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Date: 22 September 1981 18:31-EDT
From: Richard M. Stallman <RMS at MIT-AI>
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
Correction: EMACS manuals cost $3.25, not $3.75
Date: 21 September 1981 18:45-EDT
From: Richard M. Stallman <RMS at MIT-AI>
Subject: How to order EMACS manuals
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
Send 3.75 per copy to
Publications Department
Artificial Intelligence Lab
545 Tech Square
Cambridge, MA 02139
Be sure to say whether you want the ITS version or the Twenex version.
Date: 20 September 1981 02:37-EDT
From: Richard M. Stallman <RMS at MIT-AI>
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
Has anyone found the file EMACS;EMACS GUIDE useful lately?
I speculate that it may be so long that it is not worth while
for anyone to actually print it out, that it is always easier
for everyone to get a printed manual, and that the file can
be flushed.
If you think the file is worth keeping, please let me know.
Date: 20 September 1981 02:30-EDT
From: Richard M. Stallman <RMS at MIT-AI>
Subject: Changes in EMACS 162, now NE on AI.
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
*) You can now specify which command should exit an incremental search
(and not do anything else when it exits the search) by setting the
variable Search Exit Char to the desired 9-bit character.
The default is Altmode. Commands whose definitions are to indirect to
the specified character also exit the search. C-@'s default
definition is now indirect to C-Space, so if you set Search Exit Char
to 300 octal, both C-@ and C-Space will be search exit characters.
I urge everyone to try out the use of C-@/C-Space as exit character,
because eventually I'll conduct another poll and perhaps change the
default. Try any other characters you might like, also.
*) The new command Correct Spelling corrects spelling through the
entire buffer. The new command Command to Spell passes its argument
to the SPELL job as a command.
*) The major modes for various assemblers, such as MIDAS, PALX, FAIL
and MACRO-10, now each run their own mode hooks. Previously they all
ran MIDAS Mode Hook.
*) The completing reader has various extensions intended to allow
completion on more kinds of things. Completion of buffer names and
variable names may be available soon as an optional library.
*) The new hook Exit to Superior Hook is executed before EMACS returns
to its calling job. Unlike Exit Hook, this new hook is in addition to
all normal actions.
Date: 14 September 1981 18:32-EDT
From: Richard M. Stallman <RMS at MIT-AI>
Subject: Search terminators
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
Since searches already set the mark, why
not use C-@ to terminate?
Several people have said things like this, and I don't know what to
make of it.
Searches do (often) set the mark -- because (we hope) that mark is
going to be useful.
My best guess for what these people are saying is that there is no
need for a special character to terminate the search, because the C-@
command can be used; the fact that it sets the mark as well is
unimportant.
However, this would make the mark left behind by the search
inaccessible. Were you overlooking this? Or are you saying what
you are saying because you think the mark left by the search itself is
not useful? If so, do you think the search should not set the mark?
(That can be turned off by setting Auto Push Point Option to a very
large number.)
Several other people suggested using ^G to terminate the search.
Since ^G is now the way to abort a search, it seems this would either
require a different way to abort a search (what would that be?) or
else there would be no way to abort a search.
C-] has also been suggested. I think that is asking for trouble:
the same sort that Altmode causes, but more serious.
Date: 12 September 1981 05:29-EDT
From: Richard M. Stallman <RMS at MIT-AI>
Sender: RMS0 at MIT-AI
Subject: Slight correction
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
The new meaning of C-O that I am considering is
what is now done by C-A C-O Tab,
not C-A Tab C-O as I said.
Date: 12 September 1981 03:11-EDT
From: Richard M. Stallman <RMS at MIT-AI>
Subject: poll on C-S, C-O, and Return
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
What do you think of these two suggested changes to EMACS?
1) Make Altmode not be ignored when it terminates a search, so that it
would still function as a Metizer. Some other character would have to
be provided instead as a way of terminating a search and doing nothing
else. C-D was suggested, but I don't like it. I'd like to hear other
suggestions.
2) Make C-O do what C-A Tab C-O does now.
3) Also, how many people now find it useful or desirable that Return
eats up blank lines? This feature was invented in the days when
terminals did not have insert/delete line.
Date: 6 September 1981 21:52-EDT
From: Devon S. McCullough <DEVON at MIT-MC>
Subject: data compression and redundancy, or, why SUPDUP is like a finely crafted buggy in an age of autos.
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-MC, INFO-MACSYMA at MIT-MC
Waiting for my screen to fill at 300 Baud takes so long,
I forget what I was about to do!
I like the idea of Huffman encoding the output through a STY. This
requires knowledge of data characteristics on the character level. A
simple frequency counting program can get this kind of knowledge.
Encoding schemes that use knowledge of the data on the highest level
should be even better. Intuition is the only way I know to get this
level of knowledge.
I am hacking a system where the host and the terminal both know about
jobs and data contained in jobs. The terminal is a microComputer with
"virtual memory" which gets "paged" in from the current job at 300
Baud, perhaps using Huffman encoding. Instead of filling the screen
itself, the host sends a brief message saying "put datum X on the
screen now". If datum X is not locally stored, the terminal will
reply "send text of datum X", and keep a copy of datum X for possible
future re-display. Also, the system could anticipate the user. Thus
EMACS could send me more than the current screenful when I select a
buffer, on the reasonable assumtion that I will want to see it soon.
I suspect that anticipating transmission and eliminating repeated
re-transmission wins more interaction speed than Huffman encoding does.
All display is done locally. This means EMACS sends portions of it's
buffers, not display codes, and MACSYMA sends craftily encoded
SEXPR's, not pretty human-readable stuff. So the terminal has to know
about EMACS and MACSYMA internal formats and display algorithms to be
useful here.
Now (at last) my questions:
How can I deal with unsolicited type-out, without doing :GAG and ^_R?
What are the display algorithms for EMACS and MACSYMA?
What other programs or classes of programs should the terminal know about?
Has anyone done (or thought about) anything similar?
-- Devon --
[ps: there's a copy of this in MC:GUEST5;DEVON FLAME]
Date: 25 August 1981 02:51-EDT
From: Richard M. Stallman <RMS at MIT-AI>
Subject: Many new features
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
These features are mostly due to people at the Canadian
Defense Research Establishment Atlantic.
MAZLIB is cleaner now, and well documented. Try it.
MAZE.MAZE is the new data file for the maze.
The SORT functions sort in reverse order if given
a numeric arg.
FORTRAN mode now provides for files with and without tabs after
statement numbers, and for converting between the two formats.
Also, it can insert or remove sequence numbers. It contains a Fortran
Data mode for editing files of fixed-column data.
SAIL mode now has an indenter, based on that of PASCAL mode.
The new library MODE2 provides for having two mode lines: the
actual EMACS mode line and one additional line stolen from the text
area. You can select various options for information to display in
that area.
The new library NCOLUMNS can take single-column text and turn it into
any number of columns, but cannot turn it back. This is different
from the library COLUMNS, which can turn single-column text into
two-column text or the opposite, but cannot handle more than two
columns. Perhaps someone would like to write a new COLUMNS which
replaces both of these.
A new hook, Exit to Superior Hook, is executed before EMACS returns to
its superior job.
Twenex Only changes:
The new library BUGHUNT modifies the comment commands to put your name
at the front of each comment you edit.
The new library MOVE contains functions for moving pages or paragraphs
between files, supposedly more convenient than doing so by killing and
switching buffers.
The new library PERSONAL contains functions for keeping track of your
projects, phone conversations, and notes to yourself.
SYSTEM uses the superior EXEC if possible rather than an inferior,
and has new functions Check Job, Check System Job,
Check Log File, Logout, Enable, and Disable.
EFORK: ^R Invoke Inferior can be called as a subroutine.
The new library FDB is useful for examining occult parts of the status
of a file, on Twenex.
There is now a BASIC20 mode, and also a PCL mode for editing command
files.
The new library TALK contains functions for initiating and accepting
links with other users. Only for Twenex.
The VT132 terminal is supported. There is a library NVT132 for it
analogous to NVT52 and NVT100.
Two new hooks, Exit to Inferior Hook and Return from Inferior Hook,
are executed respectively before EMACS runs an inferior and after
EMACS starts up again. Not all invocations of inferiors call these
hooks; those which are expected to be momentary and involve no
keyboard input generally do not invoke the hooks.
Date: 21 August 1981 04:37-EDT
From: Richard M. Stallman <RMS at MIT-AI>
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
Who wrote the LABELS library? Where is the source?
Date: 14 August 1981 01:14-EDT
From: Richard M. Stallman <RMS at MIT-AI>
Subject: M-Y, keyboard macros
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
Meta-Y now preserves the order of point and mark.
If point was at the beginning of the un-killed text before M-Y,
it will be at the beginning after the M-Y.
C-U C-X ( now appends to the last defined keyboard macro,
repeating its definition at the beginning. It is just like
typing C-X ( and then retyping the previous keyboard macro
definition yourself, but omitting the C-X ), so that you
can add to the end of the definition.
Date: 6 August 1981 03:40-EDT
From: Richard M. Stallman <RMS at MIT-AI>
Subject: EMACS 161
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
EMACS 161 is now NE on AI. It has these new features:
The defun commands, C-M-A, C-M-E and C-M-H, now believe that
a defun is any character whose Lisp syntax is "(", appearing
in column 0. It does not have to be literally a "(".
The names for the built-in TECO functions are always accessible.
You do not have to load the BARE library by hand to use them.
All error messages pertaining to auto saving now say which file
the problem was encountered with.
In an incremental search on a printing terminal, you can type
C-L to reprint the line which the search has reached so far,
and it will not exit the search.
On Twenex, a file's major mode will be defaulted from its extension
even if the file has a local modes list (which fails to specify
the major mode).
Date: 6 August 1981 03:40-EDT
From: Richard M. Stallman <RMS at MIT-AI>
Subject: EMACS 161
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
EMACS 161 is now NE on AI. It has these new features:
The defun commands, C-M-A, C-M-E and C-M-H, now believe that
a defun is any character whose Lisp syntax is "(", appearing
in column 0. It does not have to be literally a "(".
The names for the built-in TECO functions are always accessible.
You do not have to load the BARE library by hand to use them.
All error messages pertaining to auto saving now say which file
the problem was encountered with.
In an incremental search on a printing terminal, you can type
C-L to reprint the line which the search has reached so far,
and it will not exit the search.
On Twenex, a file's major mode will be defaulted from its extension
even if the file has a local modes list (which fails to specify
the major mode).
Date: 17 July 1981 23:14-EDT
From: Richard M. Stallman <RMS at MIT-AI>
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
DEKKER would like to hire someone to do some TECO hacking for
his company as a consultant. It relates to PASCAL mode.
Date: 25 Jun 1981 0737-PDT
From: KENNARD at SRI-KL
Subject: emacs, vt100
To: info-emacs at MIT-AI
cc: kennard at SRI-KL
i would like to be placed on the mailing list if possible?
any info on vt100 wide screen usage and keypad definition would also
be helpful. are there any available init packages for the vt100
kennard @ KL
-------
NGAI@MIT-MC 06/24/81 23:08:04
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-MC
I understand this is a mailing list for people interested in Emacs. If so,
please add my name to the list. Is there a package for VT100 keypads?
thanks
Date: 30 April 1981 01:19-EDT
From: Richard M. Stallman <RMS at MIT-AI>
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
Is anyone interested in doing work on the search command in the PAGE
library? I hear it could use some work, but I don't want to work on
it.
Date: 18 April 1981 02:35-EST
From: Richard M. Stallman <RMS at MIT-AI>
Subject: M-$ ^R Correct Word Spelling
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
The new M-$ command, implemented by Klotz, calls the spell program
on the word before or around the cursor. If the spell program
thinks the word is misspelled, EMACS prints a list of suggested
correct spellings, numbered with digits, and you can ask to replace
the word with one of them by typing the corresponding digit.
For more info, see the function's self-documentation.
Date: 10 April 1981 16:32-EST
From: Kent M. Pitman <KMP at MIT-MC>
Subject: Updates to Emacs MODLIN library
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
If you are a user of the MODLIN library (defines an alternate Mode Line
handler), you'll note some slight differences ...
* The presence or absence of the keyword `NoWrite' in the mode line,
which used to reflect the setting of Inhibit Write, has been
discontinued. Instead, Visit File Save Old is reflected as follows...
SaveOld = Emacs will automatically write the file under these conditions.
