representation.
77 If it is non-@code{nil}, the buffer contains multibyte text; otherwise,
78 it contains unibyte text.
80 You cannot set this variable directly; instead, use the function
81 @code{set-buffer-multibyte} to change a buffer's representation.
84 @defvar default-enable-multibyte-characters
85 This variable's value is entirely equivalent to @code{(default-value
86 'enable-multibyte-characters)}, and setting this variable changes that
87 default value. Setting the local binding of
88 @code{enable-multibyte-characters} in a specific buffer is not allowed,
89 but changing the default value is supported, and it is a reasonable
90 thing to do, because it has no effect on existing buffers.
92 The @samp{--unibyte} command line option does its job by setting the
93 default value to @code{nil} early in startup.
96 @defun position-bytes position
97 @tindex position-bytes
98 Return the byte-position corresponding to buffer position @var{position}
99 in the current buffer. If @var{position} is out of range, the value
103 @defun byte-to-position byte-position
104 @tindex byte-to-position
105 Return the buffer position corresponding to byte-position
106 @var{byte-position} in the current buffer. If @var{byte-position} is
107 out of range, the value is @code{nil}.
110 @defun multibyte-string-p string
111 Return @code{t} if @var{string} is a multibyte string.
114 @node Converting Representations
115 @section Converting Text Representations
117 Emacs can convert unibyte text to multibyte; it can also convert
118 multibyte text to unibyte, though this conversion loses information. In
119 general these conversions happen when inserting text into a buffer, or
120 when putting text from several strings together in one string. You can
121 also explicitly convert a string's contents to either representation.
123 Emacs chooses the representation for a string based on the text that
124 it is constructed from. The general rule is to convert unibyte text to
125 multibyte text when combining it with other multibyte text, because the
126 multibyte representation is more general and can hold whatever
127 characters the unibyte text has.
129 When inserting text into a buffer, Emacs converts the text to the
130 buffer's representation, as specified by
131 @code{enable-multibyte-characters} in that buffer. In particular, when
132 you insert multibyte text into a unibyte buffer, Emacs converts the text
133 to unibyte, even though this conversion cannot in general preserve all
134 the characters that might be in the multibyte text. The other natural
135 alternative, to convert the buffer contents to multibyte, is not
136 acceptable because the buffer's representation is a choice made by the
137 user that cannot be overridden automatically.
139 Converting unibyte text to multibyte text leaves @acronym{ASCII} characters
140 unchanged, and likewise character codes 128 through 159. It converts
141 the non-@acronym{ASCII} codes 160 through 255 by adding the value
142 @code{nonascii-insert-offset} to each character code. By setting this
143 variable, you specify which character set the unibyte characters
144 correspond to (@pxref{Character Sets}). For example, if
145 @code{nonascii-insert-offset} is 2048, which is @code{(- (make-char
146 'latin-iso8859-1) 128)}, then the unibyte non-@acronym{ASCII} characters
147 correspond to Latin 1. If it is 2688, which is @code{(- (make-char
148 'greek-iso8859-7) 128)}, then they correspond to Greek letters.
150 Converting multibyte text to unibyte is simpler: it discards all but
151 the low 8 bits of each character code. If @code{nonascii-insert-offset}
152 has a reasonable value, corresponding to the beginning of some character
153 set, this conversion is the inverse of the other: converting unibyte
154 text to multibyte and back to unibyte reproduces the original unibyte
157 @defvar nonascii-insert-offset
158 This variable specifies the amount to add to a non-@acronym{ASCII} character
159 when converting unibyte text to multibyte. It also applies when
160 @code{self-insert-command} inserts a character in the unibyte
161 non-@acronym{ASCII} range, 128 through 255. However, the functions
162 @code{insert} and @code{insert-char} do not perform this conversion.
164 The right value to use to select character set @var{cs} is @code{(-
165 (make-char @var{cs}) 128)}. If the value of
166 @code{nonascii-insert-offset} is zero, then conversion actually uses the
167 value for the Latin 1 character set, rather than zero.
170 @defvar nonascii-translation-table
171 This variable provides a more general alternative to
172 @code{nonascii-insert-offset}. You can use it to specify independently
173 how to translate each code in the range of 128 through 255 into a
174 multibyte character. The value should be a char-table, or @code{nil}.
175 If this is non-@code{nil}, it overrides @code{nonascii-insert-offset}.
178 The next three functions either return the argument @var{string}, or a
179 newly created string with no text properties.
181 @defun string-make-unibyte string
182 This function converts the text of @var{string} to unibyte
183 representation, if it isn't already, and returns the result. If
184 @var{string} is a unibyte string, it is returned unchanged. Multibyte
185 character codes are converted to unibyte according to
186 @code{nonascii-translation-table} or, if that is @code{nil}, using
187 @code{nonascii-insert-offset}. If the lookup in the translation table
188 fails, this function takes just the low 8 bits of each character.
191 @defun string-make-multibyte string
192 This function converts the text of @var{string} to multibyte
193 representation, if it isn't already, and returns the result. If
194 @var{string} is a multibyte string or consists entirely of
195 @acronym{ASCII} characters, it is returned unchanged. In particular,
196 if @var{string} is unibyte and entirely @acronym{ASCII}, the returned
197 string is unibyte. (When the characters are all @acronym{ASCII},
198 Emacs primitives will treat the string the same way whether it is
199 unibyte or multibyte.) If @var{string} is unibyte and contains
200 non-@acronym{ASCII} characters, the function
201 @code{unibyte-char-to-multibyte} is used to convert each unibyte
202 character to a multibyte character.
205 @defun string-to-multibyte string
206 This function returns a multibyte string containing the same sequence
207 of character codes as @var{string}. Unlike
208 @code{string-make-multibyte}, this function unconditionally returns a
209 multibyte string. If @var{string} is a multibyte string, it is
213 @node Selecting a Representation
214 @section Selecting a Representation
216 Sometimes it is useful to examine an existing buffer or string as
217 multibyte when it was unibyte, or vice versa.
219 @defun set-buffer-multibyte multibyte
220 Set the representation type of the current buffer. If @var{multibyte}
221 is non-@code{nil}, the buffer becomes multibyte. If @var{multibyte}
222 is @code{nil}, the buffer becomes unibyte.
