1 @c This is part of the Emacs manual.
2 @c Copyright (C) 1985, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000,
3 @c 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
4 @c Free Software Foundation, Inc.
5 @c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
6 @node Programs, Building, Text, Top
7 @chapter Editing Programs
10 @cindex program editing
12 Emacs provides many features to facilitate editing programs. Some
17 Find or move over top-level definitions (@pxref{Defuns}).
19 Apply the usual indentation conventions of the language
20 (@pxref{Program Indent}).
22 Balance parentheses (@pxref{Parentheses}).
24 Insert, kill or align comments (@pxref{Comments}).
26 Highlight program syntax (@pxref{Font Lock}).
29 This chapter describes these features and many more.
32 * Program Modes:: Major modes for editing programs.
33 * Defuns:: Commands to operate on major top-level parts
35 * Program Indent:: Adjusting indentation to show the nesting.
36 * Parentheses:: Commands that operate on parentheses.
37 * Comments:: Inserting, killing, and aligning comments.
38 * Documentation:: Getting documentation of functions you plan to call.
39 * Hideshow:: Displaying blocks selectively.
40 * Symbol Completion:: Completion on symbol names of your program or language.
41 * Glasses:: Making identifiersLikeThis more readable.
42 * Semantic:: Suite of editing tools based on source code parsing.
43 * Misc for Programs:: Other Emacs features useful for editing programs.
44 * C Modes:: Special commands of C, C++, Objective-C,
46 * Asm Mode:: Asm mode and its special features.
48 * Fortran:: Fortran mode and its special features.
53 @section Major Modes for Programming Languages
54 @cindex modes for programming languages
56 Emacs has specialized major modes for various programming languages.
57 @xref{Major Modes}. A programming language major mode typically
58 specifies the syntax of expressions, the customary rules for
59 indentation, how to do syntax highlighting for the language, and how
60 to find the beginning or end of a function definition. It often
61 customizes or provides facilities for compiling and debugging programs
64 Ideally, Emacs should provide a major mode for each programming
65 language that you might want to edit; if it doesn't have a mode for
66 your favorite language, you can contribute one. But often the mode
67 for one language can serve for other syntactically similar languages.
68 The major mode for language @var{l} is called @code{@var{l}-mode},
69 and you can select it by typing @kbd{M-x @var{l}-mode @key{RET}}.
70 @xref{Choosing Modes}.
87 @cindex Shell-script mode
89 @cindex PostScript mode
92 @cindex Javascript mode
93 The existing programming language major modes include Lisp, Scheme
94 (a variant of Lisp) and the Scheme-based DSSSL expression language,
95 Ada, ASM, AWK, C, C++, Delphi (Object Pascal), Fortran, Icon, IDL
96 (CORBA), IDLWAVE, Java, Javascript, Metafont (@TeX{}'s companion for
97 font creation), Modula2, Objective-C, Octave, Pascal, Perl, Pike,
98 PostScript, Prolog, Python, Ruby, Simula, Tcl, and VHDL. An
99 alternative mode for Perl is called CPerl mode. Modes are available
100 for the scripting languages of the common GNU and Unix shells, VMS
101 DCL, and MS-DOS/MS-Windows @samp{BAT} files. There are also major
102 modes for editing makefiles, DNS master files, and various sorts of
105 @kindex DEL @r{(programming modes)}
106 @findex c-electric-backspace
107 In most programming languages, indentation should vary from line to
108 line to illustrate the structure of the program. So the major modes
109 for programming languages arrange for @key{TAB} to update the
110 indentation of the current line (@pxref{Program Indent}). They also
111 rebind @key{DEL} to treat a tab as if it were the equivalent number of
112 spaces; this lets you delete one column of indentation without
113 worrying whether the whitespace consists of spaces or tabs. Use
114 @kbd{C-b C-d} to delete a tab character before point, in these modes.
116 Separate manuals are available for the modes for Ada (@pxref{Top, , Ada
117 Mode, ada-mode, Ada Mode}), C/C++/Objective C/Java/Corba IDL/Pike/AWK
118 (@pxref{Top, , CC Mode, ccmode, CC Mode}) and the IDLWAVE modes
119 (@pxref{Top, , IDLWAVE, idlwave, IDLWAVE User Manual}). For Fortran
122 @ref{Fortran,,, emacs-xtra, Specialized Emacs Features}.
130 @vindex lisp-mode-hook
131 @vindex emacs-lisp-mode-hook
132 @vindex lisp-interaction-mode-hook
133 @vindex scheme-mode-hook
134 Turning on a major mode runs a normal hook called the @dfn{mode
135 hook}, which is the value of a Lisp variable. Each major mode has a
136 mode hook, and the hook's name is always made from the mode command's
137 name by adding @samp{-hook}. For example, turning on C mode runs the
138 hook @code{c-mode-hook}, while turning on Lisp mode runs the hook
139 @code{lisp-mode-hook}. The purpose of the mode hook is to give you a
140 place to set up customizations for that major mode. @xref{Hooks}.
143 @section Top-Level Definitions, or Defuns
145 In Emacs, a major definition at the top level in the buffer, such as
146 a function, is called a @dfn{defun}. The name comes from Lisp, but in
147 Emacs we use it for all languages.
150 * Left Margin Paren:: An open-paren or similar opening delimiter
151 starts a defun if it is at the left margin.
152 * Moving by Defuns:: Commands to move over or mark a major definition.
153 * Imenu:: Making buffer indexes as menus.
154 * Which Function:: Which Function mode shows which function you are in.
157 @node Left Margin Paren
158 @subsection Left Margin Convention
160 @cindex open-parenthesis in leftmost column
161 @cindex ( in leftmost column
162 Many programming-language modes assume by default that any opening
163 delimiter found at the left margin is the start of a top-level
164 definition, or defun. Therefore, @strong{don't put an opening
165 delimiter at the left margin unless it should have that significance}.
166 For instance, never put an open-parenthesis at the left margin in a
167 Lisp file unless it is the start of a top-level list.
169 The convention speeds up many Emacs operations, which would
170 otherwise have to scan back to the beginning of the buffer to analyze
171 the syntax of the code.
173 If you don't follow this convention, not only will you have trouble
174 when you explicitly use the commands for motion by defuns; other
175 features that use them will also give you trouble. This includes the
176 indentation commands (@pxref{Program Indent}) and Font Lock mode
179 The most likely problem case is when you want an opening delimiter
180 at the start of a line inside a string. To avoid trouble, put an
181 escape character (@samp{\}, in C and Emacs Lisp, @samp{/} in some
182 other Lisp dialects) before the opening delimiter. This will not
183 affect the contents of the string, but will prevent that opening
184 delimiter from starting a defun. Here's an example:
192 To help you catch violations of this convention, Font Lock mode
193 highlights confusing opening delimiters (those that ought to be
196 If you need to override this convention, you can do so by setting
199 @defvar open-paren-in-column-0-is-defun-start
200 If this user option is set to @code{t} (the default), opening
201 parentheses or braces at column zero always start defuns. When it's
202 @code{nil}, defuns are found by searching for parens or braces at the
206 Usually, you should leave this option at its default value of
207 @code{t}. If your buffer contains parentheses or braces in column
208 zero which don't start defuns, and it is somehow impractical to remove
209 these parentheses or braces, it might be helpful to set the option to
210 @code{nil}. Be aware that this might make scrolling and display in
211 large buffers quite sluggish. Furthermore, the parentheses and braces
212 must be correctly matched throughout the buffer for it to work
215 @node Moving by Defuns
216 @subsection Moving by Defuns
219 These commands move point or set up the region based on top-level
220 major definitions, also called @dfn{defuns}.
224 Move to beginning of current or preceding defun
225 (@code{beginning-of-defun}).
227 Move to end of current or following defun (@code{end-of-defun}).
229 Put region around whole current or following defun (@code{mark-defun}).
232 @cindex move to beginning or end of function
233 @cindex function, move to beginning or end
237 @findex beginning-of-defun
240 The commands to move to the beginning and end of the current defun
241 are @kbd{C-M-a} (@code{beginning-of-defun}) and @kbd{C-M-e}
242 (@code{end-of-defun}). If you repeat one of these commands, or use a
243 positive numeric argument, each repetition moves to the next defun in
244 the direction of motion.
246 @kbd{C-M-a} with a negative argument @minus{}@var{n} moves forward
247 @var{n} times to the next beginning of a defun. This is not exactly
248 the same place that @kbd{C-M-e} with argument @var{n} would move to;
249 the end of this defun is not usually exactly the same place as the
250 beginning of the following defun. (Whitespace, comments, and perhaps
251 declarations can separate them.) Likewise, @kbd{C-M-e} with a
252 negative argument moves back to an end of a defun, which is not quite
253 the same as @kbd{C-M-a} with a positive argument.