(Visit File Save Old is negative)
NoSaveOld = Emacs will assume without asking that this buffer is not
something you want saved even if it is modified when you try
reading a new file into this buffer. (Visit File Save Old is 0)
(nothing) = Emacs will query if you try to read a new file into this buffer
and buffer is modified. (Visit File Save Old is positive)
* If buffer bounds are narrowed, the keyword `Narrow' will appear.
* The occurrence of the keyword `ReadOnlyFile', `ReadOnlyBuf' or
`ReadOnlyFile/Buf' signifies that the file, buffer, or both are readonly.
* When visiting a ">" or "<" file, or a ".0" or ".-2" file on non-ITS,
the true version number of the file will be shown after the filename
as something like "=nnn". Eg, if KMP;FOO 3 were read in by naming FOO >,
the mode line will display "KMP;FOO > =3"
* Redundant redisplays of the modeline (ie, redisplay where nothing has
changed to warrant a redisplay) should be less frequent.
These changes are installed on ITS.
Note to offsite Emacs maintainers:
The source file <EMACS>MODLIN.EMACS.63 exists on XX for exportation to
non-ITS sites, but is not installed as <EMACS>MODLIN.:EJ yet, since it
will not run in versions of Emacs older than Emacs.154 and Emacs.150 is
still the standard. When the new version of Emacs comes up on XX,
<EMACS>MODLIN.:EJ.63 should be generated for use.
-kmp
Date: 10 APR 1981 0158-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: default for Auto Save Filenames on ITS
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
The default FN1 for auto save filenames on ITS is now
_SAVnn, where nn is the buffer number of the buffer being saved.
The buffer number is the number printed by C-X C-B at the
beginning of the line describing the buffer. This is so that
auto saves from different buffers do not clobber each other.
In older versions of EMACS, which do not have the feature just
installed to insert the nn, the default will be _SAV00.
If you set Auto Save Filenames yourself you will not see the change
unless you set the FN1 to something six characters long ending in 00.
Date: 7 APR 1981 0239-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: Name changes coming up
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
M-X Occur -> M-X List Matching Lines
M-X How Many -> M-X Count Occurrences
M-X Keep Lines -> M-X Delete Non-Matching Lines
M-X Flush Lines -> M-X Delete Matching Lines
M-X View Available Space -> M-X What Available Space
The old names (on the left) will still be accepted.
Date: 6 Apr 1981 2117-EST
From: WJN at MIT-DMS (Wayne J. Noss)
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
Cc: RobG at MIT-DMS
Subject: RobG's inquiry
Message-id: <[MIT-DMS].192991>
I have answered it.
Date: 6 Apr 1981 1932-EST
From: ROBG at MIT-DMS (Rob F. Griffiths)
To: info-emacs at MIT-AI
Message-id: <[MIT-DMS].192972>
I have a few questions about things that I could not find in my
manual:
A) How do I set a TAB-STOP? (Say, to 5 places, as opposed to
8?) I couldn't find anything on that.
B) How does one go about writing a library, and where is
there a list of available directories?
C) Where does one learn to use the minbuffer? (And WHAT is
it used for?)
D) Say I am trying to make a table, with a top line that
looks something like this:
:----------|----------|--------------|--------------|------:
How could i repeat that design throughout the file,
without re-typing it each time?
E) What is this picture mode, that I have heard of?
F) If I am looking at a file, and it goes over the last
column on my screen, and wraps around, is there anything
I can set to auto-matically drop the words and put them
at the beginning of the next line? (My wrap around
prints a '!' and I would like it to be all nice and
neat.
Thanx;
-Rob.
Date: 30 MAR 1981 0349-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: EMACS 155 (now NE on AI)
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
*) The function names ^R Set Bounds Region, ^R Set Bounds Full,
and ^R Set Bounds Page have been changed. The new function names are:
^R Narrow Bounds to Region, ^R Widen Bounds, and ^R Narrow Bounds to Page.
The old names still work, for now. The purpose is to make the functions
show up when expected in an Apropos.
*) You can now turn auto save mode on and off safely by setting the
variable Auto Save Mode. This is compatible with all other minor modes.
*) The mode line says "narrow" when you have narrowed down.
Date: 11 MAR 1981 2356-EST
From: KMP at MIT-AI (Kent M. Pitman)
Sent-by: RMS at MIT-AI
Subject: New Lisp Indentation Format
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
In Emacs 154 (now NE on all sites), a new Lisp indentation style is in use.
The changes have been provided for the following reasons:
* To increase the ease with which stylized ``LispMachine-style'' Lisp
indentation can be obtained in a user-programmable way.
* To lessen loss of screen space due to indentation. This indenter is much
more conservative about the amount of indent it gives to many kinds of
expressions.
* To enhance error checking. Many kinds of Lisp forms (DO, PROG,
LET, LAMBDA, ...) have some number of leading forms, treated specially,
followed by some trailing forms, called the body. Common forms of this
type will now have expressions in their bodies indented slightly
differently than their leading expressions to accentuate the separation.
eg,
(DO ((X 0 (1+ X)))
((= X 10.))
(PRINT X))
What follows is information about how customized indentation.
* How Indentation is Decided
The old indentation algorithm is first run, and a tentative indentation
is computed. Then a hook is run to allow selection of a different
indentation if appropriate.
* User-Level Variables
Lisp ... Indent where the '...' is replaced by the name of a Lisp operator,
defines a special indentation method for that operator. Eg,
Lisp PROG Indent controls how PROG's indent. The value of variables
may be a string, in which case they will be called to compute
the indentation (argument conventions and return values to be discussed
later) or a number indicating one of several common operations.
n description
-4 or less undefined
-3 don't indent any special way unless the value of
Lisp Indent DEFanything dictates that we should.
This is the default for unknown functions.
-2 don't indent any special way.
-1 indent as a DEF-form. If this is the 2nd line of the
definition, indent specially. Otherwise, indent under
preceding line.
0 or more indent as a special form, assuming that this form
has n leading expressions before its body. (eg, LET
and LAMBDA have 1 special expression for the bound
variable list, PROGN has none, DO has 2). These
special fields are indented normally. The first
expression following these special ones is indented
specially. Expressions after that are indented
under the previous line as normal.
The variable Lisp PROG Indent is initially defined to run code so that PROG
tags can line up right-justified. Variables corresponding to several
of the common Lisp special forms are set up with non-negative values
corresponding to the indentation style suggested by their semantics.
Lisp Indent DEFanything, if nonzero, will cause all operator names
beginning with 'DEF' to default to definitional form style indentation
(corresponding to a Lisp DEF... Indent variable of -1). Setting this
to 0 will cause 'DEF...' operators to be indented specially only if
they have associated Lisp ... Indent variables set up to cause such
special indentation.
Lisp Indent Offset (default 0), if nonzero, indent this many columns past
the most recent unclosed "(" rather than worrying about indentation
relative to arguments (this also bypasses special form hackery).
If 0, normal Lispy indentation rules apply.
NOTE: Although this variable has been present for a long time,
it has changed slightly. It used to measure offset from the
right side of the paren. Now it measures offset from the left
of the paren. The change was made to provide greater flexibility
since formerly it was impossible to say you wanted to indent
just after the hanging open paren.
Lisp Special Indent Offset (default 2), is the offset from the hanging
"(" which special form indentation uses. Eg, with the default setting,
Emacs will indent under the "E" of "DEFUN".
* Low-Level Variables (primarily of interest to Emacs implementors)
Lisp Indent Language contains a string (default "LISP") which is used
to decide which lisp-like language is to be used. Other hooks key
off of this string; ie, if the Indent Language is LISP, variables
like LISP Indent Offset and Lisp PROG Indent will be looked for.
If the language were Muddle, variables such as Muddle Indent Offset and
Muddle PROG Indent would be looked for instead. Currently, Muddle mode
doesn't use this feature, but perhaps it will in the near future.
In the remainder of this description, only Lisp ... variables
since they are the only ones which are currently useful to most users,
but implementors should bear in mind that similar variables for
other dialects may be defined if a local variable
Lisp Indent Language is created with the appropriate dialect
name as its contents.
Lisp Indentation Hook holds the function which tries to determine how
special forms should be indented. All of the effects described
farther down in this description are dependent on its containing
the default value. If you do not like the action of this hook,
you may wish to put a null string in this variable to keep it
from doing anything -- effectively nullifying most of the changes
described in this text.
* Extension Conventions (for sophisticated users only)
Lisp Indentation Hook (or Muddle Indentation Hook or ...) must be
defined and must contain a string. Its args (,) are the
position in the buffer of the most recent unclosed "(" and
the buffer position of the beginning of the line to be indented.
The buffer position of the cursor at the time the tab was typed
is stored as an offset from Z in qZ, so Z-qZ is that buffer position.
The hook should NOT modify the buffer. If it returns 0 or no value,
it will be assumed that the horizontal cursor position (given by
fsshpos) is to be used as the indetnation level. Hence, to indent
under the "O" in PROG, it is sufficient to jump to that character in
the buffer and return. Replacement of the pointer to the appropriate
line will happen automatically later. If it returns nonzero, that
value will be assumed to be the desired indentation. Returning
negative values is undefined.
Lisp ... Indent variables containing strings to be executed observe the
same argument conventions as the Lisp Indentation Hook would.
Date: 2 MAR 1981 1235-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: Changes in EMACS 154 (now NE on AI)
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
Incompatible changes (indicated by two *'s at beginning of item):
EVARS file and local mode list format,
Visit File Save Old vs. Inhibit Write,
Meaning of argument to C-X C-V or C-X C-F,
Meaning of Exit Hook,
Format of Prefix Char List.
*** Use ***
**) Visit File Save Old now controls whether visiting a new file causes
the old one to be saved. If this variable is zero, the old file is
not saved. If it is -1, then the old file is automatically saved. If
the variable is 1, then you are asked whether to save. The default
value is 1. This variable replaces the old distinction between C-X
C-R and C-X C-V, which are now identical commands.
The variable Inhibit Write is no longer used for anything, though
it still exists to keep some old programs from bombing. Find File
Inhibit Write no longer exists at all.
**) True read-only visiting is now implemented. An argument to the
file-visiting command (C-X C-V or C-X C-F) is used to request this.
Either the buffer or the file can be read-only. A read-only buffer
means that you can't insert or delete anything. A read-only file
means you can change the text in the buffer, but it will not be saved
in the file unless you insist. To insist, you type C-X C-S and answer
"Y" to confirm; absolutely nothing else will cause the read-only file
to be saved.
Normally what you get is a read-only file, whose buffer can be edited.
The command C-X C-Q (^R Set Read-Only File) can be used to switch
between the three modes (ordinary, read-only buffer, and read-only
file).
*) New self-documentation for recursive editing levels.
When you are inside a recursive editing level, Help ? mentions this
and tells you how to abort and how to exit, as well as listing the
Help options available. A new Help option, Help R, gives the full
description of the command that got you into the recursive editing
level.
*) If the variable Auto Save All Buffers is nonzero, each auto save
will save whichever buffers need to be saved. It is up to you to make
sure that the buffers are saved in different places, either by using
Auto Save Visited File, or by giving each buffer a different value of
Auto Save Filename (perhaps automatically in a Buffer Creation Hook).
*) EMACS remembers the current version number of each visited file,
and displays this in the mode line and in the printout from List
Buffers.
*) The Delete File command asks for confirmation if it is not sure
that you know what default filenames were applied to the filename you
specified.
*) M-X View Available Space prints out how many pages of space are
available in EMACS for more buffers or more libraries.
*) The character "#" now has the syntax of a prefix character in Lisp
mode.
*) ^R Indent for Comment now does not move comments that start with a
single semicolon in column 0.
*** Customization ***
**) The format of EVARS files and local mode lines has been changed to
allow variable values to be multi-line strings.
The value specified for a variable should now be either a number or a
string enclosed in doublequote characters. Indentation before the
number or before the string is ignored. To include a doublequote
character in the contents of the string, quote it with a character.
Except for peculiar cases, old EVARS files and local modes lists still
work. Peculir cases include string values which happen to begin with
spaces followed by a doublequote, or spaces followed by a digit.
The change applies only to values of variables. Lines which specify
definitions for command characters are still single lines of TECO
code.
*) So that certain common forms of customization will not need to use
FS flags, there are now variables which you can use instead of certain
FS flags which people often set. Setting the variable sets the FS
flag. Setting the FS flag explicitly also works, but the value of the
variable does not change, so it is best not to mix the two styles of
use.
Here is a complete list of variables which control FS flags. Not all
of these are new.