224 This function leaves the buffer contents unchanged when viewed as a
225 sequence of bytes. As a consequence, it can change the contents viewed
226 as characters; a sequence of two bytes which is treated as one character
227 in multibyte representation will count as two characters in unibyte
228 representation. Character codes 128 through 159 are an exception. They
229 are represented by one byte in a unibyte buffer, but when the buffer is
230 set to multibyte, they are converted to two-byte sequences, and vice
233 This function sets @code{enable-multibyte-characters} to record which
234 representation is in use. It also adjusts various data in the buffer
235 (including overlays, text properties and markers) so that they cover the
236 same text as they did before.
238 You cannot use @code{set-buffer-multibyte} on an indirect buffer,
239 because indirect buffers always inherit the representation of the
243 @defun string-as-unibyte string
244 This function returns a string with the same bytes as @var{string} but
245 treating each byte as a character. This means that the value may have
246 more characters than @var{string} has.
248 If @var{string} is already a unibyte string, then the value is
249 @var{string} itself. Otherwise it is a newly created string, with no
250 text properties. If @var{string} is multibyte, any characters it
251 contains of charset @code{eight-bit-control} or @code{eight-bit-graphic}
252 are converted to the corresponding single byte.
255 @defun string-as-multibyte string
256 This function returns a string with the same bytes as @var{string} but
257 treating each multibyte sequence as one character. This means that the
258 value may have fewer characters than @var{string} has.
260 If @var{string} is already a multibyte string, then the value is
261 @var{string} itself. Otherwise it is a newly created string, with no
262 text properties. If @var{string} is unibyte and contains any individual
263 8-bit bytes (i.e.@: not part of a multibyte form), they are converted to
264 the corresponding multibyte character of charset @code{eight-bit-control}
265 or @code{eight-bit-graphic}.
268 @node Character Codes
269 @section Character Codes
270 @cindex character codes
272 The unibyte and multibyte text representations use different character
273 codes. The valid character codes for unibyte representation range from
274 0 to 255---the values that can fit in one byte. The valid character
275 codes for multibyte representation range from 0 to 524287, but not all
276 values in that range are valid. The values 128 through 255 are not
277 entirely proper in multibyte text, but they can occur if you do explicit
278 encoding and decoding (@pxref{Explicit Encoding}). Some other character
279 codes cannot occur at all in multibyte text. Only the @acronym{ASCII} codes
280 0 through 127 are completely legitimate in both representations.
282 @defun char-valid-p charcode &optional genericp
283 This returns @code{t} if @var{charcode} is valid for either one of the two
284 text representations.
295 If the optional argument @var{genericp} is non-@code{nil}, this
296 function also returns @code{t} if @var{charcode} is a generic
297 character (@pxref{Splitting Characters}).
301 @section Character Sets
302 @cindex character sets
304 Emacs classifies characters into various @dfn{character sets}, each of
305 which has a name which is a symbol. Each character belongs to one and
306 only one character set.
308 In general, there is one character set for each distinct script. For
309 example, @code{latin-iso8859-1} is one character set,
310 @code{greek-iso8859-7} is another, and @code{ascii} is another. An
311 Emacs character set can hold at most 9025 characters; therefore, in some
312 cases, characters that would logically be grouped together are split
313 into several character sets. For example, one set of Chinese
314 characters, generally known as Big 5, is divided into two Emacs
315 character sets, @code{chinese-big5-1} and @code{chinese-big5-2}.
317 @acronym{ASCII} characters are in character set @code{ascii}. The
318 non-@acronym{ASCII} characters 128 through 159 are in character set
319 @code{eight-bit-control}, and codes 160 through 255 are in character set
320 @code{eight-bit-graphic}.
322 @defun charsetp object
323 Returns @code{t} if @var{object} is a symbol that names a character set,
324 @code{nil} otherwise.
328 The value is a list of all defined character set names.
332 This function returns the value of @code{charset-list}. It is only
333 provided for backward compatibility.
336 @defun char-charset character
337 This function returns the name of the character set that @var{character}
338 belongs to, or the symbol @code{unknown} if @var{character} is not a
342 @defun charset-plist charset
343 @tindex charset-plist
344 This function returns the charset property list of the character set
345 @var{charset}. Although @var{charset} is a symbol, this is not the same
346 as the property list of that symbol. Charset properties are used for
347 special purposes within Emacs.
350 @node Chars and Bytes
351 @section Characters and Bytes
352 @cindex bytes and characters
354 @cindex introduction sequence
355 @cindex dimension (of character set)
356 In multibyte representation, each character occupies one or more
357 bytes. Each character set has an @dfn{introduction sequence}, which is
358 normally one or two bytes long. (Exception: the @code{ascii} character
359 set and the @code{eight-bit-graphic} character set have a zero-length
360 introduction sequence.) The introduction sequence is the beginning of
361 the byte sequence for any character in the character set. The rest of
362 the character's bytes distinguish it from the other characters in the
363 same character set. Depending on the character set, there are either
364 one or two distinguishing bytes; the number of such bytes is called the
365 @dfn{dimension} of the character set.
367 @defun charset-dimension charset
368 This function returns the dimension of @var{charset}; at present, the
369 dimension is always 1 or 2.
372 @defun charset-bytes charset
373 @tindex charset-bytes
374 This function returns the number of bytes used to represent a character
375 in character set @var{charset}.
378 This is the simplest way to determine the byte length of a character
379 set's introduction sequence:
382 (- (charset-bytes @var{charset})
383 (charset-dimension @var{charset}))
386 @node Splitting Characters
387 @section Splitting Characters
389 The functions in this section convert between characters and the byte
390 values used to represent them. For most purposes, there is no need to
391 be concerned with the sequence of bytes used to represent a character,
392 because Emacs translates automatically when necessary.
394 @defun split-char character
395 Return a list containing the name of the character set of
396 @var{character}, followed by one or two byte values (integers) which
397 identify @var{character} within that character set. The number of byte
398 values is the character set's dimension.
400 If @var{character} is invalid as a character code, @code{split-char}
401 returns a list consisting of the symbol @code{unknown} and @var{character}.