255 @kindex C-M-h @r{(C mode)}
256 @findex c-mark-function
257 To operate on the current defun, use @kbd{C-M-h}
258 (@code{mark-defun}), which sets the mark at the end of the current
259 defun and puts point at its beginning. @xref{Marking Objects}. This
260 is the easiest way to get ready to kill the defun in order to move it
261 to a different place in the file. If you use the command while point
262 is between defuns, it uses the following defun. If you use the
263 command while the mark is already active, it sets the mark but does
264 not move point; furthermore, each successive use of @kbd{C-M-h}
265 extends the end of the region to include one more defun.
267 In C mode, @kbd{C-M-h} runs the function @code{c-mark-function},
268 which is almost the same as @code{mark-defun}; the difference is that
269 it backs up over the argument declarations, function name and returned
270 data type so that the entire C function is inside the region. This is
271 an example of how major modes adjust the standard key bindings so that
272 they do their standard jobs in a way better fitting a particular
273 language. Other major modes may replace any or all of these key
274 bindings for that purpose.
278 @cindex index of buffer definitions
279 @cindex buffer definitions index
281 The Imenu facility offers a way to find the major definitions in
282 a file by name. It is also useful in text formatter major modes,
283 where it treats each chapter, section, etc., as a definition.
284 (@xref{Tags}, for a more powerful feature that handles multiple files
288 If you type @kbd{M-x imenu}, it reads the name of a definition using
289 the minibuffer, then moves point to that definition. You can use
290 completion to specify the name; the command always displays the whole
293 @findex imenu-add-menubar-index
294 Alternatively, you can bind the command @code{imenu} to a mouse
295 click. Then it displays mouse menus for you to select a definition
296 name. You can also add the buffer's index to the menu bar by calling
297 @code{imenu-add-menubar-index}. If you want to have this menu bar
298 item available for all buffers in a certain major mode, you can do
299 this by adding @code{imenu-add-menubar-index} to its mode hook. But
300 if you have done that, you will have to wait a little while each time
301 you visit a file in that mode, while Emacs finds all the definitions
304 @vindex imenu-auto-rescan
305 When you change the contents of a buffer, if you add or delete
306 definitions, you can update the buffer's index based on the
307 new contents by invoking the @samp{*Rescan*} item in the menu.
308 Rescanning happens automatically if you set @code{imenu-auto-rescan} to
309 a non-@code{nil} value. There is no need to rescan because of small
312 @vindex imenu-sort-function
313 You can customize the way the menus are sorted by setting the
314 variable @code{imenu-sort-function}. By default, names are ordered as
315 they occur in the buffer; if you want alphabetic sorting, use the
316 symbol @code{imenu--sort-by-name} as the value. You can also
317 define your own comparison function by writing Lisp code.
319 Imenu provides the information to guide Which Function mode
321 (@pxref{Which Function}).
326 The Speedbar can also use it (@pxref{Speedbar}).
329 @subsection Which Function Mode
330 @cindex current function name in mode line
332 Which Function mode is a minor mode that displays the current
333 function name in the mode line, updating it as you move around in a
336 @findex which-function-mode
337 @vindex which-func-modes
338 To either enable or disable Which Function mode, use the command
339 @kbd{M-x which-function-mode}. This command applies to all buffers,
340 both existing ones and those yet to be created. However, it takes
341 effect only in certain major modes, those listed in the value of
342 @code{which-func-modes}. If the value of @code{which-func-modes} is
343 @code{t} rather than a list of modes, then Which Function mode applies
344 to all major modes that know how to support it---in other words, all
345 the major modes that support Imenu.
348 @section Indentation for Programs
349 @cindex indentation for programs
351 The best way to keep a program properly indented is to use Emacs to
352 reindent it as you change it. Emacs has commands to indent either a
353 single line, a specified number of lines, or all of the lines inside a
354 single parenthetical grouping.
357 * Basic Indent:: Indenting a single line.
358 * Multi-line Indent:: Commands to reindent many lines at once.
359 * Lisp Indent:: Specifying how each Lisp function should be indented.
360 * C Indent:: Extra features for indenting C and related modes.
361 * Custom C Indent:: Controlling indentation style for C and related modes.
364 @cindex pretty-printer
365 Emacs also provides a Lisp pretty-printer in the library @code{pp}.
366 This program reformats a Lisp object with indentation chosen to look nice.
369 @subsection Basic Program Indentation Commands
371 The basic indentation commands indent a single line according to the
372 usual conventions of the language you are editing.
376 Adjust indentation of current line.
378 Insert a newline, then adjust indentation of following line
379 (@code{newline-and-indent}).
382 @kindex TAB @r{(programming modes)}
383 @findex c-indent-command
384 @findex indent-line-function
385 @findex indent-for-tab-command
386 The basic indentation command is @key{TAB}. In any
387 programming-language major mode, @key{TAB} gives the current line the
388 correct indentation as determined from the previous lines. It does
389 this by inserting or deleting whitespace at the beginning of the
390 current line. If point was inside the whitespace at the beginning of
391 the line, @key{TAB} puts it at the end of that whitespace; otherwise,
392 @key{TAB} keeps point fixed with respect to the characters around it.
393 If the region is active (@pxref{Mark}), @key{TAB} indents every line
394 within the region instead of just the current line. The function that
395 @key{TAB} runs depends on the major mode; for instance, it is
396 @code{c-indent-line-or-region} in C mode. Each function is aware of
397 the syntax and conventions for its particular language.
399 Use @kbd{C-q @key{TAB}} to insert a tab character at point.
402 @findex newline-and-indent
403 When entering lines of new code, use @kbd{C-j}
404 (@code{newline-and-indent}), which inserts a newline and then adjusts
405 indentation after it. (It also deletes any trailing whitespace which
406 remains before the new newline.) For instance, @kbd{C-j} at the end
407 of a line creates a blank line with appropriate indentation. In
408 programming language modes, it is equivalent to @key{RET} @key{TAB}.
410 When Emacs indents a line that starts within a parenthetical
411 grouping, it usually places the start of the line under the preceding
412 line within the group, or under the text after the parenthesis. If
413 you manually give one of these lines a nonstandard indentation, the
414 lines below will tend to follow it. This behavior is convenient in
415 cases where you have overridden the standard result of @key{TAB}
416 indentation (e.g., for aesthetic purposes).
418 Many programming-language modes assume that an open-parenthesis,
419 open-brace or other opening delimiter at the left margin is the start
420 of a function. This assumption speeds up indentation commands. If
421 the text you are editing contains opening delimiters in column zero
422 that aren't the beginning of a functions---even if these delimiters
423 occur inside strings or comments---then you must set
424 @code{open-paren-in-column-0-is-defun-start}. @xref{Left Margin
427 Normally, Emacs indents lines using an ``optimal'' mix of tab and
428 space characters. If you want Emacs to use spaces only, set
429 @code{indent-tabs-mode} (@pxref{Just Spaces}).
431 @node Multi-line Indent
432 @subsection Indenting Several Lines
434 Sometimes, you may want to reindent several lines of code at a time.
435 One way to do this is to use the mark; when the mark is active and the
436 region is non-empty, @key{TAB} indents every line within the region.
437 In addition, Emacs provides several other commands for indenting large
442 Reindent all the lines within one parenthetical grouping.
444 Reindent all lines in the region (@code{indent-region}).
446 Shift an entire parenthetical grouping rigidly sideways so that its
447 first line is properly indented.
448 @item M-x indent-code-rigidly
449 Shift all the lines in the region rigidly sideways, but do not alter
450 lines that start inside comments and strings.
454 @findex indent-pp-sexp
455 To reindent the contents of a single parenthetical grouping,
456 position point before the beginning of the grouping and type
457 @kbd{C-M-q}. This changes the relative indentation within the
458 grouping, without affecting its overall indentation (i.e., the
459 indentation of the line where the grouping starts). The function that
460 @kbd{C-M-q} runs depends on the major mode; it is
461 @code{indent-pp-sexp} in Lisp mode, @code{c-indent-exp} in C mode,
462 etc. To correct the overall indentation as well, type @key{TAB}
465 @kbd{C-M-\} (@code{indent-region}) applies @key{TAB} to the region.
466 This is useful when Transient Mark mode is disabled (@pxref{Persistent
467 Mark}), because in that case @key{TAB} does not act on the region.
470 If you like the relative indentation within a grouping but not the
471 indentation of its first line, move point to that first line and type
472 @kbd{C-u @key{TAB}}. In Lisp, C, and some other major modes,
473 @key{TAB} with a numeric argument reindents the current line as usual,
474 then reindents by the same amount all the lines in the parenthetical
475 grouping starting on the current line. It is clever, though, and does
476 not alter lines that start inside strings. Neither does it alter C
477 preprocessor lines when in C mode, but it does reindent any
478 continuation lines that may be attached to them.