Auto Save Interval FS ^R MDLY
Bottom Display Margin FS %BOTTOM
Case Search FS BOTHCASE
Cursor Centering Point FS %CENTER
Display Mode Line Inverse FS INVMOD
Display Overprinting FS ^H PRINT and FS ^M PRINT
Echo Area Height FS ECHO LINES
End of Buffer Display Margin FS %END
Error Messages in Echo Area FS ECHO ERRORS
Fill Column FS ADLINE
Overwrite Mode FS ^R REPLACE
SAIL Character Mode FS SAIL
System Output Holding FS TT PAGE (Twenex only)
Top Display Margin FS %TOP
*** Extension ***
**) The format of the value of the variable Prefix Char List is
changed. This should only affect people who create their own prefix
characters. The purpose of the change is to allow for prefix
characters whose dispatch tables are kept in variables rather than in
q-registers. The new format of the value is: any number of lines,
with a CRLF after each line, one line per prefix character.
Each line contains the name to be printed for the prefix character,
followed by two spaces, and the TECO expression which evaluates to the
dispatch table for the prefix character. Look at the initial value of
this variable if this is not clear.
**) & Exit EMACS now calls the Exit Hook in addition to auto saving and
optional explicit saving. The Exit Hook used to override them.
*) The TECO feature FS SUPERIOR is now fully exploited by EMACS.
Superiors can tell an EMACS to make space in the buffer, or to visit a
file, by following the protocol described near the end of TECORD.
*) M-X Describe can be given a precomma argument, which should be the
character number of a ^R command being described. This is passed
along to any documentation-macros contained in the documentation
string.
*) FS TAB WIDTH now controls the distance between tab stops on
display. By setting this to 10, you can view a file the way it would
look on Multics.
*) On Twenex, Return from Inferior Hook is called on return from an
inferior if Exit Hook is called before starting the inferior.
Date: 21 FEB 1981 0426-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
Currently, Autoarg mode means that digits typed before a control or
meta character count as an argument for it, but digits followed by a
non-control non-meta character are inserted.
Should Autoarg mode make the "-" character an argument character as
well as the digits?
Answers will go in EMACS;AUTARG ANSWER.
Date: 19 Feb 1981 1531-PST
From: Ted Markowitz <G.TJM at SU-SCORE>
Subject: DT80 question
To: info-emacs at MIT-AI
Does anyone know how to get EMACS and a DT80 (the VT100 lookalike)
to make up and be friends? At 9600 baud the XON-XOFF of the
terminal loses badly (Search: ...argh). I checked the INFO-TERMS
on this thing, but it didn't suggest a reasonable fix.
Any thoughts?
--ted
-------
Date: 6 FEB 1981 1706-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: FS FLAGS
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
In order to save beginners from having to know about FS flags, I'm
thinking of creating EMACS variables to control those FS flags which a
user might want to change in simple customization. I don't want to do
it for all FS flags. That would be costly, and many FS flags are not
useful except for people who are writing TECO code anyway.
Can you tell me which FS flags you think should be candidates for
this?
Date: 3 Jan 1981 (Saturday) 2106-EDT
From: OTTO at WHARTON-10 (George Otto)
Subject: C100 EMACS keypad library
To: Info-emacs at MIT-AI, C100-Fans at MIT-AI
cc: OTTO (George Otto)
Has anyone implemented an EMACS library to utilize the keypad and
function keys of the Concept-100 terminal? (up-arrow key moving the
cursor up one line, etc.)
George Otto
Date: 3 Jan 1981 1646-EST
From: Jeff Shulman <SHULMAN at RUTGERS>
Subject: H19 EMACS PACKAGE
To: BARMAR at MIT-MC
cc: INFO-EMACS at MIT-MC
THERE IS A GOOD EMACS H19 PACKAGE WRITTEN BY SOMEONE AT DARCOM-KA.
I HAVE A COPY OF IT AND YOUR WELCOME TO FTP IT OR SEND ME A MESSAGE AND I
WILL MAIL IT TO YOU. ONCE LOADED YOU INVOKE IT VIA M-X HEATH MODE$. IT
IS PRETTY GOOD. THE ONLY BUG IT HAS IS WHEN YOU LEAVE EMACS OR PUSH OUT OF
IT. WHEN YOU DO THAT TO CLEAR UP THE BUG INVOKE IT AGAIN. THE BUG IS JUST
THAT THE DATE-LINE DOESN'T ALWAYS GO ON THE 25TH LINE. IT'S IN MY FILE
AS H19.* SO JUST TO A MULTIPLE FTP OF <SHULMAN>H19.* . ANY PROBLEMS YOU
WILL HAVE TO GO TO THE AUTHORS AS I MYSELF AM NOT A TECO HACKER.
JEFF
-------
Date: 3 Jan 1981 1316-PST
From: Vanmelle@SUMEX-AIM
Subject: Re: H19
To: BARMAR@MIT-MC
cc: DMTGJR@AI, INFO-EMACS@AI
In response to your message sent 3 Jan 1981 1301-PST
I have a library to use the Heath19 keypad and function keys.
To avoid conflicts with "regular" emacs keys, I implement them
as prefix characters on ESC and ESC-?, and designate one of the
keypad keys as a Meta-prefix to replace ESC. The library lets
you assign any functions you want to the keys; the default
puts the obvious things on the arrow keys. The library exists
as [sumex]<emacs>heath.*. I'll be happy to send sources and
documentation to any requesting them.
Bill
-------
BARMAR@MIT-MC 01/03/81 15:21:58
To: DMTGJR at MIT-AI
CC: INFO-EMACS at MIT-MC
MSG: *MSG 440
DMTGJR@MIT-AI 12/21/80 18:24:41
DOES ANYONE KNOW IF THERE IS AN INIT FILE FOR EMACS THAT MAKES USE
OF THE H19 KEYPAD AND ITS CURSOR CONTROLS. IF NOT, DOES ANYONE WANT TO
WRITE ONE? FROM WHAT I READ IN THE DOCUMENTATION IT SHOULDN'T BE HARD
FOR A GOOD TECO HACKER. THE H19 USES SIMPLE ESC (META) CODES.
OR COULD IT EVEN BE DONE IN A EVARS FILE?
THANX
Unfortunately, I believe that the codes that the H19 special keys
use would overide some of Emacs' standard key bindings (I think it
uses ESC-? as its prefix). It could be designed, however, such that
if the character following the ESC-? is not a valid H19 code, it is
passed on to the Describe function.
Barmar
Date: Tuesday, 9 December 1980 18:51-EST
From: John A. Pershing Jr. <JPERSHING at BBNA>
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
cc: EMACS-CONTACTS at MIT-AI
Subject: New MKDUMP library
A new version of the MKDUMP library exists on XX, as well as an INFO node.
It is incompatible with the previous version in a number of ways:
- The command M-X Dump My EMACS has been renamed M-X Dump EMACS.
- The default dumped filename has changed from MYEMACS to DEMACS.
- The variable Dumped EMACS Startup Time has been flushed.
- The command M-X Prepare for Loading Libraries has been flushed in
favor of <ENTRY>.
Bugs to JPERSHING@BBNA.
EMACS maintainers note: this version depends on the most recent default
init file also being installed in the EMACS directory.
-jp
Date: 26 Nov 1980 1426-EST
From: Wayne J. Noss <LS.WJN at MIT-EECS>
Subject: Re: Algol mode
To: LS.Barmar at MIT-EECS
cc: info-emacs at MIT-MC
In-Reply-To: Your message of 26-Nov-80 0253-EST
Barry,
I agree that it would be nice to have ALGOL mode do better things
and that if someone implemented the features you mention, it would be
put to good use. The problems are that the implementation would be of
nontrivial difficulty and that someone would have to devote time to it.
BEGIN and END cannot be recognized by TECO as brackets, as I understand
it, so <TAB> would have to be much hairier than for, say, LISP, in order
to work right. (Besides which, there is no universal agreement about
indentation anyway.)
While I would be willing in principle to work on it, there is NO
WAY I could assume such a responsibility at the present time, and I
don't know when that situation will change. If you can find someone
else to do it, I'll be pleased.
Sorry.
the WJN
-------
Date: 26 Nov 1980 0253-EST
From: Barry Margolin <LS.Barmar at MIT-EECS>
Subject: Algol mode
To: ls.wjn at MIT-EECS
cc: info-emacs at MIT-MC
What if anything does Algol mode give me other than
the fact that it says "Algol" on my mode line and binding
TAB to indent-relative? I am trying to use it to edit
my 6.001 labs, and it would be nice if I had an environment
full of useful functions for editing Algol code, i.e.
having TAB bound to the a function that knows how Algol
code should look, and an Indent Algol Region command.
I realize that there is not much demand these days for
a hefty Algol programming environment, but the fact
remains that every semester dozens of 6.001 students
will have to use a crufty Algol Mode. I thought that
"Emacs Makes ALL Computing Simple".
Along the same lines goes the PASCAL Mode that the 6.030
students are using. As a 6.030 UTA, I find that it would
make the structure of programs much clearer to the students
if PASCAL Indent Region did the right thing. It doesn't
seem to know about the PASCAL keywords and how they
affect the formatting of a program. I have never successfully
formatted a PASAL buffer with this; I usually have to
step down the lines and use TAB, correcting it when it
gets it wrong.
Barry Margolin
-------
Date: 18 NOV 1980 0321-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
The EMACS Manual For TWENEX Users is now out.
You can order one by sending $3.25 to
Publications Department
Artificial Intelligence Lab
545 Tech Square
Cambridge, MA 02139
Ask for AI memo 555.
Date: 22 OCT 1980 0002-EDT
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
Lots of people are sending me messages askin me not to
change what C-T does at the end of a line.
I never had any idea of changing what C-T does at the END of a line.
I sent a message asking what people think of changing
what C-T does in th MIDDLE of a line. How people got
the impression that I was asking about the end of the line,
I can't imagine, but all the effort you put into taking
about that is a complete waste.
Date: 16 OCT 1980 0242-EDT
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
Right now C-T transposes the two characters around
the cursor, except at the end of the line.
In this it is compatible with M-T and C-M-T.
However, it might be more useful for C-T to
interchange the last two characters, always.
Do you think this change should be made?
Do you think that M-T and C-M-T should also be changed?
Whichever ones were changed, would only be changed
in the case when they have no argument.
The current definitions of M-T and C-M-T have the
property that repeating the command is useful, and is equivalent to
giving the command an argument.
So there is a conflict between utility of C-T, utility of
M-T and C-M-T, and compatibilit between them.
Date: 22 SEP 1980 0249-EDT
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI, lyons at DEC-MARLBORO
Please mail requests to add or remove names on INFO-EMACS
to BUG-EMACS, not to INFO-EMACS, to avoid bothering all the users.
Date: 19 SEP 1980 1634-EDT
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: C-U C-X ;
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
Just about everyone wants the effect to be permanent,
so that's how it will stay. Some way of adjusting one comment
without setting the comment column may be provided as well.
Date: 18 Sep 1980 2128-PDT
From: KAPLAN at SRI-KL
Subject: Heathkit H-19 EMACS package
To: bboard at SRI-KL, bboard at SU-SCORE, bboard at SUMEX-AIM, bboard at SU-AI,
bboard at MIT-AI, bboard at CMU-10A, bboard at RUTGERS, info-emacs at MIT-AI,
bboard at BBNC
cc: kaplan at SRI-KL
With the aid of Bill VanMelle, I have developed a package that can be
included in an EMACS.INIT file that adapts the Heathkit H-19 numeric
keypad to common emacs functions. It works with minimal impact on bare
emacs, i.e. with no special libraries loaded. Anyone who would like a
copy is welcome to have one, by sending me a request, with two caveats:
1) I do not warrantee nor will I support or make changes in it.
2) It currently works with the (very) peculiar 1200/150 split speed
modems we use here at Stanford. Specifically, this modem accepts
characters from the terminal at 1200 baud, buffers two characters, and
send them at 150 baud over the phone line. Since the heathkit keypad
sends 3 characters per key, the middle character (the "?") gets eaten
consistently by the modem. Consequently, the package looks for and
recognizes the first and last letters of the keypad codes. I am sure
that there is some simple change that will make the package consistent
with more rational modems; however, having learned just enough of the
opaque TECO language to implement what I needed, I am not particularly
interested in figuring out what changes are required.
Currently, the package is conditionally invoked upon executing EMACS if
you are on an H-19 and on a 1200-baud line (presumed to be a dial-up).
This condition can be deleted if desired.