405 @result{} (latin-iso8859-1 72)
409 @result{} (eight-bit-control 128)
413 @defun make-char charset &optional code1 code2
414 This function returns the character in character set @var{charset} whose
415 position codes are @var{code1} and @var{code2}. This is roughly the
416 inverse of @code{split-char}. Normally, you should specify either one
417 or both of @var{code1} and @var{code2} according to the dimension of
418 @var{charset}. For example,
421 (make-char 'latin-iso8859-1 72)
425 Actually, the eighth bit of both @var{code1} and @var{code2} is zeroed
426 before they are used to index @var{charset}. Thus you may use, for
427 instance, an ISO 8859 character code rather than subtracting 128, as
428 is necessary to index the corresponding Emacs charset.
431 @cindex generic characters
432 If you call @code{make-char} with no @var{byte-values}, the result is
433 a @dfn{generic character} which stands for @var{charset}. A generic
434 character is an integer, but it is @emph{not} valid for insertion in the
435 buffer as a character. It can be used in @code{char-table-range} to
436 refer to the whole character set (@pxref{Char-Tables}).
437 @code{char-valid-p} returns @code{nil} for generic characters.
441 (make-char 'latin-iso8859-1)
445 (char-valid-p 2176 t)
448 @result{} (latin-iso8859-1 0)
451 The character sets @code{ascii}, @code{eight-bit-control}, and
452 @code{eight-bit-graphic} don't have corresponding generic characters. If
453 @var{charset} is one of them and you don't supply @var{code1},
454 @code{make-char} returns the character code corresponding to the
455 smallest code in @var{charset}.
457 @node Scanning Charsets
458 @section Scanning for Character Sets
460 Sometimes it is useful to find out which character sets appear in a
461 part of a buffer or a string. One use for this is in determining which
462 coding systems (@pxref{Coding Systems}) are capable of representing all
463 of the text in question.
465 @defun find-charset-region beg end &optional translation
466 This function returns a list of the character sets that appear in the
467 current buffer between positions @var{beg} and @var{end}.
469 The optional argument @var{translation} specifies a translation table to
470 be used in scanning the text (@pxref{Translation of Characters}). If it
471 is non-@code{nil}, then each character in the region is translated
472 through this table, and the value returned describes the translated
473 characters instead of the characters actually in the buffer.
476 @defun find-charset-string string &optional translation
477 This function returns a list of the character sets that appear in the
478 string @var{string}. It is just like @code{find-charset-region}, except
479 that it applies to the contents of @var{string} instead of part of the
483 @node Translation of Characters
484 @section Translation of Characters
485 @cindex character translation tables
486 @cindex translation tables
488 A @dfn{translation table} is a char-table that specifies a mapping
489 of characters into characters. These tables are used in encoding and
490 decoding, and for other purposes. Some coding systems specify their
491 own particular translation tables; there are also default translation
492 tables which apply to all other coding systems.
494 @defun make-translation-table &rest translations
495 This function returns a translation table based on the argument
496 @var{translations}. Each element of @var{translations} should be a
497 list of elements of the form @code{(@var{from} . @var{to})}; this says
498 to translate the character @var{from} into @var{to}.
500 The arguments and the forms in each argument are processed in order,
501 and if a previous form already translates @var{to} to some other
502 character, say @var{to-alt}, @var{from} is also translated to
505 You can also map one whole character set into another character set with
506 the same dimension. To do this, you specify a generic character (which
507 designates a character set) for @var{from} (@pxref{Splitting Characters}).
508 In this case, if @var{to} is also a generic character, its character
509 set should have the same dimension as @var{from}'s. Then the
510 translation table translates each character of @var{from}'s character
511 set into the corresponding character of @var{to}'s character set. If
512 @var{from} is a generic character and @var{to} is an ordinary
513 character, then the translation table translates every character of
514 @var{from}'s character set into @var{to}.
517 In decoding, the translation table's translations are applied to the
518 characters that result from ordinary decoding. If a coding system has
519 property @code{translation-table-for-decode}, that specifies the
520 translation table to use. (This is a property of the coding system,
521 as returned by @code{coding-system-get}, not a property of the symbol
522 that is the coding system's name. @xref{Coding System Basics,, Basic
523 Concepts of Coding Systems}.) Otherwise, if
524 @code{standard-translation-table-for-decode} is non-@code{nil},
525 decoding uses that table.
527 In encoding, the translation table's translations are applied to the
528 characters in the buffer, and the result of translation is actually
529 encoded. If a coding system has property
530 @code{translation-table-for-encode}, that specifies the translation
531 table to use. Otherwise the variable
532 @code{standard-translation-table-for-encode} specifies the translation
535 @defvar standard-translation-table-for-decode
536 This is the default translation table for decoding, for
537 coding systems that don't specify any other translation table.
540 @defvar standard-translation-table-for-encode
541 This is the default translation table for encoding, for
542 coding systems that don't specify any other translation table.
545 @defvar translation-table-for-input
546 Self-inserting characters are translated through this translation
547 table before they are inserted. This variable automatically becomes
548 buffer-local when set.
552 @section Coding Systems
554 @cindex coding system
555 When Emacs reads or writes a file, and when Emacs sends text to a
556 subprocess or receives text from a subprocess, it normally performs
557 character code conversion and end-of-line conversion as specified
558 by a particular @dfn{coding system}.
560 How to define a coding system is an arcane matter, and is not
564 * Coding System Basics:: Basic concepts.
565 * Encoding and I/O:: How file I/O functions handle coding systems.
566 * Lisp and Coding Systems:: Functions to operate on coding system names.
567 * User-Chosen Coding Systems:: Asking the user to choose a coding system.
568 * Default Coding Systems:: Controlling the default choices.
569 * Specifying Coding Systems:: Requesting a particular coding system
570 for a single file operation.
571 * Explicit Encoding:: Encoding or decoding text without doing I/O.
572 * Terminal I/O Encoding:: Use of encoding for terminal I/O.
573 * MS-DOS File Types:: How DOS "text" and "binary" files
574 relate to coding systems.
577 @node Coding System Basics
578 @subsection Basic Concepts of Coding Systems
580 @cindex character code conversion
581 @dfn{Character code conversion} involves conversion between the encoding
582 used inside Emacs and some other encoding. Emacs supports many
583 different encodings, in that it can convert to and from them. For
584 example, it can convert text to or from encodings such as Latin 1, Latin
585 2, Latin 3, Latin 4, Latin 5, and several variants of ISO 2022. In some
586 cases, Emacs supports several alternative encodings for the same
587 characters; for example, there are three coding systems for the Cyrillic
588 (Russian) alphabet: ISO, Alternativnyj, and KOI8.