480 @findex indent-code-rigidly
481 The command @kbd{M-x indent-code-rigidly} rigidly shifts all the
482 lines in the region sideways, like @code{indent-rigidly} does
483 (@pxref{Indentation Commands}). It doesn't alter the indentation of
484 lines that start inside a string, unless the region also starts inside
485 that string. The prefix arg specifies the number of columns to
489 @subsection Customizing Lisp Indentation
490 @cindex customizing Lisp indentation
492 The indentation pattern for a Lisp expression can depend on the function
493 called by the expression. For each Lisp function, you can choose among
494 several predefined patterns of indentation, or define an arbitrary one with
497 The standard pattern of indentation is as follows: the second line of the
498 expression is indented under the first argument, if that is on the same
499 line as the beginning of the expression; otherwise, the second line is
500 indented underneath the function name. Each following line is indented
501 under the previous line whose nesting depth is the same.
503 @vindex lisp-indent-offset
504 If the variable @code{lisp-indent-offset} is non-@code{nil}, it overrides
505 the usual indentation pattern for the second line of an expression, so that
506 such lines are always indented @code{lisp-indent-offset} more columns than
509 @vindex lisp-body-indent
510 Certain functions override the standard pattern. Functions whose
511 names start with @code{def} treat the second lines as the start of
512 a @dfn{body}, by indenting the second line @code{lisp-body-indent}
513 additional columns beyond the open-parenthesis that starts the
516 @cindex @code{lisp-indent-function} property
517 You can override the standard pattern in various ways for individual
518 functions, according to the @code{lisp-indent-function} property of
519 the function name. Normally you would use this for macro definitions
520 and specify it using the @code{declare} construct (@pxref{Defining
521 Macros,,, elisp, the Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}).
524 @subsection Commands for C Indentation
526 Here are special features for indentation in C mode and related modes:
530 @kindex C-c C-q @r{(C mode)}
531 @findex c-indent-defun
532 Reindent the current top-level function definition or aggregate type
533 declaration (@code{c-indent-defun}).
536 @kindex C-M-q @r{(C mode)}
538 Reindent each line in the balanced expression that follows point
539 (@code{c-indent-exp}). A prefix argument inhibits warning messages
540 about invalid syntax.
543 @findex c-indent-command
544 Reindent the current line, and/or in some cases insert a tab character
545 (@code{c-indent-command}).
547 @vindex c-tab-always-indent
548 If @code{c-tab-always-indent} is @code{t}, this command always reindents
549 the current line and does nothing else. This is the default.
551 If that variable is @code{nil}, this command reindents the current line
552 only if point is at the left margin or in the line's indentation;
553 otherwise, it inserts a tab (or the equivalent number of spaces,
554 if @code{indent-tabs-mode} is @code{nil}).
556 Any other value (not @code{nil} or @code{t}) means always reindent the
557 line, and also insert a tab if within a comment or a string.
560 To reindent the whole current buffer, type @kbd{C-x h C-M-\}. This
561 first selects the whole buffer as the region, then reindents that
564 To reindent the current block, use @kbd{C-M-u C-M-q}. This moves
565 to the front of the block and then reindents it all.
567 @node Custom C Indent
568 @subsection Customizing C Indentation
569 @cindex style (for indentation)
571 C mode and related modes use a flexible mechanism for customizing
572 indentation. C mode indents a source line in two steps: first it
573 classifies the line syntactically according to its contents and
574 context; second, it determines the indentation offset associated by
575 your selected @dfn{style} with the syntactic construct and adds this
576 onto the indentation of the @dfn{anchor statement}.
579 @item C-c . @key{RET} @var{style} @key{RET}
580 Select a predefined style @var{style} (@code{c-set-style}).
583 A @dfn{style} is a named collection of customizations that can be
584 used in C mode and the related modes. @ref{Styles,,, ccmode, The CC
585 Mode Manual}, for a complete description. Emacs comes with several
586 predefined styles, including @code{gnu}, @code{k&r}, @code{bsd},
587 @code{stroustrup}, @code{linux}, @code{python}, @code{java},
588 @code{whitesmith}, @code{ellemtel}, and @code{awk}. Some of these
589 styles are primarily intended for one language, but any of them can be
590 used with any of the languages supported by these modes. To find out
591 what a style looks like, select it and reindent some code, e.g., by
592 typing @key{C-M-q} at the start of a function definition.
594 @kindex C-c . @r{(C mode)}
596 To choose a style for the current buffer, use the command @w{@kbd{C-c
597 .}}. Specify a style name as an argument (case is not significant).
598 This command affects the current buffer only, and it affects only
599 future invocations of the indentation commands; it does not reindent
600 the code already in the buffer. To reindent the whole buffer in the
601 new style, you can type @kbd{C-x h C-M-\}.
603 @vindex c-default-style
604 You can also set the variable @code{c-default-style} to specify the
605 default style for various major modes. Its value should be either the
606 style's name (a string) or an alist, in which each element specifies
607 one major mode and which indentation style to use for it. For
611 (setq c-default-style
612 '((java-mode . "java") (awk-mode . "awk") (other . "gnu")))
616 specifies explicit choices for Java and AWK modes, and the default
617 @samp{gnu} style for the other C-like modes. (These settings are
618 actually the defaults.) This variable takes effect when you select
619 one of the C-like major modes; thus, if you specify a new default
620 style for Java mode, you can make it take effect in an existing Java
621 mode buffer by typing @kbd{M-x java-mode} there.
623 The @code{gnu} style specifies the formatting recommended by the GNU
624 Project for C; it is the default, so as to encourage use of our
627 @xref{Indentation Engine Basics,,, ccmode, the CC Mode Manual}, and
628 @ref{Customizing Indentation,,, ccmode, the CC Mode Manual}, for more
629 information on customizing indentation for C and related modes,
630 including how to override parts of an existing style and how to define
634 @section Commands for Editing with Parentheses
637 @cindex unbalanced parentheses and quotes
638 This section describes the commands and features that take advantage
639 of the parenthesis structure in a program, or help you keep it
642 When talking about these facilities, the term ``parenthesis'' also
643 includes braces, brackets, or whatever delimiters are defined to match
644 in pairs. The major mode controls which delimiters are significant,
645 through the syntax table (@pxref{Syntax}). In Lisp, only parentheses
646 count; in C, these commands apply to braces and brackets too.
648 You can use @kbd{M-x check-parens} to find any unbalanced
649 parentheses and unbalanced string quotes in the buffer.
652 * Expressions:: Expressions with balanced parentheses.
653 * Moving by Parens:: Commands for moving up, down and across
654 in the structure of parentheses.
655 * Matching:: Insertion of a close-delimiter flashes matching open.
659 @subsection Expressions with Balanced Parentheses
663 @cindex balanced expression
664 These commands deal with balanced expressions, also called
665 @dfn{sexps}@footnote{The word ``sexp'' is used to refer to an
666 expression in Lisp.}.
670 Move forward over a balanced expression (@code{forward-sexp}).
672 Move backward over a balanced expression (@code{backward-sexp}).
674 Kill balanced expression forward (@code{kill-sexp}).
676 Transpose expressions (@code{transpose-sexps}).
679 Put mark after following expression (@code{mark-sexp}).
682 Each programming language major mode customizes the definition of
683 balanced expressions to suit that language. Balanced expressions
684 typically include symbols, numbers, and string constants, as well as
685 any pair of matching delimiters and their contents. Some languages
686 have obscure forms of expression syntax that nobody has bothered to
690 By convention, the keys for these commands are all Control-Meta
691 characters. They usually act on expressions just as the corresponding
692 Meta characters act on words. For instance, the command @kbd{C-M-b}
693 moves backward over a balanced expression, just as @kbd{M-b} moves
699 @findex backward-sexp
700 To move forward over a balanced expression, use @kbd{C-M-f}
701 (@code{forward-sexp}). If the first significant character after point
702 is an opening delimiter (@samp{(} in Lisp; @samp{(}, @samp{[} or
703 @samp{@{} in C), @kbd{C-M-f} moves past the matching closing
704 delimiter. If the character begins a symbol, string, or number,
705 @kbd{C-M-f} moves over that.
707 The command @kbd{C-M-b} (@code{backward-sexp}) moves backward over a
708 balanced expression. The detailed rules are like those above for
709 @kbd{C-M-f}, but with directions reversed. If there are prefix
710 characters (single-quote, backquote and comma, in Lisp) preceding the
711 expression, @kbd{C-M-b} moves back over them as well. The balanced
712 expression commands move across comments as if they were whitespace,
715 @kbd{C-M-f} or @kbd{C-M-b} with an argument repeats that operation the
716 specified number of times; with a negative argument, it moves in the
719 @cindex killing expressions
722 Killing a whole balanced expression can be done with @kbd{C-M-k}
723 (@code{kill-sexp}). @kbd{C-M-k} kills the characters that @kbd{C-M-f}
726 @cindex transposition of expressions
728 @findex transpose-sexps
729 A somewhat random-sounding command which is nevertheless handy is
730 @kbd{C-M-t} (@code{transpose-sexps}), which drags the previous
731 balanced expression across the next one. An argument serves as a
732 repeat count, moving the previous expression over that many following
733 ones. A negative argument drags the previous balanced expression
734 backwards across those before it (thus canceling out the effect of
735 @kbd{C-M-t} with a positive argument). An argument of zero, rather
736 than doing nothing, transposes the balanced expressions ending at or
737 after point and the mark.