Incidentally, the keypad arrangement has proven quite convenient, and I
recommend it to other itinerant high-tech tinkerers. A map follows:
___________________________________________________
| 7| 8| 9|
|beginning of file| previous para | end of file |
| | | |
|beginning of line| previous line | end of line |
|_________________|_______________|_______________|
| 4| 5| 6|
|delete back char | prev screen | delete char |
| | | |
|back character | next screen | forward char |
|_________________|_______________|_______________|
| 1| 2| 3|
|kill back word | next para | kill word |
| | | |
|backward word | next line | forward word |
|_________________|_______________|_______________|
| 0| .| E|
| | | |
|fill paragraph | un-kill | |
| | | |
|_________________|_______________|_______________|
-Jerry Kaplan
Research Associate
Computer Science Department
Stanford University
-------
Date: 18 SEP 1980 2051-EDT
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
Right now, C-U C-X ; sets the comment column permanently.
Do you think this is a good idea, or should it only adjust the comment
on the current line and not affect further use of comment commands?
Date: 11 Sep 1980 1407-EDT
From: Dave Lyons <LYONS at DEC-MARLBORO>
To: info-emacs at MIT-AI
Subject: Addition to the EMACS mail list please
Could you please add EMACS@DEC-MARLBORO to the mail lists for
bothe the hacker and general mail lists for emacs.
lyons@dec-marlboro
hess@dec-2136
--------
Date: 6 SEP 1980 0316-EDT
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
Do you think that it is right for C-U C-X C-F to leave the comment
column permanently set?
Date: 17 AUG 1980 0144-EDT
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: Another change to SCRIBE mode.
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
"@;" at the front of the line will also make the line
a paragraph-separator, just like @begin and @end.
Put "@;" (the SCRIBE no-op command) at the front of
any line (such as @quotation[, @example[, or a line
of just a closing delimiter) which should not be
filled in with the surrounding lines.
Also, SCRIBE mode is now defined on ITS as well as Twenex.
Date: 13 AUG 1980 0219-EDT
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: SPLIT library for editing very big files.
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
There is a new library SPLIT for operating
on files too big to load into EMACS.
It contains a command Split File which
divides such a large file into small enough subfiles,
and another command Unsplit File for putting the subfiles
back together.
On ITS, the subfiles made from FOO <anything> are called
FOO 1, FOO 2, FOO 3, etc. Unsplit Files looks for the
same names to recombine.
On Twenex, the file FOO.anything.version is split into
FOO.1.1, FOO.2.1, etc. After these have been edited
to get FOO.1.3, FOO.2.2 (for example), Unsplit File
combines those into a new version of FOO.anything
The subfiles are made about 50,000 words long,
and are divided at line boundaries.
There is no limit to the size of file which can be split.
Date: 10 AUG 1980 0557-EDT
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
EMACS 150 has the function Compare Windows, which is
what used to be in LSPUTL under the name Window SRCCOM.
It's very useful. Also, now you can quit it at any time
and the pointers in both windows are advanced as far as
the comparison has gone.
The character "@" at the front of a line no longer indicates
a paragraph gap line by default. In SCRIBE mode (which exists
on Twenex), the strings "@begin" and "@end" are recognized
as paragraph-separating lines, but not other lines which start
with "@". This is so that there is no problem with the many
SCRIBE commands that are used within a paragraph.
Date: 31 JUL 1980 0242-EDT
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
Twenex users: should Reap File and Clean Dir expunge the files
they delete? I tend to think so, since their purpose
is to make room. In fact I though they did, but apparently
they don't. I plan to change it.
Date: 27 JUL 1980 0218-EDT
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: printing terminals
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
TECO 1008 makes it possible to customize how cursor motion
is indicated by EMACS on printing terminals.
EMACS will still handle motion within one line or down
only one screen line by backspacing or printing the characters
moved over.
Other cursor motion can be handled by the string of TECO commands
stored in FS ^R TTM1. It is up to you to define it.
I hope you will come up with useful ideas for what to put there
and try them out. Then eventually I will look at what you've done
and install something.
Date: 26 JUL 1980 0121-EDT
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
The library OUTLIN is now called OUTLINE on Twenex systems.
The variable Mail Reader, which holds the name of the library
to use for reading mail, is now called Mail Reader Library.
On Twenex, there is also Mail Reader Program. Set the former
if you use an EMACS library to read mail, or set the latter
if you use a separate program to read mail.
Date: 25 JUL 1980 0405-EDT
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: LSPUTL library.
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
Boyer@SRI has contributed a few useful functions.
Window SRCCOM compares the text in window 1 with that in window 2,
moving to the next difference. Useful with things other than Lisp also.
Find Pat searches for lists that contain several specified strings.
^R Extract Sublist replaces a list with one of its sublists.
Date: 23 JUL 1980 1603-EDT
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
The obsolete duplicate function names
Alter Options, Edit ..D, ^R Find File, and & Macro Get Full Name
are being flushed. The new names (which already work) are
Edit Options, Edit Syntax Table, Find File, and & Macro Name.
Date: 23 JUL 1980 0023-EDT
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
Reap File now only accepts one filename to reap.
It used to accept any number of filenames, terminated
by a null argument. The change is to make it more like
most other commands.
KMP@MIT-MC 07/17/80 06:05:06 Re: TeXmac library
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS
The TeXmac library has become obsolete. I have moved all of its macros
(all 2 of them) into the TeX library and installed that. You should just
load TeX library now (or it will load for you when you enter TeX mode).
I will leave the TeXmac library around for about a week so that people's
packages don't break (at worst you'll have two copies of the macro in your
emacs if you explicitly load the TeXmac library) -- after that time, I'll
assume everyone has changed over and will delete TeXmac.
For those with short memories, TeXmac had the macro support for automatically
generating \vbox's that know how to correctly preserve indentation of variable
width font displays.
-kmp
Date: 13 July 1980 22:14-EDT
From: Eugene C. Ciccarelli <ECC at MIT-AI>
Subject: Word Abbrev mode
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS at MIT-AI
There is a new version of the WORDAB library with the following
changes. This is now installed on AI, soon to move elsewhere.
For details on new commands, see their on-line documentation.
* M-X Word Abbrev Apropos has been replaced by M-X List Word Abbrevs
with a string argument. M-X Insert Word Abbrevs can also take a
string argument.
* Keys (C-X C-A, etc.) are connected when the library is loaded, and stay
connected outside of Word Abbrev mode: you can define and expand
manually if the system is too slow for automatic expansion to be
tolerated. Also, there is a new command M-X Expand Word Abbrevs in
Region (queries like M-X Query Replace).
* New option variable, Save Word Abbrevs, controls whether exiting EMACS
will cause abbrevs to be saved if necessary. 1 => save all abbrevs
on exit, -1 => just save incrementals, with default 0.
* M-X Edit Word Abbrevs lets you re-edit to correct syntax errors.
The error messages should be clearer too.
* You can have word abbrev "macros", keyboard macros (or Teco code if
you prefer) that can be "attached" to normal abbrevs, so that after
those abbrevs expand, their attached macros are run. E.g.
"textmode" could expand to "-*-Text-*-" and then do a M-X Text Mode
automatically. Describe M-X Attach Word Abbrev Keyboard Macro for
details.
One final question: does anyone use abbrevs that are local to a file?
KMP@MIT-MC 07/12/80 03:53:25 Re: Minor changes to TAGS package
To: INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS
If qTags Find File is set to 2 instead of 1, it now means to force use
of Find File always (rather than preferring to recycle the *TagSearch*
buffer where possible). This allows a user to override the recent changes
to the Tags Find File behavior. You are not recommended to make this change
unless you find yourself annoyed by the default behavior. -kmp
Date: Tuesday, 8 July 1980 16:59-EDT
From: SWERNOFSKY at BBN-TENEXD
To: info-emacs-recipients at mit-ai
cc: swernofsky at bbnd
Subject: SCRIBE mode for EMACS
Emacs people,
I would like to hear from people who have written macros for use
when editing SCRIBE source with EMACS. If you have any such macros, or
know anyone who does, please contact me. If enough people would like to
continue discussion on this idea, I will set up a mailing list for the
purpose.
-- Steve
Date: 1 JUL 1980 1814-EDT
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: No more unintended messages to INFO-EMACS.
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
Mail sent to INFO-EMACS will now claim to
have been sent to INFO-EMACS-RECIPIENTS.
That name is a dummy, and replies sent to it
will go only to EMACS maintainers. If you want
to send a message to all EMACS users, you should
still use INFO-EMACS (or INFO-EMACS-NEWS if you
are announcing a new feature and want the message
to go to EMACS;EMACS NEWS).
Date: 30 Jun 1980 2154-PDT
Sender: STEF at DARCOM-KA
From: STEF at DARCOM-KA
To: RMS at MIT-AI
Cc: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
Message-ID: <[DARCOM-KA]30-Jun-80 21:54:40.STEF>
In-Reply-To: Your message of 30 JUN 1980 1911-EDT
Happy Birthday Indeed! What an interesting msg to use for
generating a reply from South Lake Tahoe to tell you it rained in
Yosemite today, and that there is still snow in our campsite at
]toulumne Meadows, so we came on to Tahoe and got a nice Motel
with HOT! TUB!
Back to camping at Emerald BAy tomorrow.
I hope the absence of substantive mail is not caused by my
absence!
My Next check in will probably be from Mammoth Mountain on July
3.
Cheers - STef
Date: 30 JUN 1980 1911-EDT
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
Answers to my questions should NOT be mailed to INFO-EMACS!
Date: 30 JUN 1980 0956-EDT
From: KMP at MIT-MC (Kent M. Pitman)
Subject: New Emacs library for TeX users -- TeXmac
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-MC
CC: RLB at MIT-MC, INFO-TEX at MIT-MC, RIVEST at MIT-ML
I have created and installed a library called TeXmac for use in Emacs
to support useful operations on TeX code. Currently, the following
macros are all it contains:
[1] M-X Setup Indented TeX Display
This macro will take a normally indented expression in a variable
width region and set it up so that it will be output aligned similarly
by TeX. *Only* the beginnings of lines will line up right. Example:
The region must be placed around the area that is to be set up.
This macro is primarily for setting up indented Lisp code in a variable
width font. Requires a \noflash macro to be defined (see [3] below)
[2] M-X UnSetup Indented TeX Display
This macro will convert a region of the buffer which has had
M-X Setup Indented TeX Display run across it and turn it back into
normally indented text. The cursor may be placed generally anywhere
touching the \vbox{...} which is to be converted back.
[3] M-X Insert TeXmac Aux Macros
Inserts macro definition for \noflash macro used by the output of
M-X Setup Indented TeX Display. If the \noflash macro is found to be
of general use to the TeX community, it may be moved into one of the
TeX libraries, but for now you'll have to manually include its definition
by running this macro at the top of your file.
Comments to KMP@MC.
Date: 30 June 1980 10:16-EDT
From: "Guy L. Steele, Jr." <GLS at MIT-AI>
To: RMS at MIT-AI
cc: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
Date: 29 JUN 1980 0318-EDT
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Suggested: change C-T to read two characters from the terminal
and transpose the last place where those two characters appear together.
I think this would be more useful than having to move the
cursor there. Does anyoen object?
I object, but propose that C-U C-T do the proposed operation.
I suspect that few people use the numeric arg to C-T (though they
may for M-T), or in any case seldom count off as muich as four
rather than just repeatedly typing C-T however many times.
Date: 30 JUN 1980 0956-EDT
From: KMP at MIT-MC (Kent M. Pitman)
Subject: New Emacs library for TeX users -- TeXmac
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-MC
CC: RLB at MIT-MC, INFO-TEX at MIT-MC, RIVEST at MIT-ML
I have created and installed a library called TeXmac for use in Emacs
to support useful operations on TeX code. Currently, the following
macros are all it contains:
[1] M-X Setup Indented TeX Display
This macro will take a normally indented expression in a variable
width region and set it up so that it will be output aligned similarly
by TeX. *Only* the beginnings of lines will line up right. Example:
The region must be placed around the area that is to be set up.
This macro is primarily for setting up indented Lisp code in a variable
width font. Requires a \noflash macro to be defined (see [3] below)
[2] M-X UnSetup Indented TeX Display
This macro will convert a region of the buffer which has had
M-X Setup Indented TeX Display run across it and turn it back into
normally indented text. The cursor may be placed generally anywhere
touching the \vbox{...} which is to be converted back.
[3] M-X Insert TeXmac Aux Macros
Inserts macro definition for \noflash macro used by the output of
M-X Setup Indented TeX Display. If the \noflash macro is found to be
of general use to the TeX community, it may be moved into one of the
TeX libraries, but for now you'll have to manually include its definition
by running this macro at the top of your file.
Comments to KMP@MC.