590 Most coding systems specify a particular character code for
591 conversion, but some of them leave the choice unspecified---to be chosen
592 heuristically for each file, based on the data.
594 @cindex end of line conversion
595 @dfn{End of line conversion} handles three different conventions used
596 on various systems for representing end of line in files. The Unix
597 convention is to use the linefeed character (also called newline). The
598 DOS convention is to use a carriage-return and a linefeed at the end of
599 a line. The Mac convention is to use just carriage-return.
601 @cindex base coding system
602 @cindex variant coding system
603 @dfn{Base coding systems} such as @code{latin-1} leave the end-of-line
604 conversion unspecified, to be chosen based on the data. @dfn{Variant
605 coding systems} such as @code{latin-1-unix}, @code{latin-1-dos} and
606 @code{latin-1-mac} specify the end-of-line conversion explicitly as
607 well. Most base coding systems have three corresponding variants whose
608 names are formed by adding @samp{-unix}, @samp{-dos} and @samp{-mac}.
610 The coding system @code{raw-text} is special in that it prevents
611 character code conversion, and causes the buffer visited with that
612 coding system to be a unibyte buffer. It does not specify the
613 end-of-line conversion, allowing that to be determined as usual by the
614 data, and has the usual three variants which specify the end-of-line
615 conversion. @code{no-conversion} is equivalent to @code{raw-text-unix}:
616 it specifies no conversion of either character codes or end-of-line.
618 The coding system @code{emacs-mule} specifies that the data is
619 represented in the internal Emacs encoding. This is like
620 @code{raw-text} in that no code conversion happens, but different in
621 that the result is multibyte data.
623 @defun coding-system-get coding-system property
624 This function returns the specified property of the coding system
625 @var{coding-system}. Most coding system properties exist for internal
626 purposes, but one that you might find useful is @code{mime-charset}.
627 That property's value is the name used in MIME for the character coding
628 which this coding system can read and write. Examples:
631 (coding-system-get 'iso-latin-1 'mime-charset)
633 (coding-system-get 'iso-2022-cn 'mime-charset)
634 @result{} iso-2022-cn
635 (coding-system-get 'cyrillic-koi8 'mime-charset)
639 The value of the @code{mime-charset} property is also defined
640 as an alias for the coding system.
643 @node Encoding and I/O
644 @subsection Encoding and I/O
646 The principal purpose of coding systems is for use in reading and
647 writing files. The function @code{insert-file-contents} uses
648 a coding system for decoding the file data, and @code{write-region}
649 uses one to encode the buffer contents.
651 You can specify the coding system to use either explicitly
652 (@pxref{Specifying Coding Systems}), or implicitly using the defaulting
653 mechanism (@pxref{Default Coding Systems}). But these methods may not
654 completely specify what to do. For example, they may choose a coding
655 system such as @code{undefined} which leaves the character code
656 conversion to be determined from the data. In these cases, the I/O
657 operation finishes the job of choosing a coding system. Very often
658 you will want to find out afterwards which coding system was chosen.
660 @defvar buffer-file-coding-system
661 This variable records the coding system that was used for visiting the
662 current buffer. It is used for saving the buffer, and for writing part
663 of the buffer with @code{write-region}. If the text to be written
664 cannot be safely encoded using the coding system specified by this
665 variable, these operations select an alternative encoding by calling
666 the function @code{select-safe-coding-system} (@pxref{User-Chosen
667 Coding Systems}). If selecting a different encoding requires to ask
668 the user to specify a coding system, @code{buffer-file-coding-system}
669 is updated to the newly selected coding system.
671 @code{buffer-file-coding-system} does @emph{not} affect sending text
675 @defvar save-buffer-coding-system
676 This variable specifies the coding system for saving the buffer (by
677 overriding @code{buffer-file-coding-system}). Note that it is not used
678 for @code{write-region}.
680 When a command to save the buffer starts out to use
681 @code{buffer-file-coding-system} (or @code{save-buffer-coding-system}),
682 and that coding system cannot handle
683 the actual text in the buffer, the command asks the user to choose
684 another coding system (by calling @code{select-safe-coding-system}).
685 After that happens, the command also updates
686 @code{buffer-file-coding-system} to represent the coding system that
690 @defvar last-coding-system-used
691 I/O operations for files and subprocesses set this variable to the
692 coding system name that was used. The explicit encoding and decoding
693 functions (@pxref{Explicit Encoding}) set it too.
695 @strong{Warning:} Since receiving subprocess output sets this variable,
696 it can change whenever Emacs waits; therefore, you should copy the
697 value shortly after the function call that stores the value you are
701 The variable @code{selection-coding-system} specifies how to encode
702 selections for the window system. @xref{Window System Selections}.
704 @node Lisp and Coding Systems
705 @subsection Coding Systems in Lisp
707 Here are the Lisp facilities for working with coding systems:
709 @defun coding-system-list &optional base-only
710 This function returns a list of all coding system names (symbols). If
711 @var{base-only} is non-@code{nil}, the value includes only the
712 base coding systems. Otherwise, it includes alias and variant coding
716 @defun coding-system-p object
717 This function returns @code{t} if @var{object} is a coding system
721 @defun check-coding-system coding-system
722 This function checks the validity of @var{coding-system}.
723 If that is valid, it returns @var{coding-system}.
724 Otherwise it signals an error with condition @code{coding-system-error}.
727 @defun coding-system-change-eol-conversion coding-system eol-type
728 This function returns a coding system which is like @var{coding-system}
729 except for its eol conversion, which is specified by @code{eol-type}.
730 @var{eol-type} should be @code{unix}, @code{dos}, @code{mac}, or
731 @code{nil}. If it is @code{nil}, the returned coding system determines
732 the end-of-line conversion from the data.
734 @var{eol-type} may also be 0, 1 or 2, standing for @code{unix},
735 @code{dos} and @code{mac}, respectively.