740 @kindex C-M-@key{SPC}
742 To set the region around the next balanced expression in the buffer,
743 use @kbd{C-M-@key{SPC}} (@code{mark-sexp}), which sets mark at the
744 same place that @kbd{C-M-f} would move to. @kbd{C-M-@key{SPC}} treats
745 numeric arguments in the same way as @kbd{C-M-f}; in particular, a
746 negative argument puts the mark at the beginning of the previous
747 balanced expression. The alias @kbd{C-M-@@} is equivalent to
748 @kbd{C-M-@key{SPC}}. While the mark is active, each successive use of
749 @kbd{C-M-@key{SPC}} extends the region by shifting the mark by one
752 In languages that use infix operators, such as C, it is not possible
753 to recognize all balanced expressions as such because there can be
754 multiple possibilities at a given position. For example, C mode does
755 not treat @samp{foo + bar} as a single expression, even though it
756 @emph{is} one C expression; instead, it recognizes @samp{foo} as one
757 expression and @samp{bar} as another, with the @samp{+} as punctuation
758 between them. Both @samp{foo + bar} and @samp{foo} are legitimate
759 choices for ``the expression following point'' when point is at the
760 @samp{f}, so the expression commands must perforce choose one or the
761 other to operate on. Note that @samp{(foo + bar)} is recognized as a
762 single expression in C mode, because of the parentheses.
764 @node Moving by Parens
765 @subsection Moving in the Parenthesis Structure
767 @cindex parenthetical groupings
768 @cindex parentheses, moving across
769 @cindex matching parenthesis and braces, moving to
770 @cindex braces, moving across
771 @cindex list commands
773 The Emacs commands for handling parenthetical groupings see nothing
774 except parentheses (or whatever characters must balance in the
775 language you are working with). They ignore strings and comments
776 (including any parentheses within them) and ignore parentheses quoted
777 by an escape character. They are mainly intended for editing
778 programs, but can be useful for editing any text that has parentheses.
779 They are sometimes called ``list'' commands because in Lisp these
782 These commands assume that the starting point is not inside a string
783 or a comment. Sometimes you can invoke them usefully from one of
784 these places (for example, when you have a parenthesised clause in a
785 comment) but this is unreliable.
789 Move forward over a parenthetical group (@code{forward-list}).
791 Move backward over a parenthetical group (@code{backward-list}).
793 Move up in parenthesis structure (@code{backward-up-list}).
795 Move down in parenthesis structure (@code{down-list}).
801 @findex backward-list
802 The ``list'' commands @kbd{C-M-n} (@code{forward-list}) and
803 @kbd{C-M-p} (@code{backward-list}) move forward or backward over one
804 (or @var{n}) parenthetical groupings.
807 @findex backward-up-list
808 @kbd{C-M-n} and @kbd{C-M-p} try to stay at the same level in the
809 parenthesis structure. To move @emph{up} one (or @var{n}) levels, use
810 @kbd{C-M-u} (@code{backward-up-list}). @kbd{C-M-u} moves backward up
811 past one unmatched opening delimiter. A positive argument serves as a
812 repeat count; a negative argument reverses the direction of motion, so
813 that the command moves forward and up one or more levels.
817 To move @emph{down} in the parenthesis structure, use @kbd{C-M-d}
818 (@code{down-list}). In Lisp mode, where @samp{(} is the only opening
819 delimiter, this is nearly the same as searching for a @samp{(}. An
820 argument specifies the number of levels to go down.
823 @subsection Automatic Display Of Matching Parentheses
824 @cindex matching parentheses
825 @cindex parentheses, displaying matches
827 The Emacs parenthesis-matching feature is designed to show
828 automatically how parentheses (and other matching delimiters) match in
829 the text. Whenever you type a self-inserting character that is a
830 closing delimiter, the cursor moves momentarily to the location of the
831 matching opening delimiter, provided that is on the screen. If it is
832 not on the screen, Emacs displays some of the text near it in the echo
833 area. Either way, you can tell which grouping you are closing off.
835 If the opening delimiter and closing delimiter are mismatched---such
836 as in @samp{[x)}---a warning message is displayed in the echo area.
838 @vindex blink-matching-paren
839 @vindex blink-matching-paren-distance
840 @vindex blink-matching-delay
841 Three variables control parenthesis match display:
843 @code{blink-matching-paren} turns the feature on or off: @code{nil}
844 disables it, but the default is @code{t} to enable match display.
846 @code{blink-matching-delay} says how many seconds to leave the
847 cursor on the matching opening delimiter, before bringing it back to
848 the real location of point; the default is 1, but on some systems it
849 is useful to specify a fraction of a second.
851 @code{blink-matching-paren-distance} specifies how many characters
852 back to search to find the matching opening delimiter. If the match
853 is not found in that distance, scanning stops, and nothing is displayed.
854 This is to prevent the scan for the matching delimiter from wasting
855 lots of time when there is no match. The default is 102400.
857 @cindex Show Paren mode
858 @cindex highlighting matching parentheses
859 @findex show-paren-mode
860 Show Paren mode provides a more powerful kind of automatic matching.
861 Whenever point is before an opening delimiter or after a closing
862 delimiter, both that delimiter and its opposite delimiter are
863 highlighted. Use the command @kbd{M-x show-paren-mode} to enable or
866 Show Paren mode uses the faces @code{show-paren-match} and
867 @code{show-paren-mismatch} to highlight parentheses; you can customize
868 them to control how highlighting looks. @xref{Face Customization}.
871 @section Manipulating Comments
874 Because comments are such an important part of programming, Emacs
875 provides special commands for editing and inserting comments. It can
876 also do spell checking on comments with Flyspell Prog mode
880 * Comment Commands:: Inserting, killing, and aligning comments.
881 * Multi-Line Comments:: Commands for adding and editing multi-line comments.
882 * Options for Comments::Customizing the comment features.
885 @node Comment Commands
886 @subsection Comment Commands
887 @cindex indentation for comments
888 @cindex alignment for comments
890 The commands in this table insert, kill and align comments:
894 Insert or realign comment on current line; alternatively, comment or
895 uncomment the region (@code{comment-dwim}).
897 Kill comment on current line (@code{comment-kill}).
899 Set comment column (@code{comment-set-column}).
902 Like @key{RET} followed by inserting and aligning a comment
903 (@code{comment-indent-new-line}). @xref{Multi-Line Comments}.
904 @item @kbd{M-x comment-region}
905 @itemx @kbd{C-c C-c} (in C-like modes)
906 Add or remove comment delimiters on all the lines in the region.
911 The command to create or align a comment is @kbd{M-;}
912 (@code{comment-dwim}). The word ``dwim'' is an acronym for ``Do What
913 I Mean''; it indicates that this command can be used for many
914 different jobs relating to comments, depending on the situation where
917 When a region is active, @kbd{M-;} either adds or removes comment
918 delimiters on each line of the region. @xref{Mark}. If every line in
919 the region is a comment, it removes comment delimiters from each;
920 otherwise, it adds comment delimiters to each. You can also use the
921 commands @code{comment-region} and @code{uncomment-region} to
922 explicitly comment or uncomment the text in the region
923 (@pxref{Multi-Line Comments}). If you supply a prefix argument to
924 @kbd{M-;} when a region is active, that specifies how many comment
925 delimiters to add or how many to delete.
927 If the region is not active, @kbd{M-;} inserts a new comment if
928 there is no comment already on the line. The new comment is normally
929 aligned at a specific column called the @dfn{comment column}; if the
930 text of the line extends past the comment column, @kbd{M-;} aligns the
931 comment start string to a suitable boundary (usually, at least one
932 space is inserted). The comment begins with the string Emacs thinks
933 comments should start with (the value of @code{comment-start}; see
934 below). Emacs places point after that string, so you can insert the
935 text of the comment right away. If the major mode has specified a
936 string to terminate comments, @kbd{M-;} inserts that string after
937 point, to keep the syntax valid.
939 You can also use @kbd{M-;} to align an existing comment. If a line
940 already contains the comment-start string, @kbd{M-;} realigns it to
941 the conventional alignment and moves point after it. (Exception:
942 comments starting in column 0 are not moved.) Even when an existing
943 comment is properly aligned, @kbd{M-;} is still useful for moving
944 directly to the start of the text inside the comment.