Date: 29 June 1980 19:12-EDT
From: Earl A. Killian <EAK at MIT-AI>
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
The default EMACS init file has been changed to use Find File
rather than Visit File to read in the file specified in the
command line, if the variable Tags Find File is nonzero.
Date: 29 JUN 1980 1745-EDT
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
Just about everyone is against the change to C-T,
so it won't be made.
I admit I'm surprised.
There is so little disagreement that I don't
think there's a need to store the answers anywhere.
Date: 29 Jun 1980 1237-PDT
From: LARSON at SRI-KL
Subject: C-T change
To: info-emacs at MIT-AI
I would object. It is currently consistent with M-T in the same way
that C-F and C-B are with M-F and M-B. It also seems less useful.
Sometimes I want to transpose two characters in a macro without actually
knowing what they will be in general. The proposed change would ruin
this feature.
Alan
-------
Date: 29 JUN 1980 0901-PDT
From: THOMPSON at USC-ECL
Subject: C-T change
To: info-emacs at AI
I typically use ^T while typing in. Being a computer user, my typing
is fast but notoriously inaccurate. I find that I will realize that
i have transposed two characters and i will ^T without even pausing
for TECO to display all of the typin. Your suggested change sounds
like it will ruin this useful feature.
Mark
-------
Date: 29 JUN 1980 0318-EDT
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
Suggested: change C-T to read two characters from the terminal
and transpose the last place where those two characters appear together.
I think this would be more useful than having to move the
cursor there. Does anyoen object?
Date: 28 Jun 1980 1926-EDT
From: MALIS at BBN-TENEXE
Subject: Using tabs in EMACS on the H19
To: info-emacs at AI, h19-people at AI
cc: Malis
Is there any way to get EMACS to use the physical tab stops in
the H19 (columns 9, 17, 25, etc.) when typing text that contains
tabs? I am using an H19 at 300 baud and notice that EMACS types
spaces even when the text contains tab characters and the tab
stops being used by EMACS are identical to those used by the
terminal. Getting EMACS to type the actual tab characters in the
text would seem to be a big help when one is limited to 300 baud.
Emacs does seem to echo the tabs when the text is first typed in,
but whenever it is re-displayed it then types 8 spaces per tab
character in the text.
Andy
-------
Date: 27 June 1980 12:28-EDT
From: Kent M. Pitman <KMP at MIT-MC>
Subject: Modifications to TAGS
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-MC
The following changes have been made in the Emacs TAGS library:
People who do 1m.vTags Find File (default 0, same as before) will
now find that TAGS search over large tag libraries will not run out
of core. Now what happens if Tags Find File is nonzero is a buffer
named *TagSearch* is used as a temporary during the search if the
file being searched is not already in core. This affects only
M-X Tags Search, C-., and M-X Tags Query Replace. (If you do a search
that uses this facility, you are advised to use M-X Rename Buffer to
change the buffer name if you don't want the next such search to recycle
that space.)
Doing 0m.vTags Search Verbose (default 1) will suppress the filenames
from printing out as M-X Tags Search moves from file to file.
M-X Tags Query Replace is not affected, since it is presumably more
interactive anyway; if there are enough people who want the same or another
flag to affect that macro, as well, it can probably be arranged.
Some minor bug fixes. Tags will no longer accidentally err out due to
finding something in an invalid field in the tags file.
-kmp
Date: 6 JUN 1980 0555-EDT
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
PURIFY has been changed to allow blank pages
and pages containing just comments in library source files.
They are ignored. This should facilitate putting local modes lists
in such files.
Date: 31 MAY 1980 2350-EDT
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
I am working on a questionaire to go to all non-network Twenex sites
that have EMACS. Do you have any suggestions for questions to ask?
The questionaire text lives in AI:.TECO.;QUESTN >
Date: 19 MAY 1980 0700-EDT
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
Have you tried journal files?
I would like to know if anyone is actually using them,
and whether there are any problems.
Date: 16 MAY 1980 1803-EDT
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: M-X Delete File
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
Do you think it should query "Delete FOO; BAR 69 (Y or N)?"
before deleting?
KMP@MIT-MC 05/06/80 00:40:58 Re: MODLIN/TIME feature added
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-MC
Users of the MODLIN mode-line handler can do
1 m.vTime Only
in an init file if they would rather have only the time and not the date
in the mode line. The default is still to get both date and time. For more
info, send me net-mail. -kmp
Date: 2 MAY 1980 2139-EDT
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
I am changing the name of the old EMACS-HACKERS mailing list to
EMACS-CONTACTS, and creating a new mailing list EMACS-HACKERS@AI
whose purpose is to contain everyone who might be interested in
working on suggested EMACS improvement projects.
If you know how to program in TECO and think you might be interested
in working on medium-sized projects, ask me to put you on the list.
Then, if you feel like implementing any of the suggestions you see,
go ahead (but let me and the person who made the suggestion know).
Date: 15 April 1980 14:18-EST
From: Charles Frankston <CBF at MIT-MC>
Subject: How to count words
To: RICH at MIT-AI, INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
Date: 15 APR 1980 1238-EST
From: RICH at MIT-AI (Charles Rich)
DICK@MIT-AI 04/15/80 11:12:13
Dividing the number of characters in the buffer (after the initial
R start up stuff) by 6 is remarkably accurate. All such a macro would
have to do is just skip over the R commands to improve the situation, since
the definition of NUMBER OF WORDS, isn't how many words there happens to be,
but the number of letters (ie not spaces or punctuation) divided by 5.
Dick
For those who would rather count words, this is more or less right, does
not count most text justifier commands:
bj 0[1 :<.-z; :fwl -3 f=
."e l '"# fwl w%1 '>w q1:@= @ft words in buffer :fiw
Admittedly, someone should probably put a better written one in Emacs somewhere.
Date: 15 APR 1980 1238-EST
From: RICH at MIT-AI (Charles Rich)
Subject: More on Counting Words.
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
DICK@MIT-AI 04/15/80 11:12:13
Dividing the number of characters in the buffer (after the initial
R start up stuff) by 6 is remarkably accurate. All such a macro would
have to do is just skip over the R commands to improve the situation, since
the definition of NUMBER OF WORDS, isn't how many words there happens to be,
but the number of letters (ie not spaces or punctuation) divided by 5.
Dick
Date: 15 APR 1980 0928-EST
From: RICH at MIT-AI (Charles Rich)
Subject: Request for information.
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
Has anyone written a macro to count the number of words
in a document?? (This should probably skip any lines
text processor command lines).
It seems like this might be a useful general utility.
Thanks, Chuck.
Date: 15 Apr 1980 0819-EST
From: Sross at MIT-XX (Sandor Schoichet)
Subject: Re: New SLOWLY library
To: RWK at MIT-XX
cc: info-emacs at MIT-AI
In-Reply-To: Your message of 15-Apr-80 0557-EST
That sounds like a wonderful new feature. Thanks!
Suggestion for the one other thing that bugs me about SLOWLY:
Why doesn't the window narrowing happen when doing an incremental
search&replace?
Sross
-------
Date: 15 Apr 1980 0557-EST
From: RWK at MIT-XX
Subject: New SLOWLY library
To: info-emacs at MIT-AI
There is a new version of the SLOWLY library, with an improved incremental
search. This one only narrows the screen for searching when the item
searched for is offscreen. This means that when you search for something
onscreen, you don't end up doing a redisplay just to put the item found
at the top of the screen.
-------
Date: 12 APR 1980 1118-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: Paragraphs
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
Should indented lines really start paragraphs?
Paragraph Delimiter is normally set so that they do. Logically this
is the correct decision for unindented text. However, making the
paragraph commands ignore indentation would enable them to recognize
paragraphs correctly in indented text. This would also benefit the
sentence commands, which do not work well on indented text now that
they pay attention to all paragraph boundaries. The cost would be
that if anyone uses indentation to indicate paragraphs and has no
blank lines between them, his paragraphs would not be recognized.
However, he could change Paragraph Delimiter back to its old default
value.
Replies will go in EMACS;PARA ANSWER.
Date: 11 APR 1980 0605-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: Journal file feature
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
EMACS can now write journal files which record all your commands
so that they can be replayed later after a system crash or other lossage.
Documentation for this feature can be found in AI:RMS;JRNDOC >.
This file is in SCRIBE input format but is probably comprehensible.
Date: 6 APR 1980 0324-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
AI:RMS;GLOSS > is the glossary for the EMACS manual.
Please read it and make suggestions, especially suggestions
for terms which ought to be mentioned.
Date: 4 APR 1980 2234-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
Does anyone ever use the feature whereby a buffer can be
referred to by its "buffer number", to select or kill it?
Date: 4 APR 1980 0542-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
In EMACS 145, M-X and C-M-X will prompt for the command name
with M-X and C-M-X rather than MM and :MM.
this is so that the prompts will be understandable without
reference to TECO, which users may not know anything about.
These prompts can be overridden with the variables
Read Command Prompt and Instant Command Prompt, as before.
Date: 3 APR 1980 0805-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: EMACS 145
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
EMACS 145 is now installed as NE on AI.
For the most part it merely incorporates the patches for 144.
However, there are these new minor features:
View Buffer now takesthe name of the buffer to be viewed.
A null argument means to view the selected buffer, as before.
Also, Backspace moves back by screens, as in View File
(which is used as a subroutine).
A new command, Insert Buffer, inserts the contents of another
buffer into the selected one.
A new command, Make Space, tries to free up space.
It offers to empty out the kill ring, to empty the undo
memory, and to delete the EMACS buffers created automatically
by TAGS, INFO, RMAIL, etc. (a separate offer for each such buffer).
Even if you say "no" to each of these offers, it frees up some
internal objects which you will not miss.
Backtrace now has a new command, ".", which returns to any frame
at any PC. First select the frame to return to, then type ".".
You can then position point at the PC to return to, in a
recursive editing level.
The commands List Commands, List Subroutines and List ^R Commands
have been flushed to save space, on the grounds that their output
has become so verbose that nobody would want to use them.
You can get a similar effect from doing Apropos with a null argument.
Date: 2 APR 1980 0145-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: TAGS feature
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
Going to a tag, when it does not have to switch files,
now pushes point onto the mark ring first. You can go back with
C-U C-@. It prints a notification in the echo area
just as searching does.
Date: 31 MAR 1980 2255-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
DON'T mail to INFO-EMACS to ask to be taken off the list. Mail to me ONLY.
There is no need to bother all the users with such messages.
Date: 31 Mar 1980 1004-PST
From: MAINT.KENNARD at SU-SCORE
Subject: PLEASE REMOVE ME FROM THE MAILING LIST
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
THANKS
-------
Date: 31 MAR 1980 0801-EST
From: DKM at MIT-AI (David K. Mellinger)
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
Please remove me from the mailing list. Thanks. -dkm
Date: 31 MAR 1980 0446-EST
From: GLS at MIT-AI (Guy L. Steele, Jr.)
Subject: Proposed new commands, and sundry remarks.
To: (BUG ZWEI) at MIT-AI, (BUG EMACS) at MIT-AI
CC: GLS at MIT-AI, INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
Comments solicited on the following suggestions (which are NOT from
an EMACS or ZWEI implementor necessarily).
I suggest that Help mention Undo explicitly, to help the naive user.
Perhaps Help U should do Undo.
On the other hand, I wish that Undo were by default on some single keystroke.
I wish that some single keystroke (on a Knight keyboard) would do C-X B Return.
This is a VERY common operation (I assert; has any thought been given to
collecting statistics on which ^R commands (expecially C-X ones) are invoked
most often, for possible redistribution to easier-to-reach keys?).
Also, the Stanford E editor has an extremely winning feature whereby all the
buffers (actually files) are ordered on a pdl, and C-H exchanges the top two
on the PDL (like C-X B), but C-M-H rotates the top k (default k=3), n C-H
rotates the top n, and n C-M-H rotates the top n and sets k to n. This allows
easy running among three or more files. Specifying a file explicitly is like
saying n C-H, where the file is n'th from the top of the pdl. Perhaps
similar operations for the point/mark pdl and kill ring would also be useful.
I want to yell some more for C-M-O => C-O, and C-M-O = ^R Stack List Vertically.
I propose some commands which I believe would make LISP editing easier,
and I wish I had them right now:
(1) ^R Inject Arguments (suggested key: C-M->):
n C-M-> means: n C-M-F ) C-B n C-M-B ( Space C-B [n positive]
n C-M-B ( Space n C-M-F ) C-M-P C-B C-B [n negative]
That is, take the following n s-expressions, wrap them up in a pair of
parens, put a space after the left paren and the cursor before that.