738 @defun coding-system-change-text-conversion eol-coding text-coding
739 This function returns a coding system which uses the end-of-line
740 conversion of @var{eol-coding}, and the text conversion of
741 @var{text-coding}. If @var{text-coding} is @code{nil}, it returns
742 @code{undecided}, or one of its variants according to @var{eol-coding}.
745 @defun find-coding-systems-region from to
746 This function returns a list of coding systems that could be used to
747 encode a text between @var{from} and @var{to}. All coding systems in
748 the list can safely encode any multibyte characters in that portion of
751 If the text contains no multibyte characters, the function returns the
752 list @code{(undecided)}.
755 @defun find-coding-systems-string string
756 This function returns a list of coding systems that could be used to
757 encode the text of @var{string}. All coding systems in the list can
758 safely encode any multibyte characters in @var{string}. If the text
759 contains no multibyte characters, this returns the list
763 @defun find-coding-systems-for-charsets charsets
764 This function returns a list of coding systems that could be used to
765 encode all the character sets in the list @var{charsets}.
768 @defun detect-coding-region start end &optional highest
769 This function chooses a plausible coding system for decoding the text
770 from @var{start} to @var{end}. This text should be a byte sequence
771 (@pxref{Explicit Encoding}).
773 Normally this function returns a list of coding systems that could
774 handle decoding the text that was scanned. They are listed in order of
775 decreasing priority. But if @var{highest} is non-@code{nil}, then the
776 return value is just one coding system, the one that is highest in
779 If the region contains only @acronym{ASCII} characters, the value
780 is @code{undecided} or @code{(undecided)}, or a variant specifying
781 end-of-line conversion, if that can be deduced from the text.
784 @defun detect-coding-string string &optional highest
785 This function is like @code{detect-coding-region} except that it
786 operates on the contents of @var{string} instead of bytes in the buffer.
789 @xref{Coding systems for a subprocess,, Process Information}, in
790 particular the description of the functions
791 @code{process-coding-system} and @code{set-process-coding-system}, for
792 how to examine or set the coding systems used for I/O to a subprocess.
794 @node User-Chosen Coding Systems
795 @subsection User-Chosen Coding Systems
797 @cindex select safe coding system
798 @defun select-safe-coding-system from to &optional default-coding-system accept-default-p file
799 This function selects a coding system for encoding specified text,
800 asking the user to choose if necessary. Normally the specified text
801 is the text in the current buffer between @var{from} and @var{to}. If
802 @var{from} is a string, the string specifies the text to encode, and
805 If @var{default-coding-system} is non-@code{nil}, that is the first
806 coding system to try; if that can handle the text,
807 @code{select-safe-coding-system} returns that coding system. It can
808 also be a list of coding systems; then the function tries each of them
809 one by one. After trying all of them, it next tries the current
810 buffer's value of @code{buffer-file-coding-system} (if it is not
811 @code{undecided}), then the value of
812 @code{default-buffer-file-coding-system} and finally the user's most
813 preferred coding system, which the user can set using the command
814 @code{prefer-coding-system} (@pxref{Recognize Coding,, Recognizing
815 Coding Systems, emacs, The GNU Emacs Manual}).
817 If one of those coding systems can safely encode all the specified
818 text, @code{select-safe-coding-system} chooses it and returns it.
819 Otherwise, it asks the user to choose from a list of coding systems
820 which can encode all the text, and returns the user's choice.
822 @var{default-coding-system} can also be a list whose first element is
823 t and whose other elements are coding systems. Then, if no coding
824 system in the list can handle the text, @code{select-safe-coding-system}
825 queries the user immediately, without trying any of the three
826 alternatives described above.
828 The optional argument @var{accept-default-p}, if non-@code{nil},
829 should be a function to determine whether a coding system selected
830 without user interaction is acceptable. @code{select-safe-coding-system}
831 calls this function with one argument, the base coding system of the
832 selected coding system. If @var{accept-default-p} returns @code{nil},
833 @code{select-safe-coding-system} rejects the silently selected coding
834 system, and asks the user to select a coding system from a list of
837 @vindex select-safe-coding-system-accept-default-p
838 If the variable @code{select-safe-coding-system-accept-default-p} is
839 non-@code{nil}, its value overrides the value of
840 @var{accept-default-p}.
842 As a final step, before returning the chosen coding system,
843 @code{select-safe-coding-system} checks whether that coding system is
844 consistent with what would be selected if the contents of the region
845 were read from a file. (If not, this could lead to data corruption in
846 a file subsequently re-visited and edited.) Normally,
847 @code{select-safe-coding-system} uses @code{buffer-file-name} as the
848 file for this purpose, but if @var{file} is non-@code{nil}, it uses
849 that file instead (this can be relevant for @code{write-region} and
850 similar functions). If it detects an apparent inconsistency,
851 @code{select-safe-coding-system} queries the user before selecting the
855 Here are two functions you can use to let the user specify a coding
856 system, with completion. @xref{Completion}.
858 @defun read-coding-system prompt &optional default
859 This function reads a coding system using the minibuffer, prompting with
860 string @var{prompt}, and returns the coding system name as a symbol. If
861 the user enters null input, @var{default} specifies which coding system
862 to return. It should be a symbol or a string.
865 @defun read-non-nil-coding-system prompt
866 This function reads a coding system using the minibuffer, prompting with
867 string @var{prompt}, and returns the coding system name as a symbol. If
868 the user tries to enter null input, it asks the user to try again.
869 @xref{Coding Systems}.
872 @node Default Coding Systems
873 @subsection Default Coding Systems
875 This section describes variables that specify the default coding
876 system for certain files or when running certain subprograms, and the
877 function that I/O operations use to access them.
879 The idea of these variables is that you set them once and for all to the
880 defaults you want, and then do not change them again. To specify a
881 particular coding system for a particular operation in a Lisp program,
882 don't change these variables; instead, override them using
883 @code{coding-system-for-read} and @code{coding-system-for-write}
884 (@pxref{Specifying Coding Systems}).
886 @defvar auto-coding-regexp-alist
887 This variable is an alist of text patterns and corresponding coding
888 systems. Each element has the form @code{(@var{regexp}
889 . @var{coding-system})}; a file whose first few kilobytes match
890 @var{regexp} is decoded with @var{coding-system} when its contents are
891 read into a buffer. The settings in this alist take priority over
892 @code{coding:} tags in the files and the contents of
893 @code{file-coding-system-alist} (see below). The default value is set
894 so that Emacs automatically recognizes mail files in Babyl format and
895 reads them with no code conversions.