948 @kbd{C-u M-;} kills any comment on the current line, along with the
949 whitespace before it. To reinsert the comment on another line, move
950 to the end of that line, do @kbd{C-y}, and then do @kbd{M-;} to
953 Note that @kbd{C-u M-;} is not a distinct key; it is @kbd{M-;}
954 (@code{comment-dwim}) with a prefix argument. That command is
955 programmed so that when it receives a prefix argument it calls
956 @code{comment-kill}. However, @code{comment-kill} is a valid command
957 in its own right, and you can bind it directly to a key if you wish.
959 Some major modes have special rules for aligning certain kinds of
960 comments in certain contexts. For example, in Lisp code, comments which
961 start with two semicolons are indented as if they were lines of code,
962 instead of at the comment column. Comments which start with three
963 semicolons are supposed to start at the left margin and are often used
964 for sectioning purposes. Emacs understands
965 these conventions by indenting a double-semicolon comment using @key{TAB},
966 and by not changing the indentation of a triple-semicolon comment at all.
969 ;; This function is just an example.
970 ;;; Here either two or three semicolons are appropriate.
972 ;;; And now, the first part of the function:
973 ;; The following line adds one.
974 (1+ x)) ; This line adds one.
977 For C-like modes, you can configure the exact effect of @kbd{M-;} by
978 setting the variables @code{c-indent-comment-alist} and
979 @code{c-indent-comments-syntactically-p}. For example, on a line
980 ending in a closing brace, @kbd{M-;} puts the comment one space after
981 the brace rather than at @code{comment-column}. For full details see
982 @ref{Comment Commands,,, ccmode, The CC Mode Manual}.
984 @node Multi-Line Comments
985 @subsection Multiple Lines of Comments
989 @cindex blank lines in programs
990 @findex comment-indent-new-line
992 If you are typing a comment and wish to continue it on another line,
993 you can use the command @kbd{C-M-j} or @kbd{M-j}
994 (@code{comment-indent-new-line}). If @code{comment-multi-line}
995 (@pxref{Options for Comments}) is non-@code{nil}, it moves to a new
996 line within the comment. Otherwise it closes the comment and starts a
997 new comment on a new line. When Auto Fill mode is on, going past the
998 fill column while typing a comment causes the comment to be continued
999 in just this fashion.
1001 @kindex C-c C-c (C mode)
1002 @findex comment-region
1003 To turn existing lines into comment lines, use the @kbd{M-x
1004 comment-region} command (or type @kbd{C-c C-c} in C-like modes). It
1005 adds comment delimiters to the lines that start in the region, thus
1006 commenting them out. With a negative argument, it does the
1007 opposite---it deletes comment delimiters from the lines in the region.
1009 With a positive argument, @code{comment-region} duplicates the last
1010 character of the comment start sequence it adds; the argument
1011 specifies how many copies of the character to insert. Thus, in Lisp
1012 mode, @kbd{C-u 2 M-x comment-region} adds @samp{;;} to each line.
1013 Duplicating the comment delimiter is a way of calling attention to the
1014 comment. It can also affect how the comment is aligned or indented.
1015 In Lisp, for proper indentation, you should use an argument of two or
1016 three, if between defuns; if within a defun, it must be three.
1018 You can configure C Mode such that when you type a @samp{/} at the
1019 start of a line in a multi-line block comment, this closes the
1020 comment. Enable the @code{comment-close-slash} clean-up for this.
1021 @xref{Clean-ups,,, ccmode, The CC Mode Manual}.
1023 @node Options for Comments
1024 @subsection Options Controlling Comments
1026 @vindex comment-column
1028 @findex comment-set-column
1029 The @dfn{comment column}, the column at which Emacs tries to place
1030 comments, is stored in the variable @code{comment-column}. You can
1031 set it to a number explicitly. Alternatively, the command @kbd{C-x ;}
1032 (@code{comment-set-column}) sets the comment column to the column
1033 point is at. @kbd{C-u C-x ;} sets the comment column to match the
1034 last comment before point in the buffer, and then does a @kbd{M-;} to
1035 align the current line's comment under the previous one.
1037 The variable @code{comment-column} is per-buffer: setting the variable
1038 in the normal fashion affects only the current buffer, but there is a
1039 default value which you can change with @code{setq-default}.
1040 @xref{Locals}. Many major modes initialize this variable for the
1043 @vindex comment-start-skip
1044 The comment commands recognize comments based on the regular
1045 expression that is the value of the variable @code{comment-start-skip}.
1046 Make sure this regexp does not match the null string. It may match more
1047 than the comment starting delimiter in the strictest sense of the word;
1048 for example, in C mode the value of the variable is
1049 @c This stops M-q from breaking the line inside that @code.
1050 @code{@w{"/\\*+ *\\|//+ *"}}, which matches extra stars and spaces
1051 after the @samp{/*} itself, and accepts C++ style comments also.
1052 (Note that @samp{\\} is needed in Lisp syntax to include a @samp{\} in
1053 the string, which is needed to deny the first star its special meaning
1054 in regexp syntax. @xref{Regexp Backslash}.)
1056 @vindex comment-start
1058 When a comment command makes a new comment, it inserts the value of
1059 @code{comment-start} to begin it. The value of @code{comment-end} is
1060 inserted after point, so that it will follow the text that you will
1061 insert into the comment. When @code{comment-end} is non-empty, it
1062 should start with a space. For example, in C mode,
1063 @code{comment-start} has the value @w{@code{"/* "}} and
1064 @code{comment-end} has the value @w{@code{" */"}}.
1066 @vindex comment-padding
1067 The variable @code{comment-padding} specifies how many spaces
1068 @code{comment-region} should insert on each line between the comment
1069 delimiter and the line's original text. The default is 1, to insert
1070 one space. @code{nil} means 0. Alternatively, @code{comment-padding}
1071 can hold the actual string to insert.
1073 @vindex comment-multi-line
1074 The variable @code{comment-multi-line} controls how @kbd{C-M-j}
1075 (@code{indent-new-comment-line}) behaves when used inside a comment.
1076 Specifically, when @code{comment-multi-line} is @code{nil}, the
1077 command inserts a comment terminator, begins a new line, and finally
1078 inserts a comment starter. Otherwise it does not insert the
1079 terminator and starter, so it effectively continues the current
1080 comment across multiple lines. In languages that allow multi-line
1081 comments, the choice of value for this variable is a matter of taste.
1082 The default for this variable depends on the major mode.
1084 @vindex comment-indent-function
1085 The variable @code{comment-indent-function} should contain a function
1086 that will be called to compute the alignment for a newly inserted
1087 comment or for aligning an existing comment. It is set differently by
1088 various major modes. The function is called with no arguments, but with
1089 point at the beginning of the comment, or at the end of a line if a new
1090 comment is to be inserted. It should return the column in which the
1091 comment ought to start. For example, in Lisp mode, the indent hook
1092 function bases its decision on how many semicolons begin an existing
1093 comment, and on the code in the preceding lines.
1096 @section Documentation Lookup
1098 Emacs provides several features you can use to look up the
1099 documentation of functions, variables and commands that you plan to
1100 use in your program.
1103 * Info Lookup:: Looking up library functions and commands
1105 * Man Page:: Looking up man pages of library functions and commands.
1106 * Lisp Doc:: Looking up Emacs Lisp functions, etc.
1110 @subsection Info Documentation Lookup
1112 @findex info-lookup-symbol
1113 @findex info-lookup-file
1115 For major modes that apply to languages which have documentation in
1116 Info, you can use @kbd{C-h S} (@code{info-lookup-symbol}) to view the
1117 Info documentation for a symbol used in the program. You specify the
1118 symbol with the minibuffer; the default is the symbol appearing in the
1119 buffer at point. For example, in C mode this looks for the symbol in
1120 the C Library Manual. The command only works if the appropriate
1121 manual's Info files are installed.
1123 The major mode determines where to look for documentation for the
1124 symbol---which Info files to look in, and which indices to search.
1125 You can also use @kbd{M-x info-lookup-file} to look for documentation
1128 If you use @kbd{C-h S} in a major mode that does not support it,
1129 it asks you to specify the ``symbol help mode.'' You should enter
1130 a command such as @code{c-mode} that would select a major
1131 mode which @kbd{C-h S} does support.
1134 @subsection Man Page Lookup
1137 On Unix, the main form of on-line documentation was the @dfn{manual
1138 page} or @dfn{man page}. In the GNU operating system, we aim to
1139 replace man pages with better-organized manuals that you can browse
1140 with Info (@pxref{Misc Help}). This process is not finished, so it is
1141 still useful to read manual pages.