This prepares to make a new level of function call with the s-expressions
as arguments.
(2) ^R Extract Arguments (suggested key: C-M-<):
n C-M-< means: n C-M-F C-Space n C-M-B C-W C-( C-M-K C-Y
except that the kill ring is not affected (but Undo can undo it).
This takes n s-expressions and deletes the s-expression containing them,
then puts them back in place of it. Perhaps typing C-M-< after an n C-M-<
should arrange to use the same n, i.e. allow incremental layers of list
structure. Maybe a zero argument should mean all s-expressions from
point to the enclosing ).
(3) I think I've suggested these before: LET Replace (LET Query Replace?),
and LET Displace (LET Query Displace).
LET Replace expects the cursor to be within a LET binding clause,
and replaces all occurrences of the variable in the LET body with the
corresponding expression. Maybe if the cursor is in front of the set
of bindings it does them all.
LET Displace does the inverse operation. It reads an expression
and a variable, replaces occurrences of the expression with the
variable in the body, then creates a new LET binding clause.
Date: 28 MAR 1980 0854-EST
From: ECC at MIT-AI (Eugene C. Ciccarelli)
Subject: Word Abbrev Mode
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
Minor changes, mostly fixes and a few new variables to make things easier
for users with init and EVARS files. Currently only on the ITS machines,
but soon to move to others.
1. A second C-X U (^R Unexpand Last Word) undoes the first one.
2. M-X Word Abbrev Mode without an argument will toggle the mode.
3. M-X Read Word Abbrev File can read in two kinds of definition file
formats: the default fast-loading kind, and the human-readable kind (the
one you see with M-X List Word Abbrevs). M-X Write Word Abbrev File will
write human-readable format files if the Readable Word Abbrev Files option
variable is set to 1.
4. Setting the Only Global Abbrevs option variable to 1 will cause only
global abbrevs to be used. Using only global abbrevs is faster, simpler
and some people find it more appropriate.
5. You can specify additional characters, e.g. the digits, that should
cause expansion. See the description of the M-X Make These Characters
Expand command. (Users with AI terminals: you can make Top-characters be
expanders too.)
Please send bugs to BUG-WORDAB@MIT-AI.
ECC@MIT-MC 03/27/80 02:09:57 Re: WORDAB question
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
Currently the M-X Word Abbrev Mode command can also be called
via the M-X WORDAB. Would anyone mind if that extra name went
away, leaving only M-X Word Abbrev Mode? (For those worried
about completion, this should in the default environment, allow
M-X Word to complete unambiguously.)
Date: 23 MAR 1980 0156-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: EMACS 144 up as NE on AI
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
*) New buffers will be created in Fundamental mode by default.
However, this behavior is controlled by the value of Default Major
Mode. It can either be the name of the mode to create new buffers in
("Fundamental", "Text", etc.) or it can be the null string, meaning
create new buffers with the mode taken from the previous buffer.
*) View Directory displays an entire directory in the system standard
format. It takes an arg which specifies which directory to display.
*) EMACS keeps better track of which buffers need saving and which
ones need auto saving. A buffer will have a star if it needs a real
save, even if it has just had an auto save. But even though it has a
star, EMACS will realize that another auto save is not necessary.
*) Q-register PDL overflow errors are no longer so disatrous.
You can even get into Backtrace, although if you do then you will go
back to top level when you exit.
I am especially interested in having this version tested by people who
use Auto Save mode.
Date: 21 MAR 1980 1723-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: PASCAL mode
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
The characters _ and ^ are now treated as alphabetic in PASCAL mode.
The command C-M-? is no longer redefined. To get that function
you must now type M-X Print Last Pascal Indenter.
There are two new commands:
C-M-+ turns the variable name before point
into an assignment to increment that variable.
C-M-' inserts a string full of blanks, length controlled
by your numeric argument, and lets you edit the contents
in using overwrite mode.
The files AI:EMACS;PASCAL :EJ, AI:EMACS1;PASCAL >
and AI:INFO;EPASC > implement this change.
Date: 21 MAR 1980 0328-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
@MIT-AI 03/20/80 11:30:54 Re: default major mode
I definitely want the default mode for new buffers ...
Otherwise I would have to put
something in my init file to accomplish that.
I very often receive messages like this. Why would someone tell me
that he might customize his environment, in such a context? I look in
replies for these things: indications of popular opinion, arguments
pro and con, and information about how a command is usually used.
Adding this statement to a message doesn't supply any information in
any of those categories.
One person who said such a thing explained later that it meant he
wanted his opinion counted LESS, because he personally would be
satisfied either way.
However, it comes across to me emotionally as a threat, intended to
influence my decision. If so, it is going wide of the mark, since
EMACS is supposed to get customized; it doesn't hurt me that someone
will do so. But I don't like the feeling that someone is trying to
pressure me. I would like to ask you therefore to refrain from saying
such things in the future. Instead, think of the conclusion you would
like me to draw from the fact that you would customize your
environment, and say that instead.
Date: 21 MAR 1980 0328-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
@MIT-AI 03/20/80 11:30:54 Re: default major mode
I definitely want the default mode for new buffers ...
Otherwise I would have to put
something in my init file to accomplish that.
I very often receive messages like this. Why would someone tell me
that he might customize his environment, in such a context? I look in
replies for these things: indications of popular opinion, arguments
pro and con, and information about how a command is usually used.
Adding this statement to a message doesn't supply any information in
any of those categories.
One person who said such a thing explained later that it meant he
wanted his opinion counted LESS, because he personally would be
satisfied either way.
However, it comes across to me emotionally as a threat, intended to
influence my decision. If so, it is going wide of the mark, since
EMACS is supposed to get customized; it doesn't hurt me that someone
will do so. But I don't like the feeling that someone is trying to
pressure me. I would like to ask you therefore to refrain from saying
such things in the future. Instead, think of the conclusion you would
like me to draw from the fact that you would customize your
environment, and say that instead.
Date: 21 MAR 1980 0328-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
@MIT-AI 03/20/80 11:30:54 Re: default major mode
I definitely want the default mode for new buffers ...
Otherwise I would have to put
something in my init file to accomplish that.
I very often receive messages like this. Why would someone tell me
that he might customize his environment, in such a context? I look in
replies for these things: indications of popular opinion, arguments
pro and con, and information about how a command is usually used.
Adding this statement to a message doesn't supply any information in
any of those categories.
One person who said such a thing explained later that it meant he
wanted his opinion counted LESS, because he personally would be
satisfied either way.
However, it comes across to me emotionally as a threat, intended to
influence my decision. If so, it is going wide of the mark, since
EMACS is supposed to get customized; it doesn't hurt me that someone
will do so. But I don't like the feeling that someone is trying to
pressure me. I would like to ask you therefore to refrain from saying
such things in the future. Instead, think of the conclusion you would
like me to draw from the fact that you would customize your
environment, and say that instead.
Date: 20 MAR 1980 0340-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: default major mode
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
Do you like having the default mode for new buffers be taken from the
previously selected buffer, as it is now, or would you rather have new
buffers created by default in Fundamental Mode?
This is relevant only when the proper major mode cannot be determined
from a -*-FOO-*- or a local modes list or (on Twenex) the filename.
Answers to EMACS;MODE ANSWER.
Date: 19 MAR 1980 0250-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: Mode line weirdness in EMACS 143?
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
If you have an init file which is a compiled library,
and you find that in EMACS 143 your mode line is always
surrounded by square brackets, you are probably neglecting to
set Q..9 to the null string before calling the default init file.
You should do :I..9 before you call the default init file
from a compiled init file of your own.
Date: 14 MAR 1980 0612-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
EMACS 143 is available as NE on AI. Please try it.
I will be away until Tuesday night, but perhaps MMCM will fix some
problems before then.
*) M-X What Page will say what page and line number the cursor is on.
What Cursor Position is the new name of ^R Where Am I, C-X =, which
says where on the screen the cursor is, and the value of point and
size of buffer.
In completion, "W" is always a good abbreviation for "What".
*) The new View File command, which allows Backspace to move backwards
in the file, is installed. Note that the reason View File does not
use a general recursive editing level is so as to avoid having to read
the entire file into core at any time. This means it can start
displaying much faster, and it can be used on files which will not fit
in core.
*) M-Q is once again allowed in all major modes.
*) M-K kills to the end of the sentence. It accepts repeat count
arguments, positive and negative. C-X Rubout, ^R Backward Kill
Sentence, also accepts arguments.
All the sentence commands now observe all paragraph boundaries.
Blank lines and text justifier command lines are now considered
between paragraphs, not part of any paragraph. M-] moves to the end
of the paragraph, not the beginning of the next.
*) C-K's arguments are now changed: -1 means kill to the previous
line-beginning (the beginning of the current line, unless point is
there, in which case it is the beginning of the previous line). An
argument of 0 still means kill to the beginning of the current line.
*) C-X T is ^R Transpose Regions. You mark both ends of one region,
and put point and mark around anothe region, and this transposes them.
Repeating the command undoes it.
*) CR when you are typing a function name (in M-X, etc) now performs
completion, internally, to prevent any paradoxical results from the
distribution of various function's definitions among multiple libraries.
*) M-^ no longer puts in a space when it joins a line onto a preceding
blank line.
*) "^R" will no longer appear in the mode line when you are inside a
recursive editing level. Instead, just square brackets are used.
*) Indent Tabs Mode is now a variable you can set as well as a
function to toggle the setting. -1 means use tabs, 0 means don't.
*) Overwrite Mode now leaves Meta commands unchanged. It appeared
that the only people who liked having Overwrite Mode make Meta
characters insert were those who also use E at SAIL. So it might make
sense for Stanford alone to change this back.
For customization only:
*) Init files are now executed entirely within ^R mode. This should
eliminate some anomalous behavior observed from certain functions when
called from init files.
*) The command C-X ? can now be redefined just like any other C-X
command.
*) The prompt used by C-M-X is now obtained from the variable Instant
Command Prompt.
*) ^R Return to Superior will execute Return from Superior Hook, if it
exists, after EMACS is continued.
*) 2,M.L FOO makes FOO a permanent local variable in the current
buffer. This means that FOO will not lose its local definition if you
switch major modes. This is intended to be used by libraries to store
per-buffer internal information, not by the user, because making a
variable both a permanent local and a major mode local does not
attempt to do anything reasonable.
*) The name ^R Modified Two Windows has been changed to
^R Visit in Other Window. This is the function on the C-X 4 command.
*) M.C can be used to give a variable a default value (set it only if
it does not already exist).
Date: 13 MAR 1980 0139-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
Most people prefer to have C-K changed.
However, an argument of zero will still mean to
kill back to the beginning of the line, as it does now,
for the sake of those with strong habits,
since it would be a useless no-op under the new scheme.
Date: 12 MAR 1980 0642-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: scott at SRI-KL
CC: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
I prefer to use Altmode when I give an example of TECO code
so that anyone who examines the example closely or copies the
code into an init file will not get screwed. I must respectfully
consider it a bug when a mail-reading program does not display
some character such as Altmode in a useful fashion.
Date: 12 Mar 1980 0331-PST
From: Scott at SRI-KL (Scott J. Kramer)
Subject: <alt>'s in messages
To: bug-e at MIT-AI
cc: info-emacs at MIT-AI
Please use dollar sign to represent <alt> in Emacs-related messages, the
<alt> doesn't display. Thanks. -sjk
-------
Date: 12 MAR 1980 0622-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
The VARG library is having its name changed to VT52.
The names of the commands in it are also changed.
Do M-X List LibVT52 to see the details.
Date: 11 MAR 1980 0437-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: Hello, printing terminal EMACS users
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
Would you please read the file AI:EMACS;PRNTNG >
and then tell me any useful techniques you have worked out
for editing with EMACS on a printing terminal
which are not in that file?
These techniques will go in the manual.
Date: 10 MAR 1980 0550-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: C-K command arguments
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
Right now the C-K command is unlike the other killing and motion
commands in the way it understands zero and negative arguments. Zero
means kill back to the start of the current line, killing nothing if
point is there already. Minus one means kill back to the beginning of
the previous line. This is simply inherited from the TECO K command.
If C-K were like the other commands, an argument of -1 would kill back
to the previous line-beginning, which could be the beginning of the
current line, or the beginning of the previous line if you were at the
beginning of a line.
Do you think this change would be a good idea?
Date: 10 MAR 1980 0534-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: Sentence question answers
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
Most people want M-A and M-E to stay approximately the same as now,
but want M-K to be changed to kill forward to end of sentence.