898 @defvar file-coding-system-alist
899 This variable is an alist that specifies the coding systems to use for
900 reading and writing particular files. Each element has the form
901 @code{(@var{pattern} . @var{coding})}, where @var{pattern} is a regular
902 expression that matches certain file names. The element applies to file
903 names that match @var{pattern}.
905 The @sc{cdr} of the element, @var{coding}, should be either a coding
906 system, a cons cell containing two coding systems, or a function name (a
907 symbol with a function definition). If @var{coding} is a coding system,
908 that coding system is used for both reading the file and writing it. If
909 @var{coding} is a cons cell containing two coding systems, its @sc{car}
910 specifies the coding system for decoding, and its @sc{cdr} specifies the
911 coding system for encoding.
913 If @var{coding} is a function name, the function should take one
914 argument, a list of all arguments passed to
915 @code{find-operation-coding-system}. It must return a coding system
916 or a cons cell containing two coding systems. This value has the same
917 meaning as described above.
920 @defvar process-coding-system-alist
921 This variable is an alist specifying which coding systems to use for a
922 subprocess, depending on which program is running in the subprocess. It
923 works like @code{file-coding-system-alist}, except that @var{pattern} is
924 matched against the program name used to start the subprocess. The coding
925 system or systems specified in this alist are used to initialize the
926 coding systems used for I/O to the subprocess, but you can specify
927 other coding systems later using @code{set-process-coding-system}.
930 @strong{Warning:} Coding systems such as @code{undecided}, which
931 determine the coding system from the data, do not work entirely reliably
932 with asynchronous subprocess output. This is because Emacs handles
933 asynchronous subprocess output in batches, as it arrives. If the coding
934 system leaves the character code conversion unspecified, or leaves the
935 end-of-line conversion unspecified, Emacs must try to detect the proper
936 conversion from one batch at a time, and this does not always work.
938 Therefore, with an asynchronous subprocess, if at all possible, use a
939 coding system which determines both the character code conversion and
940 the end of line conversion---that is, one like @code{latin-1-unix},
941 rather than @code{undecided} or @code{latin-1}.
943 @defvar network-coding-system-alist
944 This variable is an alist that specifies the coding system to use for
945 network streams. It works much like @code{file-coding-system-alist},
946 with the difference that the @var{pattern} in an element may be either a
947 port number or a regular expression. If it is a regular expression, it
948 is matched against the network service name used to open the network
952 @defvar default-process-coding-system
953 This variable specifies the coding systems to use for subprocess (and
954 network stream) input and output, when nothing else specifies what to
957 The value should be a cons cell of the form @code{(@var{input-coding}
958 . @var{output-coding})}. Here @var{input-coding} applies to input from
959 the subprocess, and @var{output-coding} applies to output to it.
962 @defvar auto-coding-functions
963 This variable holds a list of functions that try to determine a
964 coding system for a file based on its undecoded contents.
966 Each function in this list should be written to look at text in the
967 current buffer, but should not modify it in any way. The buffer will
968 contain undecoded text of parts of the file. Each function should
969 take one argument, @var{size}, which tells it how many characters to
970 look at, starting from point. If the function succeeds in determining
971 a coding system for the file, it should return that coding system.
972 Otherwise, it should return @code{nil}.
974 If a file has a @samp{coding:} tag, that takes precedence, so these
975 functions won't be called.
978 @defun find-operation-coding-system operation &rest arguments
979 This function returns the coding system to use (by default) for
980 performing @var{operation} with @var{arguments}. The value has this
984 (@var{decoding-system} . @var{encoding-system})
987 The first element, @var{decoding-system}, is the coding system to use
988 for decoding (in case @var{operation} does decoding), and
989 @var{encoding-system} is the coding system for encoding (in case
990 @var{operation} does encoding).
992 The argument @var{operation} should be a symbol, one of
993 @code{insert-file-contents}, @code{write-region}, @code{call-process},
994 @code{call-process-region}, @code{start-process}, or
995 @code{open-network-stream}. These are the names of the Emacs I/O primitives
996 that can do coding system conversion.
998 The remaining arguments should be the same arguments that might be given
999 to that I/O primitive. Depending on the primitive, one of those
1000 arguments is selected as the @dfn{target}. For example, if
1001 @var{operation} does file I/O, whichever argument specifies the file
1002 name is the target. For subprocess primitives, the process name is the
1003 target. For @code{open-network-stream}, the target is the service name
1006 This function looks up the target in @code{file-coding-system-alist},
1007 @code{process-coding-system-alist}, or
1008 @code{network-coding-system-alist}, depending on @var{operation}.
1011 @node Specifying Coding Systems
1012 @subsection Specifying a Coding System for One Operation
1014 You can specify the coding system for a specific operation by binding
1015 the variables @code{coding-system-for-read} and/or
1016 @code{coding-system-for-write}.
1018 @defvar coding-system-for-read
1019 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it specifies the coding system to
1020 use for reading a file, or for input from a synchronous subprocess.
1022 It also applies to any asynchronous subprocess or network stream, but in
1023 a different way: the value of @code{coding-system-for-read} when you
1024 start the subprocess or open the network stream specifies the input
1025 decoding method for that subprocess or network stream. It remains in
1026 use for that subprocess or network stream unless and until overridden.
1028 The right way to use this variable is to bind it with @code{let} for a
1029 specific I/O operation. Its global value is normally @code{nil}, and
1030 you should not globally set it to any other value. Here is an example
1031 of the right way to use the variable:
1034 ;; @r{Read the file with no character code conversion.}
1035 ;; @r{Assume @acronym{crlf} represents end-of-line.}
1036 (let ((coding-system-for-write 'emacs-mule-dos))
1037 (insert-file-contents filename))
1040 When its value is non-@code{nil}, @code{coding-system-for-read} takes
1041 precedence over all other methods of specifying a coding system to use for
1042 input, including @code{file-coding-system-alist},
1043 @code{process-coding-system-alist} and
1044 @code{network-coding-system-alist}.