1143 @findex manual-entry
1144 You can read the man page for an operating system command, library
1145 function, or system call, with the @kbd{M-x man} command. It
1146 runs the @code{man} program to format the man page; if the system
1147 permits, it runs @code{man} asynchronously, so that you can keep on
1148 editing while the page is being formatted. (On MS-DOS and MS-Windows
1149 3, you cannot edit while Emacs waits for @code{man} to finish.) The
1150 result goes in a buffer named @samp{*Man @var{topic}*}. These buffers
1151 use a special major mode, Man mode, that facilitates scrolling and
1152 jumping to other manual pages. For details, type @kbd{C-h m} while in
1155 @cindex sections of manual pages
1156 Each man page belongs to one of ten or more @dfn{sections}, each
1157 named by a digit or by a digit and a letter. Sometimes there are
1158 multiple man pages with the same name in different sections. To read
1159 a man page from a specific section, type
1160 @samp{@var{topic}(@var{section})} or @samp{@var{section} @var{topic}}
1161 when @kbd{M-x manual-entry} prompts for the topic. For example, to
1162 read the man page for the C library function @code{chmod} (as opposed
1163 to a command of the same name), type @kbd{M-x manual-entry @key{RET}
1164 chmod(2) @key{RET}}. (@code{chmod} is a system call, so it is in
1167 @vindex Man-switches
1168 If you do not specify a section, the results depend on how the
1169 @code{man} program works on your system. Some of them display only
1170 the first man page they find. Others display all man pages that have
1171 the specified name, so you can move between them with the @kbd{M-n}
1172 and @kbd{M-p} keys@footnote{On some systems, the @code{man} program
1173 accepts a @samp{-a} command-line option which tells it to display all
1174 the man pages for the specified topic. If you want this behavior, you
1175 can add this option to the value of the variable @code{Man-switches}.}.
1176 The mode line shows how many manual pages are present in the Man buffer.
1178 @vindex Man-fontify-manpage-flag
1179 By default, Emacs highlights the text in man pages. For a long man
1180 page, highlighting can take substantial time. You can turn off
1181 highlighting of man pages by setting the variable
1182 @code{Man-fontify-manpage-flag} to @code{nil}.
1184 @findex Man-fontify-manpage
1185 If you insert the text of a man page into an Emacs buffer in some
1186 other fashion, you can use the command @kbd{M-x Man-fontify-manpage} to
1187 perform the same conversions that @kbd{M-x manual-entry} does.
1190 @cindex manual pages, on MS-DOS/MS-Windows
1191 An alternative way of reading manual pages is the @kbd{M-x woman}
1192 command@footnote{The name of the command, @code{woman}, is an acronym
1193 for ``w/o (without) man,'' since it doesn't use the @code{man}
1194 program.}. Unlike @kbd{M-x man}, it does not run any external
1195 programs to format and display the man pages; instead it does the job
1196 in Emacs Lisp, so it works on systems such as MS-Windows, where the
1197 @code{man} program (and other programs it uses) are not generally
1200 @kbd{M-x woman} prompts for a name of a manual page, and provides
1201 completion based on the list of manual pages that are installed on
1202 your machine; the list of available manual pages is computed
1203 automatically the first time you invoke @code{woman}. The word at
1204 point in the current buffer is used to suggest the default for the
1205 name of the manual page.
1207 With a numeric argument, @kbd{M-x woman} recomputes the list of the
1208 manual pages used for completion. This is useful if you add or delete
1211 If you type a name of a manual page and @kbd{M-x woman} finds that
1212 several manual pages by the same name exist in different sections, it
1213 pops up a window with possible candidates asking you to choose one of
1216 For more information about setting up and using @kbd{M-x woman}, see
1217 @ref{Top, WoMan, Browse UN*X Manual Pages WithOut Man, woman, The WoMan
1221 @subsection Emacs Lisp Documentation Lookup
1223 As you edit Lisp code to be run in Emacs, you can use the commands
1224 @kbd{C-h f} (@code{describe-function}) and @kbd{C-h v}
1225 (@code{describe-variable}) to view documentation of functions and
1226 variables that you want to use. These commands use the minibuffer to
1227 read the name of a function or variable to document, and display the
1228 documentation in a window. Their default arguments are based on the
1229 code in the neighborhood of point. For @kbd{C-h f}, the default is
1230 the function called in the innermost list containing point. @kbd{C-h
1231 v} uses the symbol name around or adjacent to point as its default.
1235 A more automatic but less powerful method is Eldoc mode. This minor
1236 mode constantly displays in the echo area the argument list for the
1237 function being called at point. (In other words, it finds the
1238 function call that point is contained in, and displays the argument
1239 list of that function.) If point is over a documented variable, it
1240 shows the first line of the variable's docstring. Eldoc mode applies
1241 in Emacs Lisp and Lisp Interaction modes, and perhaps a few others
1242 that provide special support for looking up doc strings. Use the
1243 command @kbd{M-x eldoc-mode} to enable or disable this feature.
1246 @section Hideshow minor mode
1248 @findex hs-minor-mode
1249 Hideshow minor mode provides selective display of portions of a
1250 program, known as @dfn{blocks}. You can use @kbd{M-x hs-minor-mode}
1251 to enable or disable this mode, or add @code{hs-minor-mode} to the
1252 mode hook for certain major modes in order to enable it automatically
1255 Just what constitutes a block depends on the major mode. In C mode
1256 or C++ mode, they are delimited by braces, while in Lisp mode and
1257 similar modes they are delimited by parentheses. Multi-line comments
1258 also count as blocks.
1261 @findex hs-hide-block
1263 @findex hs-show-block
1264 @findex hs-show-region
1265 @findex hs-hide-level
1266 @findex hs-minor-mode
1269 @kindex C-c @@ C-M-h
1270 @kindex C-c @@ C-M-s
1276 Hide the current block (@code{hs-hide-block}).
1278 Show the current block (@code{hs-show-block}).
1280 Either hide or show the current block (@code{hs-toggle-hiding}).
1282 Either hide or show the block you click on (@code{hs-mouse-toggle-hiding}).
1284 Hide all top-level blocks (@code{hs-hide-all}).
1286 Show everything in the buffer (@code{hs-show-all}).
1288 Hide all blocks @var{n} levels below this block
1289 (@code{hs-hide-level}).
1292 @vindex hs-hide-comments-when-hiding-all
1293 @vindex hs-isearch-open
1294 @vindex hs-special-modes-alist
1295 These variables exist for customizing Hideshow mode.
1298 @item hs-hide-comments-when-hiding-all
1299 Non-@code{nil} says that @kbd{hs-hide-all} should hide comments too.
1301 @item hs-isearch-open
1302 Specifies what kind of hidden blocks incremental search should make
1303 visible. The value should be one of these four symbols:
1307 Open only code blocks.
1311 Open both code blocks and comments.
1313 Open neither code blocks nor comments.
1316 @item hs-special-modes-alist
1317 A list of elements, each specifying how to initialize Hideshow
1318 variables for one major mode. See the variable's documentation string
1319 for more information.
1322 @node Symbol Completion
1323 @section Completion for Symbol Names
1324 @cindex completion (symbol names)
1326 In Emacs, completion is something you normally do in the minibuffer
1327 (@pxref{Completion}). But one kind of completion is available in all
1328 buffers: completion for symbol names.
1331 The character @kbd{M-@key{TAB}} runs a command to complete the
1332 partial symbol before point against the set of meaningful symbol
1333 names. This command inserts at point any additional characters that
1334 it can determine from the partial name.
1336 If your window manager defines @kbd{M-@key{TAB}} to switch windows,
1337 you can type @kbd{@key{ESC} @key{TAB}} or @kbd{C-M-i} instead.
1338 However, most window managers let you customize these shortcuts, so
1339 you can change any that interfere with the way you use Emacs.
1341 If the partial name in the buffer has multiple possible completions
1342 that differ in the very next character, so that it is impossible to
1343 complete even one more character, @kbd{M-@key{TAB}} displays a list of
1344 all possible completions in another window.
1346 @cindex tags-based completion
1347 @cindex Info index completion
1348 @findex complete-symbol
1349 In most programming language major modes, @kbd{M-@key{TAB}} runs the
1350 command @code{complete-symbol}, which provides two kinds of completion.
1351 Normally it does completion based on a tags table (@pxref{Tags}); with a
1352 numeric argument (regardless of the value), it does completion based on
1353 the names listed in the Info file indexes for your language. Thus, to
1354 complete the name of a symbol defined in your own program, use
1355 @kbd{M-@key{TAB}} with no argument; to complete the name of a standard
1356 library function, use @kbd{C-u M-@key{TAB}}. Of course, Info-based
1357 completion works only if there is an Info file for the standard library
1358 functions of your language, and only if it is installed at your site.
1360 @cindex Lisp symbol completion
1361 @cindex completion (Lisp symbols)
1362 @findex lisp-complete-symbol
1363 In Emacs-Lisp mode, the name space for completion normally consists of
1364 nontrivial symbols present in Emacs---those that have function
1365 definitions, values or properties. However, if there is an
1366 open-parenthesis immediately before the beginning of the partial symbol,
1367 only symbols with function definitions are considered as completions.
1368 The command which implements this is @code{lisp-complete-symbol}.
1370 In Text mode and related modes, @kbd{M-@key{TAB}} completes words
1371 based on the spell-checker's dictionary. @xref{Spelling}.