KMP@MIT-MC 03/10/80 04:12:16 Re: More on TeX mode
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-MC
Apologies for all the mail you non-TeX folks are getting on this ... hopefully
this library will stabilize shortly. If not, I'll create an Info-Tex-Mode
mailing list, but I'd rather not bother ...
(1) If you put
1 M.VInhibit TeX Dollarsign
in your Emacs init, you will not get TeX's flashing dollarsigns
when you do MM Tex Mode ... They still default to on, since I believe
people are finding them useful.
If you do have fancy $'s enabled, C-M-$ (Control-Meta-Dollarsign)
will also get enabled to insert that funny barrier, keeping $ from
scanning before that point to look for matching $'s.
(2) The bug making \$ give a search-failed message instead of just
self-inserting has been fixed.
-kmp
KMP@MIT-MC 03/09/80 04:32:12 Re: TeX mode -- helpful hint
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-MC
CC: DCB at MIT-MC
Something which I guess I should have mentioned in the info about TeX mode
is that in order to support flashing $...$'s, it is necessary to scan back
as far as the last pending { or beginning of file if at toplevel. This can
be very inefficient for long files and there is no way to get around it
trivially from software. Hence, you may find it useful to add to your buffer
at points where you know there is a division that you would like the package
not to scan back past, the following character configuration:
% {]
This will tell TeX mode not to scan back past this { in looking for other
$'s each time you type a $ ... It will not confuse the {...} balancing
commands except at the instant you type the ] ... and finally, it won't come
out in your output since % will comment it out. If this really causes people
problems and they find $'s are too slow or that for someother reason they
would like not to have it defaultly enabled, I'll create a variable you can
set to make TeX mode not turn on flashing $'s by default. -kmp
Date: 8 MAR 1980 2331-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: Carriage-return command
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
The answers to the question about the CR command are in EMACS;CR
ANSWER. Almost everyone prefers the command the way it is now.
Date: 8 Mar 1980 0004-EST
Sender: ADOWEN at BBN-TENEXD
Subject: Re: Question on sentence commands
From: Buz Owen <ADOwen at BBN>
To: RMS at MIT-AI
Cc: INFO-EMACS at AI
Message-ID: <[BBN-TENEXD] 8-Mar-80 00:04:16.ADOWEN>
In-Reply-To: Your message of 7 MAR 1980 0558-EST
I like M-a and M-e except that they presently ignore negative args. I
think like they ought to move in the opposite to normal direction to the
beginnings or ends of sentences respectively with negative args. This
would provide a way to move to the beginning of the next sentence, i.e.
to the end of the current one and past the whitespace. A function to
skip over contiguous whitespace is another way to make the same thing
possible with four keystrokes, (assuming a non-meta keyboard and the
skip-whitespace function on a meta or control-meta key.)
I think M-k should kill the current sentence with no arguments; kill
forward or backward with one positive or negative arg, kill a range from
arg1 beginnings of sentences back to arg2 ends of sentences forward with
two args. Perhaps there ought to be killing of the space after or
before which would be applied uniformly by commands which kill words and
sentences and maybe larger units, but unless it were carefully worked
out, I prefer things the old familiar way they are now.
Date: 7 MAR 1980 0607-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: CR command question
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
A year ago most people wanted CR to be changed not to gobble up the
last blank line before a nonblank line. Now that it has actually been
this way for a while, do you still think it is a good idea?
Or would you rather have CR always use an existing blank line if there
is one, even if the following line is not blank?
Answers will go in EMACS;CR ANSWER
Date: 7 MAR 1980 0558-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: Question on sentence commands
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
Do you like where M-A and M-E position the cursor?
Or do you think that they should sometimes move past the
inter-sentence delimiters?
Do you like having M-K kill a whole sentence, or would you rather have
it kill forward to the end of the sentence?
HAL@MIT-MC 11/29/79 18:31:20
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-MC
Could someone tell we what command I can add to my
emacs init to cause new buffers to be created in text rather
than fundamental mode?
KMP@MIT-MC 02/24/80 05:59:26 Re: TeX Mode
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-MC
TeX mode now runs a special macro for $...$ matching which attempts to
understand TeX's basic rules for when $'s are acceptable. If anyone has
any troubles with odd configurations of {...}'s and $...$'s displaying
an incorrect match, please let me know.
-kmp
Date: 20 FEB 1980 2125-EST
From: KMP at MIT-MC (Kent M. Pitman)
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-MC
CC: INFO-TEX at MIT-MC
I have created a TeX mode in Emacs. Do MM Load LibraryTEX to get in the
library and the MM TeX Mode to get the macro turned on. It features
$...$ is given the lisp syntax of |...| so that C-M- will treat it as a
single object to be manipulated.
{...} are given the syntax of (...) as is [...] and qPermit UnMatched Paren
gets zeroed out so you get a beep when you mismatch your parens.
\ gets the lisp syntax of / so that it doesn't interfere with C-M- commands
when you do \$ or \{ or \}.
% gets set up as the comment character.
Tab gets set up to do indent relative and Rubout/Control-Rubout get
turned around so that Rubout will rub backward changing tabs into spaces.
There is also a macro named ^R TEX " which you can put on the " character
if you want. It will insert `` or '' as appropriate according to context
if you're the kind that is prone to forget to use these -- but that macro
is not on any key by default.
If anyone else has any good ideas for how to make TeX more livable via
this editting mode, I'm open to suggestions tho' I won't make any guarantees.
-kmp
Date: 13 February 1980 00:34-EST
From: Eugene C. Ciccarelli <ECC at MIT-MC>
Subject: WORDAB library
To: Info-Emacs at MIT-AI
Sometime in the near future I will be installing a new version of the
word abbrev library with a few changes that need advance notice:
1. To be compatible with the convention now used by other EMACS minor
modes, doing MM Word Abbrev Mode$ (i.e. no explicit numeric argument)
will toggle the mode instead of turning it on.
2. The command MM Word Abbrev Apropos$filter$ will be going away, its
functionality replaced by MM List Word Abbrevs: the commands MM List
Word Abbrevs$ and MM Insert Word Abbrevs$ will take a filtering string
argument so that some abbrevs will be listed/inserted. A null
argument will mean list/insert all the abbrevs, thus giving the old
behavior.
Thus to prepare for these changes, if you use these commands (say in
your init file), you can make the following replacements, which will
work now and after the change:
MM Word Abbrev Mode$ -> 1 MM Word Abbrev Mode$
MM List Word Abbrevs$ -> MM List Word Abbrevs$$
MM Insert Word Abbrevs$ -> MM Insert Word Abbrevs$$
If you use MM Word Abbrev Apropos$ in your init or some other
function, could you tell me?
Date: 6 Feb 1980 1131-PST
From: Denny Brown <CSD.DBROWN at SU-SCORE>
To: RMS at MIT-AI, INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
cc: csd.bth at SU-SCORE
In-Reply-To: Your message of 3-Feb-80 0211-PST
In order to give a consistent story to the secretaries here, I'd rather
have to C-Q to insert any funny character. We use Meta characters for
lots of things in our libraries. -Denny Brown
-------
Date: 3 FEB 1980 0511-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
If you use Overwrite Mode on a terminal with a Meta key:
Do you like the feature that Meta-characters insert
and Altmode must be used to get the word commands?
Or would you rather that Meta-characters continue to be
the word commands and C-Q be necessary for insertion?
I realize that the set of people to whom this is addressed
may well be empty.
BLOTTO@MIT-MC 02/02/80 15:11:15
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
PLEASE ADD ME TO YOUR MAILING LIST
THANX, BLOTTO@AI
KMP@MIT-MC 01/28/80 05:27:11
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-MC
Anyone who uses my MODLIN or TIME libraries and has noticed that
MM Query Replace and/or MM Replace have not been functioning with
100% reliability can rest a bit easier. I have tracked down and corrected
what I believe to have been the cause of the problem. This fix is installed
in ITS versions of these libraries. -kmp
Date: 27 JAN 1980 0432-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
there is a new View File command in the library VFILE on AI.
It can move backwards in the file as well as forwards.
Type Backspace to move back.
Its possible disadvantage is that it may be slower.
please try it and tell me what you think of it.
If people think it is a win, I'll make it the standard version.
It works by using random access IO to window part of the file
into a buffer, then windowing the buffer onto the screen.
Date: 27 JAN 1980 0245-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
MM Tabify will be changed so that just two spaces will never be
replaced with a tab.
It was suggested that this might be done only at ends of sentences,
but this would be extra difficulty, and could not eliminate problems
if there were any, but only make them happen less frequently. It
doesn't appear that failure to insert a tab would be a problem,
anyway.
Date: 25 JAN 1980 1811-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
Should MM Tabify refrain from using tabs to replace just a pair of
spaces? The idea is that ends of sentences don't become garbaged.
JLK@MIT-MC 01/24/80 08:46:44
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-MC
When the DELIM library is used, the function of C-] is on C-M-G.
KMP@MIT-MC 01/23/80 09:07:45
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-MC
Users of the MODLIN package may note that I have modified how the mode
line comes out ... lest ye be confused, please note -- 'DDT:' will no
longer appear when Emacs is a toplevel job. When it is running inferior
to another job (as in MAILT or LISPT) it will still try to say LISP:
or MAIL: as it always has. This change was made to conserve room for
the more useful data which some people have managed to run off the end
of the existing mode line.
-kmp
Date: 20 JAN 1980 0250-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
M-Q (^R Fill Paragraph) will now be allowed in programming language
major modes. It used to be prohibited as likely to screw you,
but with M-X Undo available it should not be much of a screw any more.
Date: 20 JAN 1980 0236-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
JLK@MIT-MC 01/15/80 03:31:49
When you revert a file from disk, it doesn't seem to run your
Visit File Hook (it presumably should run it with an arg of 0,
as it does when you first visit the file in a buffer).
Can anyone see any problems with this idea?
Date: 17 Jan 1980 1034-EST
From: Sross at MIT-XX (Sandor Schoichet)
Subject: Spelling correction
To: info-emacs at MIT-AI
I second HAL's idea for integrating the spell program with emacs.
-------
HAL@MIT-MC 01/16/80 22:29:21
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-MC
It would be really nice to have an emacs library which allowed one to
do spelling correction on the buffer, say, by invoking the spell
program or some other way. In fact, it could be considerably more
useful than the current spell program if it also gave the user the
option of going into a recursive edit mode at the appropriate point in
the buffer in response to a spelling error.
Any benevolent hackers out there?
MOON@MIT-MC 01/15/80 09:45:10
To: JLK at MIT-MC, INFO-EMACS at MIT-MC
JLK@MIT-MC 01/14/80 16:45:41
To: info-emacs at MIT-AI
I have a Visit File Hook which hides local modes info at the end of the
file by setting the buffer bounds, and a command to toggle the buffer
bounds so you can edit them if you want. This has the advantage that
M-> does not put you after the modes info, and if that info is hairy,
it doesn't make your file look so kludgy while you are editing it.
Now, for editing public files I think it might go along way towards
lowering people's resistance to having this modes information in their
files if this feature were made standard.
Let me point out that I think it would be an extremely bad idea to have
anything in the standard Emacs that hid anything in the file from the user.
This would only lead to difficulties and confusion when there was something
wrong with whatever it chose to hide, or when it decided to hide the wrong
thing.
This happened in the past when Teco (or Tecmac?) had a misfeature
by which it did not show extra control-C's at the end of a file. A student
somehow got several hundred control-C's at the end of his thesis, which came
out as garbage characters when text-justified. These control-C's could not
be removed or even seen with the editor (nor with the standard file-printing
command at the time, which had an even worse bug with control-C's).
I think a better approach would be to have a command that moved you to
just before the local modes, with the local modes just off the screen.
But please don't change m-> to do this!!
JLK@MIT-MC 01/14/80 16:45:41
To: info-emacs at MIT-AI
I have a Visit File Hook which hides local modes info at the end of the
file by setting the buffer bounds, and a command to toggle the buffer
bounds so you can edit them if you want. This has the advantage that
M-> does not put you after the modes info, and if that info is hairy,
it doesn't make your file look so kludgy while you are editing it.
Now, for editing public files I think it might go along way towards
lowering people's resistance to having this modes information in their
files if this feature were made standard.
Date: 13 JAN 1980 2042-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: View Buffer
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
The way to exit from View Buffer while moving point into the screenful
that is presently on the screen is now Return instead of C-C.
Date: 9 JAN 1980 0324-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
The Set Key function will now ask for confirmation.
Also, it really works to use prefix characters to
specify the key to be redefined.