1047 @defvar coding-system-for-write
1048 This works much like @code{coding-system-for-read}, except that it
1049 applies to output rather than input. It affects writing to files,
1050 as well as sending output to subprocesses and net connections.
1052 When a single operation does both input and output, as do
1053 @code{call-process-region} and @code{start-process}, both
1054 @code{coding-system-for-read} and @code{coding-system-for-write}
1058 @defvar inhibit-eol-conversion
1059 When this variable is non-@code{nil}, no end-of-line conversion is done,
1060 no matter which coding system is specified. This applies to all the
1061 Emacs I/O and subprocess primitives, and to the explicit encoding and
1062 decoding functions (@pxref{Explicit Encoding}).
1065 @node Explicit Encoding
1066 @subsection Explicit Encoding and Decoding
1067 @cindex encoding text
1068 @cindex decoding text
1070 All the operations that transfer text in and out of Emacs have the
1071 ability to use a coding system to encode or decode the text.
1072 You can also explicitly encode and decode text using the functions
1075 The result of encoding, and the input to decoding, are not ordinary
1076 text. They logically consist of a series of byte values; that is, a
1077 series of characters whose codes are in the range 0 through 255. In a
1078 multibyte buffer or string, character codes 128 through 159 are
1079 represented by multibyte sequences, but this is invisible to Lisp
1082 The usual way to read a file into a buffer as a sequence of bytes, so
1083 you can decode the contents explicitly, is with
1084 @code{insert-file-contents-literally} (@pxref{Reading from Files});
1085 alternatively, specify a non-@code{nil} @var{rawfile} argument when
1086 visiting a file with @code{find-file-noselect}. These methods result in
1089 The usual way to use the byte sequence that results from explicitly
1090 encoding text is to copy it to a file or process---for example, to write
1091 it with @code{write-region} (@pxref{Writing to Files}), and suppress
1092 encoding by binding @code{coding-system-for-write} to
1093 @code{no-conversion}.
1095 Here are the functions to perform explicit encoding or decoding. The
1096 decoding functions produce sequences of bytes; the encoding functions
1097 are meant to operate on sequences of bytes. All of these functions
1098 discard text properties.
1100 @deffn Command encode-coding-region start end coding-system
1101 This command encodes the text from @var{start} to @var{end} according
1102 to coding system @var{coding-system}. The encoded text replaces the
1103 original text in the buffer. The result of encoding is logically a
1104 sequence of bytes, but the buffer remains multibyte if it was multibyte
1107 This command returns the length of the encoded text.
1110 @defun encode-coding-string string coding-system &optional nocopy
1111 This function encodes the text in @var{string} according to coding
1112 system @var{coding-system}. It returns a new string containing the
1113 encoded text, except when @var{nocopy} is non-@code{nil}, in which
1114 case the function may return @var{string} itself if the encoding
1115 operation is trivial. The result of encoding is a unibyte string.
1118 @deffn Command decode-coding-region start end coding-system
1119 This command decodes the text from @var{start} to @var{end} according
1120 to coding system @var{coding-system}. The decoded text replaces the
1121 original text in the buffer. To make explicit decoding useful, the text
1122 before decoding ought to be a sequence of byte values, but both
1123 multibyte and unibyte buffers are acceptable.
1125 This command returns the length of the decoded text.
1128 @defun decode-coding-string string coding-system &optional nocopy
1129 This function decodes the text in @var{string} according to coding
1130 system @var{coding-system}. It returns a new string containing the
1131 decoded text, except when @var{nocopy} is non-@code{nil}, in which
1132 case the function may return @var{string} itself if the decoding
1133 operation is trivial. To make explicit decoding useful, the contents
1134 of @var{string} ought to be a sequence of byte values, but a multibyte
1135 string is acceptable.
1138 @defun decode-coding-inserted-region from to filename &optional visit beg end replace
1139 This function decodes the text from @var{from} to @var{to} as if
1140 it were being read from file @var{filename} using @code{insert-file-contents}
1141 using the rest of the arguments provided.
1143 The normal way to use this function is after reading text from a file
1144 without decoding, if you decide you would rather have decoded it.
1145 Instead of deleting the text and reading it again, this time with
1146 decoding, you can call this function.
1149 @node Terminal I/O Encoding
1150 @subsection Terminal I/O Encoding
1152 Emacs can decode keyboard input using a coding system, and encode
1153 terminal output. This is useful for terminals that transmit or display
1154 text using a particular encoding such as Latin-1. Emacs does not set
1155 @code{last-coding-system-used} for encoding or decoding for the
1158 @defun keyboard-coding-system
1159 This function returns the coding system that is in use for decoding
1160 keyboard input---or @code{nil} if no coding system is to be used.
1163 @deffn Command set-keyboard-coding-system coding-system
1164 This command specifies @var{coding-system} as the coding system to
1165 use for decoding keyboard input. If @var{coding-system} is @code{nil},
1166 that means do not decode keyboard input.
1169 @defun terminal-coding-system
1170 This function returns the coding system that is in use for encoding
1171 terminal output---or @code{nil} for no encoding.
1174 @deffn Command set-terminal-coding-system coding-system
1175 This command specifies @var{coding-system} as the coding system to use
1176 for encoding terminal output. If @var{coding-system} is @code{nil},
1177 that means do not encode terminal output.
1180 @node MS-DOS File Types
1181 @subsection MS-DOS File Types
1182 @cindex DOS file types
1183 @cindex MS-DOS file types
1184 @cindex Windows file types
1185 @cindex file types on MS-DOS and Windows
1186 @cindex text files and binary files
1187 @cindex binary files and text files
1189 On MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows, Emacs guesses the appropriate
1190 end-of-line conversion for a file by looking at the file's name. This
1191 feature classifies files as @dfn{text files} and @dfn{binary files}. By
1192 ``binary file'' we mean a file of literal byte values that are not
1193 necessarily meant to be characters; Emacs does no end-of-line conversion
1194 and no character code conversion for them. On the other hand, the bytes
1195 in a text file are intended to represent characters; when you create a
1196 new file whose name implies that it is a text file, Emacs uses DOS
1197 end-of-line conversion.