1374 @section Glasses minor mode
1375 @cindex Glasses mode
1376 @cindex identifiers, making long ones readable
1377 @cindex StudlyCaps, making them readable
1378 @findex glasses-mode
1380 Glasses minor mode makes @samp{unreadableIdentifiersLikeThis}
1381 readable by altering the way they display. It knows two different
1382 ways to do this: by displaying underscores between a lower-case letter
1383 and the following capital letter, and by emboldening the capital
1384 letters. It does not alter the buffer text, only the way they
1385 display, so you can use it even on read-only buffers. You can use the
1386 command @kbd{M-x glasses-mode} to enable or disable the mode in the
1387 current buffer; you can also add @code{glasses-mode} to the mode hook
1388 of the programming language major modes in which you normally want
1389 to use Glasses mode.
1393 @cindex Semantic package
1395 Semantic is a package that provides language-aware editing commands
1396 based on @code{source code parsers}. This section provides a brief
1397 description of Semantic;
1399 for full details, see @ref{Top, Semantic,, semantic, Semantic}.
1402 for full details, type @kbd{C-h i} (@code{info}) and then select the
1406 Most of the ``language aware'' features in Emacs, such as font lock
1407 (@pxref{Font Lock}), rely on ``rules of thumb''@footnote{Regular
1408 expressions and syntax tables.} that usually give good results but are
1409 never completely exact. In contrast, the parsers used by Semantic
1410 have an exact understanding of programming language syntax. This
1411 allows Semantic to provide search, navigation, and completion commands
1412 that are powerful and precise.
1414 To begin using Semantic, type @kbd{M-x semantic-mode} or click on
1415 the menu item named @samp{Source Code Parsers (Semantic)} in the
1416 @samp{Tools} menu. This enables Semantic mode, a global minor mode.
1418 When Semantic mode is enabled, Emacs automatically attempts to
1419 parses each file you visit. Currently, Semantic understands C, C++,
1420 Scheme, Javascript, Java, HTML, and Make. Within each parsed buffer,
1421 the following commands are available:
1426 Prompt for the name of a function defined in the current file, and
1427 move point there (@code{semantic-complete-jump-local}).
1431 Prompt for the name of a function defined in any file Emacs has
1432 parsed, and move point there (@code{semantic-complete-jump}).
1434 @item C-c , @key{SPC}
1435 @kindex C-c , @key{SPC}
1436 Display a list of possible completions for the symbol at point
1437 (@code{semantic-complete-analyze-inline}). This also activates a set
1438 of special keybindings for choosing a completion: @key{RET} accepts
1439 the current completion, @kbd{M-n} and @kbd{M-p} cycle through possible
1440 completions, @key{TAB} completes as far as possible and then cycles,
1441 and @kbd{C-g} or any other key aborts completion.
1445 Display a list of the possible completions of the symbol at point, in
1446 another window (@code{semantic-analyze-possible-completions}).
1450 In addition to the above commands, the Semantic package provides a
1451 variety of other ways to make use of parser information. For
1452 instance, you can use it to display a list of completions when Emacs
1455 @xref{Top, Semantic,, semantic, Semantic}, for details.
1458 @node Misc for Programs
1459 @section Other Features Useful for Editing Programs
1461 A number of Emacs commands that aren't designed specifically for
1462 editing programs are useful for that nonetheless.
1464 The Emacs commands that operate on words, sentences and paragraphs
1465 are useful for editing code. Most symbols names contain words
1466 (@pxref{Words}); sentences can be found in strings and comments
1467 (@pxref{Sentences}). Paragraphs in the strict sense can be found in
1468 program code (in long comments), but the paragraph commands are useful
1469 in other places too, because programming language major modes define
1470 paragraphs to begin and end at blank lines (@pxref{Paragraphs}).
1471 Judicious use of blank lines to make the program clearer will also
1472 provide useful chunks of text for the paragraph commands to work on.
1473 Auto Fill mode, if enabled in a programming language major mode,
1474 indents the new lines which it creates.
1476 The selective display feature is useful for looking at the overall
1477 structure of a function (@pxref{Selective Display}). This feature
1478 hides the lines that are indented more than a specified amount.
1479 Programming modes often support Outline minor mode (@pxref{Outline
1480 Mode}). The Foldout package provides folding-editor features
1483 The ``automatic typing'' features may be useful for writing programs.
1484 @xref{Top,,Autotyping, autotype, Autotyping}.
1487 @section C and Related Modes
1492 @cindex CORBA IDL mode
1493 @cindex Objective C mode
1499 @cindex mode, Objective C
1500 @cindex mode, CORBA IDL
1504 This section gives a brief description of the special features
1505 available in C, C++, Objective-C, Java, CORBA IDL, Pike and AWK modes.
1506 (These are called ``C mode and related modes.'') @xref{Top, , CC Mode,
1507 ccmode, CC Mode}, for a more extensive description of these modes
1508 and their special features.
1511 * Motion in C:: Commands to move by C statements, etc.
1512 * Electric C:: Colon and other chars can automatically reindent.
1513 * Hungry Delete:: A more powerful DEL command.
1514 * Other C Commands:: Filling comments, viewing expansion of macros,
1515 and other neat features.
1519 @subsection C Mode Motion Commands
1521 This section describes commands for moving point, in C mode and
1525 @item M-x c-beginning-of-defun
1526 @itemx M-x c-end-of-defun
1527 @findex c-beginning-of-defun
1528 @findex c-end-of-defun
1529 Move point to the beginning or end of the current function or
1530 top-level definition. These are found by searching for the least
1531 enclosing braces. (By contrast, @code{beginning-of-defun} and
1532 @code{end-of-defun} search for braces in column zero.) If you are
1533 editing code where the opening brace of a function isn't placed in
1534 column zero, you may wish to bind @code{C-M-a} and @code{C-M-e} to
1535 these commands. @xref{Moving by Defuns}.
1538 @kindex C-c C-u @r{(C mode)}
1539 @findex c-up-conditional
1540 Move point back to the containing preprocessor conditional, leaving the
1541 mark behind. A prefix argument acts as a repeat count. With a negative
1542 argument, move point forward to the end of the containing
1543 preprocessor conditional.
1545 @samp{#elif} is equivalent to @samp{#else} followed by @samp{#if}, so
1546 the function will stop at a @samp{#elif} when going backward, but not
1550 @kindex C-c C-p @r{(C mode)}
1551 @findex c-backward-conditional
1552 Move point back over a preprocessor conditional, leaving the mark
1553 behind. A prefix argument acts as a repeat count. With a negative
1554 argument, move forward.
1557 @kindex C-c C-n @r{(C mode)}
1558 @findex c-forward-conditional
1559 Move point forward across a preprocessor conditional, leaving the mark
1560 behind. A prefix argument acts as a repeat count. With a negative
1561 argument, move backward.
1564 @kindex M-a (C mode)
1565 @findex c-beginning-of-statement
1566 Move point to the beginning of the innermost C statement
1567 (@code{c-beginning-of-statement}). If point is already at the beginning
1568 of a statement, move to the beginning of the preceding statement. With
1569 prefix argument @var{n}, move back @var{n} @minus{} 1 statements.
1571 In comments or in strings which span more than one line, this command
1572 moves by sentences instead of statements.
1575 @kindex M-e (C mode)
1576 @findex c-end-of-statement
1577 Move point to the end of the innermost C statement or sentence; like
1578 @kbd{M-a} except that it moves in the other direction
1579 (@code{c-end-of-statement}).
1583 @subsection Electric C Characters
1585 In C mode and related modes, certain printing characters are
1586 @dfn{electric}---in addition to inserting themselves, they also
1587 reindent the current line, and optionally also insert newlines. The
1588 ``electric'' characters are @kbd{@{}, @kbd{@}}, @kbd{:}, @kbd{#},
1589 @kbd{;}, @kbd{,}, @kbd{<}, @kbd{>}, @kbd{/}, @kbd{*}, @kbd{(}, and
1592 You might find electric indentation inconvenient if you are editing
1593 chaotically indented code. If you are new to CC Mode, you might find
1594 it disconcerting. You can toggle electric action with the command
1595 @kbd{C-c C-l}; when it is enabled, @samp{/l} appears in the mode line
1596 after the mode name:
1600 @kindex C-c C-l @r{(C mode)}
1601 @findex c-toggle-electric-state
1602 Toggle electric action (@code{c-toggle-electric-state}). With a
1603 prefix argument, this command enables electric action if the argument
1604 is positive, disables it if it is negative.
1607 Electric characters insert newlines only when, in addition to the
1608 electric state, the @dfn{auto-newline} feature is enabled (indicated
1609 by @samp{/la} in the mode line after the mode name). You can turn
1610 this feature on or off with the command @kbd{C-c C-a}:
1614 @kindex C-c C-a @r{(C mode)}
1615 @findex c-toggle-auto-newline
1616 Toggle the auto-newline feature (@code{c-toggle-auto-newline}). With a
1617 prefix argument, this command turns the auto-newline feature on if the
1618 argument is positive, and off if it is negative.
1621 Usually the CC Mode style configures the exact circumstances in
1622 which Emacs inserts auto-newlines. You can also configure this
1623 directly. @xref{Custom Auto-newlines,,, ccmode, The CC Mode Manual}.
1626 @subsection Hungry Delete Feature in C
1627 @cindex hungry deletion (C Mode)
1629 If you want to delete an entire block of whitespace at point, you
1630 can use @dfn{hungry deletion}. This deletes all the contiguous
1631 whitespace either before point or after point in a single operation.
1632 @dfn{Whitespace} here includes tabs and newlines, but not comments or
1633 preprocessor commands.
1636 @item C-c C-@key{DEL}
1637 @itemx C-c @key{DEL}
1638 @findex c-hungry-delete-backwards
1639 @kindex C-c C-@key{DEL} (C Mode)
1640 @kindex C-c @key{DEL} (C Mode)
1641 @code{c-hungry-delete-backwards}---Delete the entire block of whitespace
1645 @itemx C-c C-@key{DELETE}
1646 @itemx C-c @key{DELETE}
1647 @findex c-hungry-delete-forward
1648 @kindex C-c C-d (C Mode)
1649 @kindex C-c C-@key{DELETE} (C Mode)
1650 @kindex C-c @key{DELETE} (C Mode)
1651 @code{c-hungry-delete-forward}---Delete the entire block of whitespace
1655 As an alternative to the above commands, you can enable @dfn{hungry
1656 delete mode}. When this feature is enabled (indicated by @samp{/h} in
1657 the mode line after the mode name), a single @key{DEL} deletes all
1658 preceding whitespace, not just one space, and a single @kbd{C-c C-d}
1659 (but @emph{not} plain @key{DELETE}) deletes all following whitespace.
1662 @item M-x c-toggle-hungry-state
1663 @findex c-toggle-hungry-state
1664 Toggle the hungry-delete feature
1665 (@code{c-toggle-hungry-state})@footnote{This command had the binding
1666 @kbd{C-c C-d} in earlier versions of Emacs. @kbd{C-c C-d} is now
1667 bound to @code{c-hungry-delete-forward}.}. With a prefix argument,
1668 this command turns the hungry-delete feature on if the argument is
1669 positive, and off if it is negative.
1672 @vindex c-hungry-delete-key
1673 The variable @code{c-hungry-delete-key} controls whether the
1674 hungry-delete feature is enabled.
1676 @node Other C Commands
1677 @subsection Other Commands for C Mode
1681 @itemx M-x subword-mode
1682 @findex subword-mode
1683 Enable (or disable) @dfn{subword mode}. In subword mode, Emacs's word
1684 commands recognize upper case letters in
1685 @samp{StudlyCapsIdentifiers} as word boundaries. This is indicated by
1686 the flag @samp{/w} on the mode line after the mode name
1687 (e.g. @samp{C/law}). You can even use @kbd{M-x subword-mode} in
1688 non-CC Mode buffers.
1690 In the GNU project, we recommend using underscores to separate words
1691 within an identifier in C or C++, rather than using case distinctions.
1693 @item M-x c-context-line-break
1694 @findex c-context-line-break
1695 This command inserts a line break and indents the new line in a manner
1696 appropriate to the context. In normal code, it does the work of
1697 @kbd{C-j} (@code{newline-and-indent}), in a C preprocessor line it
1698 additionally inserts a @samp{\} at the line break, and within comments
1699 it's like @kbd{M-j} (@code{c-indent-new-comment-line}).
1701 @code{c-context-line-break} isn't bound to a key by default, but it
1702 needs a binding to be useful. The following code will bind it to
1703 @kbd{C-j}. We use @code{c-initialization-hook} here to make sure
1704 the keymap is loaded before we try to change it.
1707 (defun my-bind-clb ()
1708 (define-key c-mode-base-map "\C-j" 'c-context-line-break))
1709 (add-hook 'c-initialization-hook 'my-bind-clb)
1713 Put mark at the end of a function definition, and put point at the
1714 beginning (@code{c-mark-function}).
1717 @kindex M-q @r{(C mode)}
1718 @findex c-fill-paragraph
1719 Fill a paragraph, handling C and C++ comments (@code{c-fill-paragraph}).
1720 If any part of the current line is a comment or within a comment, this
1721 command fills the comment or the paragraph of it that point is in,
1722 preserving the comment indentation and comment delimiters.
1725 @cindex macro expansion in C
1726 @cindex expansion of C macros
1727 @findex c-macro-expand
1728 @kindex C-c C-e @r{(C mode)}
1729 Run the C preprocessor on the text in the region, and show the result,
1730 which includes the expansion of all the macro calls
1731 (@code{c-macro-expand}). The buffer text before the region is also
1732 included in preprocessing, for the sake of macros defined there, but the
1733 output from this part isn't shown.
1735 When you are debugging C code that uses macros, sometimes it is hard to
1736 figure out precisely how the macros expand. With this command, you
1737 don't have to figure it out; you can see the expansions.
1740 @findex c-backslash-region
1741 @kindex C-c C-\ @r{(C mode)}
1742 Insert or align @samp{\} characters at the ends of the lines of the
1743 region (@code{c-backslash-region}). This is useful after writing or
1744 editing a C macro definition.
1746 If a line already ends in @samp{\}, this command adjusts the amount of
1747 whitespace before it. Otherwise, it inserts a new @samp{\}. However,
1748 the last line in the region is treated specially; no @samp{\} is
1749 inserted on that line, and any @samp{\} there is deleted.
1751 @item M-x cpp-highlight-buffer
1752 @cindex preprocessor highlighting
1753 @findex cpp-highlight-buffer
1754 Highlight parts of the text according to its preprocessor conditionals.
1755 This command displays another buffer named @samp{*CPP Edit*}, which
1756 serves as a graphic menu for selecting how to display particular kinds
1757 of conditionals and their contents. After changing various settings,
1758 click on @samp{[A]pply these settings} (or go to that buffer and type
1759 @kbd{a}) to rehighlight the C mode buffer accordingly.
1762 @findex c-show-syntactic-information
1763 @kindex C-c C-s @r{(C mode)}
1764 Display the syntactic information about the current source line
1765 (@code{c-show-syntactic-information}). This information directs how
1766 the line is indented.
1768 @item M-x cwarn-mode
1769 @itemx M-x global-cwarn-mode
1771 @findex global-cwarn-mode
1772 @vindex global-cwarn-mode
1774 @cindex suspicious constructions in C, C++
1775 CWarn minor mode highlights certain suspicious C and C++ constructions:
1779 Assignments inside expressions.
1781 Semicolon following immediately after @samp{if}, @samp{for}, and @samp{while}
1782 (except after a @samp{do @dots{} while} statement);
1784 C++ functions with reference parameters.
1788 You can enable the mode for one buffer with the command @kbd{M-x
1789 cwarn-mode}, or for all suitable buffers with the command @kbd{M-x
1790 global-cwarn-mode} or by customizing the variable
1791 @code{global-cwarn-mode}. You must also enable Font Lock mode to make
1794 @item M-x hide-ifdef-mode
1795 @findex hide-ifdef-mode
1796 @cindex Hide-ifdef mode
1797 @vindex hide-ifdef-shadow
1798 Hide-ifdef minor mode hides selected code within @samp{#if} and
1799 @samp{#ifdef} preprocessor blocks. If you change the variable
1800 @code{hide-ifdef-shadow} to @code{t}, Hide-ifdef minor mode
1801 ``shadows'' preprocessor blocks by displaying them with a less
1802 prominent face, instead of hiding them entirely. See the
1803 documentation string of @code{hide-ifdef-mode} for more information.
1805 @item M-x ff-find-related-file
1806 @cindex related files
1807 @findex ff-find-related-file
1808 @vindex ff-related-file-alist
1809 Find a file ``related'' in a special way to the file visited by the
1810 current buffer. Typically this will be the header file corresponding
1811 to a C/C++ source file, or vice versa. The variable
1812 @code{ff-related-file-alist} specifies how to compute related file
1820 @cindex assembler mode
1821 Asm mode is a major mode for editing files of assembler code. It
1822 defines these commands:
1826 @code{tab-to-tab-stop}.
1828 Insert a newline and then indent using @code{tab-to-tab-stop}.
1830 Insert a colon and then remove the indentation from before the label
1831 preceding colon. Then do @code{tab-to-tab-stop}.
1833 Insert or align a comment.
1836 The variable @code{asm-comment-char} specifies which character
1837 starts comments in assembler syntax.
1840 @include fortran-xtra.texi
1844 arch-tag: c7ee7409-40a4-45c7-bfb7-ae7f2c74d0c0