1199 @defvar buffer-file-type
1200 This variable, automatically buffer-local in each buffer, records the
1201 file type of the buffer's visited file. When a buffer does not specify
1202 a coding system with @code{buffer-file-coding-system}, this variable is
1203 used to determine which coding system to use when writing the contents
1204 of the buffer. It should be @code{nil} for text, @code{t} for binary.
1205 If it is @code{t}, the coding system is @code{no-conversion}.
1206 Otherwise, @code{undecided-dos} is used.
1208 Normally this variable is set by visiting a file; it is set to
1209 @code{nil} if the file was visited without any actual conversion.
1212 @defopt file-name-buffer-file-type-alist
1213 This variable holds an alist for recognizing text and binary files.
1214 Each element has the form (@var{regexp} . @var{type}), where
1215 @var{regexp} is matched against the file name, and @var{type} may be
1216 @code{nil} for text, @code{t} for binary, or a function to call to
1217 compute which. If it is a function, then it is called with a single
1218 argument (the file name) and should return @code{t} or @code{nil}.
1220 When running on MS-DOS or MS-Windows, Emacs checks this alist to decide
1221 which coding system to use when reading a file. For a text file,
1222 @code{undecided-dos} is used. For a binary file, @code{no-conversion}
1225 If no element in this alist matches a given file name, then
1226 @code{default-buffer-file-type} says how to treat the file.
1229 @defopt default-buffer-file-type
1230 This variable says how to handle files for which
1231 @code{file-name-buffer-file-type-alist} says nothing about the type.
1233 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, then these files are treated as
1234 binary: the coding system @code{no-conversion} is used. Otherwise,
1235 nothing special is done for them---the coding system is deduced solely
1236 from the file contents, in the usual Emacs fashion.
1240 @section Input Methods
1241 @cindex input methods
1243 @dfn{Input methods} provide convenient ways of entering non-@acronym{ASCII}
1244 characters from the keyboard. Unlike coding systems, which translate
1245 non-@acronym{ASCII} characters to and from encodings meant to be read by
1246 programs, input methods provide human-friendly commands. (@xref{Input
1247 Methods,,, emacs, The GNU Emacs Manual}, for information on how users
1248 use input methods to enter text.) How to define input methods is not
1249 yet documented in this manual, but here we describe how to use them.
1251 Each input method has a name, which is currently a string;
1252 in the future, symbols may also be usable as input method names.
1254 @defvar current-input-method
1255 This variable holds the name of the input method now active in the
1256 current buffer. (It automatically becomes local in each buffer when set
1257 in any fashion.) It is @code{nil} if no input method is active in the
1261 @defopt default-input-method
1262 This variable holds the default input method for commands that choose an
1263 input method. Unlike @code{current-input-method}, this variable is
1267 @deffn Command set-input-method input-method
1268 This command activates input method @var{input-method} for the current
1269 buffer. It also sets @code{default-input-method} to @var{input-method}.
1270 If @var{input-method} is @code{nil}, this command deactivates any input
1271 method for the current buffer.
1274 @defun read-input-method-name prompt &optional default inhibit-null
1275 This function reads an input method name with the minibuffer, prompting
1276 with @var{prompt}. If @var{default} is non-@code{nil}, that is returned
1277 by default, if the user enters empty input. However, if
1278 @var{inhibit-null} is non-@code{nil}, empty input signals an error.
1280 The returned value is a string.
1283 @defvar input-method-alist
1284 This variable defines all the supported input methods.
1285 Each element defines one input method, and should have the form:
1288 (@var{input-method} @var{language-env} @var{activate-func}
1289 @var{title} @var{description} @var{args}...)
1292 Here @var{input-method} is the input method name, a string;
1293 @var{language-env} is another string, the name of the language
1294 environment this input method is recommended for. (That serves only for
1295 documentation purposes.)
1297 @var{activate-func} is a function to call to activate this method. The
1298 @var{args}, if any, are passed as arguments to @var{activate-func}. All
1299 told, the arguments to @var{activate-func} are @var{input-method} and
1302 @var{title} is a string to display in the mode line while this method is
1303 active. @var{description} is a string describing this method and what
1307 The fundamental interface to input methods is through the
1308 variable @code{input-method-function}. @xref{Reading One Event},
1309 and @ref{Invoking the Input Method}.
1315 POSIX defines a concept of ``locales'' which control which language
1316 to use in language-related features. These Emacs variables control
1317 how Emacs interacts with these features.
1319 @defvar locale-coding-system
1320 @tindex locale-coding-system
1321 @cindex keyboard input decoding on X
1322 This variable specifies the coding system to use for decoding system
1323 error messages and---on X Window system only---keyboard input, for
1324 encoding the format argument to @code{format-time-string}, and for
1325 decoding the return value of @code{format-time-string}.
1328 @defvar system-messages-locale
1329 @tindex system-messages-locale
1330 This variable specifies the locale to use for generating system error
1331 messages. Changing the locale can cause messages to come out in a
1332 different language or in a different orthography. If the variable is
1333 @code{nil}, the locale is specified by environment variables in the
1334 usual POSIX fashion.
1337 @defvar system-time-locale
1338 @tindex system-time-locale
1339 This variable specifies the locale to use for formatting time values.
1340 Changing the locale can cause messages to appear according to the
1341 conventions of a different language. If the variable is @code{nil}, the
1342 locale is specified by environment variables in the usual POSIX fashion.
1345 @defun locale-info item
1346 This function returns locale data @var{item} for the current POSIX
1347 locale, if available. @var{item} should be one of these symbols:
1351 Return the character set as a string (locale item @code{CODESET}).
1354 Return a 7-element vector of day names (locale items
1355 @code{DAY_1} through @code{DAY_7});
1358 Return a 12-element vector of month names (locale items @code{MON_1}
1359 through @code{MON_12}).
1362 Return a list @code{(@var{width} @var{height})} for the default paper
1363 size measured in millimeters (locale items @code{PAPER_WIDTH} and
1364 @code{PAPER_HEIGHT}).
1367 If the system can't provide the requested information, or if
1368 @var{item} is not one of those symbols, the value is @code{nil}. All
1369 strings in the return value are decoded using
1370 @code{locale-coding-system}. @xref{Locales,,, libc, The GNU Libc Manual},
1371 for more information about locales and locale items.
1375 arch-tag: be705bf8-941b-4c35-84fc-ad7d20ddb7cb