JLK@MIT-MC 01/07/80 11:05:46
To: info-emacs at MIT-AI
I have been receiving dozens of inquiries about why "TXJ no longer
works in the new EMACS". In the old EMACS TXJ was autoloaded so
that simply typing M-X TXJ worked. Now you have to type M-X LOAD LIB$TXJ
and then do M-X TXJ. I don't know why RMS flushed this without
announcing it, but I am not surprised -- you will have to ask him.
Perhaps some general scheme would be desirable whereby a failing M-X
command would check for a library of the given name and try autoloading
it. This would save a few characters for autoloading macro definitions
in the default EMACS.
Date: 4 January 1980 01:03-EST
From: Mark L. Miller <MILLER at MIT-AI>
Subject: Incompatible change philosophy
To: RMS at MIT-AI
cc: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
Just for the record -- we have NOT been screwed by the chan}~es, and are
grateful to keep receiving the new releases since we find most of the
incompatible changes to be improvements worth adjusting to. we regard
emacs as an important experiment in designing high productivity software
develpment systems for expert programmers. We are also interested in
systems for naive users, which EMACS is not -- in its current form -- but
EMACS is more of a step, even toward that goal, than any other editor
currently available. It got that way because of a refusal to maintain
compatibility with the sins of the past. (I too believe in "upward
compatibility" when possibl d
# ( V 3 ? M - E ^3*l3*n3*p hare in maintaining it.
Date: 23 DEC 1979 0258-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: paragraph commands
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
What appears to be wanted is:
text-justifier command lines are treated as blank lines, and
M-] stops at the end of the paragraph instead of the beginning
of the next one. M-[ with a negative arg will go down to a paragraph
beginning and M-] with a negative arg will go backward to a paragraph end.
This will be implemented at some time in the future.
Date: 23 DEC 1979 0256-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: Read only file visiting
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
EMACS;FILE PLAN contains a plan for changing
the EMACS file visiting commands, designed to satisfy
people's needs as expressed in their answers to my earlier
questions. Please tell me your opinions of it.
Date: 15 Dec 1979 1109-PST
From: Ted Markowitz <G.TJM at SU-SCORE>
Subject: Re: Standard exit command
To: RMS at MIT-AI, INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
In-Reply-To: Your message of 13-Dec-79 0016-PST
I think that C-\ would do the trick.
--ted markowitz
-------
Date: 13 DEC 1979 0316-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: Standard exit command
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
What would you think of having C-\ as the standard exit command for
all recursive editing levels and subsystems, just as C-] is the
standard abort command? C-\ would replace things like C-M-C (or
C-M-Z), Q, and C-Altmode.
Unfortunately, C-M-C (or C-M-Z) can't be used because it requires a
meta or control-meta prefix to type, and in subsystems there may be no
prefix characters. C-Altmode has the same problem. Thus limited to
ASCII characters, and ruling out printing ones and popular commands,
C-\ is the only choice.
It would still be imaginable to make C-M-C (or C-M-Z) the standard
exit command by making the control-meta prefix work in all subsystems,
but this would be painful to design in detail.
Date: 7 December 1979 05:06-EST
From: Eugene C. Ciccarelli <ECC at MIT-MC>
Subject: WORDAB problems
To: Info-Emacs-News at MIT-AI
The installation problem that Scott reported should be solved. If
anyone else encounters any difficulties at all with WORDAB, please
mail to ECC@MIT-MC. One thing mentioned before has been changed: the
commands MM Define Word Abbrevs, MM Insert Word Abbrevs, and MM Kill
All Word Abbrevs have not gone away since they are used more than I
thought they'd be.
Another note, geographical: the installations of WORDAB have occurred
on the ITS machines, BBND, and MIT-XX.
KRAMER@MIT-MC 12/07/79 02:50:05 Re: Oversight
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-MC
My mistake, I can just load OWORDA for now although I'd rather have to
modify to get the new library. When new versions of Emacs come out,
they're labeled experimental so it might be better if libraries were
made this way until tested.
Scott
KRAMER@MIT-MC 12/07/79 02:18:04 Re: Changes that screw up init files
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-MC
Earlier tonight I received a message via INFO-EMACS-NEWS saying that changes
had been made to WORDAB. Fine, but I think it is unreasonable to inflict
(harsh word) these changes on people without some transition period so that
they may make changes to init files or whatever. This is especially true
for a person like myself who is not very familiar with Teco and may need
help in making these modifications. Please consider this in the future.
Thanks,
Scott
Date: 6 December 1979 22:47-EST
From: Eugene C. Ciccarelli <ECC at MIT-MC>
Subject: New WORDAB release
To: INFO-EMACS-NEWS at MIT-AI
A new version of the WORDAB (Word Abbrev Mode) library has been
installed. This new version is a minor change from XWORDA library
which has been in use for quite a while among several users. The old
version of the WORDAB library will be available for a while as OWORDA.
The major changes that uses of the old WORDAB library will see are:
1. The format used for files of saved abbrev definitions is
different, less human readable but much faster to load. For users
with old-style format files, the MM Read Word Abbrev File will
perform a conversion and rewrite the file in the new format. (The old
file will be copied, just in case, to WORDAB ODEFNS on ITS,
WORDAB.ODEFNS.0 on Tenex/Twenex sites.)
2. Multiple-line expansions are supported.
3. MM Edit Word Abbrevs has a slightly different format, to allow
the more general expansions, e.g. multiple-line. Basically, if you
have a double-quote character (") inside an expansion, it will be
doubled (""), to distinguish it from the double-quotes that surround
the entire expansion.
4. There is a new command, MM Word Abbrev Apropos, that will list
some (not all) of the abbrevs currently defined. Like MM Apropos,
it takes a string argument to match against the defined abbrevs: any
abbrev containing that string, or having an expansion containing that
string, will be listed.
5. Some commands went away, to leave a simpler looking user
interface. These commands were: MM Define Word Abbrevs, MM Insert
Word Abbrevs, MM Kill All Word Abbrevs, and MM Incremental Word
Abbrev Apropos. If this bothers anyone, contact me. (There are some
subroutine available to do the job, for instance.)
Date: 5 DEC 1979 2033-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
A clarification: the new mailing list is for people who
are involved in maintaining EMACS up to date outside MIT,
to inform them of when there is something new that they
should copy to their own sites.
Date: 5 DEC 1979 1740-EST
From: rms at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Sent-by: GJS at MIT-AI
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
There is a new mailing list called EMACS-HACKERS for people who
are involved in maintaining EMACS or parts of it at various sites.
If you would like to be on it, let me know.
Date: 1 DEC 1979 1153-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: Twenex problems that screw EMACS
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
A list of Twenex problems that screw EMACS can be found in
the file .TECO.;TWENEX LOSSES on AI or <EMACS>TWENEX.LOSSES on XX.
Date: 29 November 1979 00:05-EST
From: Robert W. Kerns <RWK at MIT-MC>
Subject: Change to PAGE and SLOWLY
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-MC
To allow them to be used with each other, PAGE and SLOWLY have been
changed. The functions ^R PAGE Reverse Search and
^R SLOW Display Reverse Search have been flushed .... ^R Reverse Search
(the default binding for C-R) indirects through ^R Incremental Search.
Thus now a search can be both SLOWLY and PAGE-ified....
Date: 25 November 1979 13:09-EST (Sunday)
From: KRALEY at BBN-TENEXA
To: info-emacs at mit-ai
cc: Kraley at BBN-TENEXA
Subject: source compare
So many people have answered my query about source compare with
what I feel to be irrelevant answers that I fear that I have not
made myself clear enough. I am very familiar with the various
"batch" source compares that exist (although I did learn about
some new ones too) and it is precisely because of that that I
sent my message. One of the problems with a source compare like
that is you typically need to spread out your listings of the two
versions, along with your listing of the differences, and then
work hard to understand what really changed. Just like a display
editor (like EMACS) is infinitely superior to a printing terminal
editor (tenex teco) because you can understand what's happening,
so would a "display" source compare that I envision. The key
thing is that the files being compared would be VISIBLE and the
changes can be directly observed and compared. The full power of
the editor could be used to walk around in the files to see what
is happening and possilby make some fixes. I point out the
analogy to the compile feature mentioned in the multics emacs
paper that lets you, in the context of the editor, look at the
source file and error file in two windows and invoke a command to
move the cursor inthe source file buffer to the "next" error
mentioned in the error file. this allows one to be freed from
the necessity to spread out those listings in the same way.
Come on, ladies and gents, let's raise our horizons somewhat!
...Mike
Date: 25 Nov 1979 0645-PST
From: NCP.Alpha at SU-SCORE (EGK)
Subject: Re: source compare
To: KRALEY at BBN-TENEXA
cc: info-Emacs at MIT-AI
In-Reply-To: Your message of 24-Nov-79 1609-PST
There are two programs, namely SRCCOM and FILCOM which do an aquidite
job of comparing files and giving you the differences. I dont see why
anyone would waste his time writing an emacs macro to do this.
Ed
-------
Date: 24 November 1979 19:09-EST (Saturday)
From: KRALEY at BBN-TENEXA
To: info-emacs at mit-ai
cc: Kraley at BBN-TENEXA
Subject: source compare
Has anyone ever written a source compare function for EMACS? It
seems like such an obvious thing, ie. have the two files to be
compared in two buffers and a user command to advance to the next
difference which would then be displayed in two windows, perhaps
with the differing lines flagged in one of the margins. Then
you'd be able to invoke a ^R to walk around in the files. Anyone
ever heard (or lust after) such a thing?
...Mike
Date: 23 NOV 1979 0614-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: INFO-EMACS-NEWS
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
To announce changes in EMACS or EMACS libraries, send mail to
INFO-EMACS-NEWS@MIT-AI. This will go to INFO-EMACS and also
to a file which logs change announcements, EMACS;EMACS NEWS.
It will magically cause INFO-EMACS to appear in the header
of the message, thus preventing any replies, complaints, etc.
from getting into the EMACS NEWS file.
Date: 23 NOV 1979 0550-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: ^R Exchange Characters, etc.
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
In EMACS 141, all these functions will be renamed
to things like ^R Transpose Characters.
This should go better with commands like C-T, M-T, etc.
Date: 23 NOV 1979 0530-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: EMACS 141 change
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
Revert File with an argument will revert to the last version
of the visited file, ignoring any auto save files made since then
if you are autosaving under separate filenames.
A precomma argument will make it not require confirmation.
Date: 23 NOV 1979 0528-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: EMACS 141 changes
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
In EMACS 141, there will be these changes:
* Whether the parenthesis matching display feature beeps if there
is no matching parenthesis is controlled by the new variable
QPermit Unmatched Paren. If it is 1, unmatched parens are permitted
(no beep) in all major modes. If it is 0, they are never permitted
(always beep). If it is -1, they are permitted except in Lisp mode
(because Lisp mode sets the variable to 0 if it was -1!).
The initial setting is -1.
Also, mismatched parens, as in "[)", will always beep if the matching
display feature is turned on.
* Help N prints out the file EMACS NEWS of EMACS change information.
* C-X = will now print out the total size of the file in characters
as well as its other information. It should be self-explanatory.
* In M-X and C-M-X, just "I " as the start of a command will expand
automatically into "Insert ". This is in addition to "V" for "View,
"L" for "List", "K" for Kill and "E" for Edit. My intention is to
rename the commands that do one of these sorts of things to start with
the "standard" word for that type of operation, to make the command
names easier to remember.
* Get Date has been renamed to Insert Date.
Alter Options has been renamed to Edit Options.
Edit ..D has been renamed to Edit Syntax Table.
The first two of these changes are examples of the policy
described in the previous section.
* The function Auto Save Mode will no longer set the number
of versions to be kept or the number of characters between saves.
Its argument will only say whether to turn the mode on or off.
Those other parameters are the values of the variables
QAuto Save Max and QAuto Save Interval. The first one already
existed; the second one is new.
* Write File and Set Visited Filename now run the Visit File Hook,
if there is one, but give it an argument of 1 to distinguish themselves
from an actual Visit File.
Also, these changes have been made in other libraries:
In KBDMAC, there is now C-U C-X Q. It causes a recursive editing level
to be entered when the macro is defined and again when the macro is run.
Thus, at that point in the macro, you can do a different thing each time
around.
In PAGE, there are several changes:
* ^R Go to Page is now ^R Goto Page, so as to resemble the other commands,
and lives by default on C-X C-P instead of on M-G. M-G and C-M-G are
no longer changed by the package.
* C-X C-P when you are looking at the whole buffer
will now narrow to just the page that point is in.
* Print File Directory has been renamed to View Page Directory.
(After all, a file directory is something entirely else).
Make File Directory has been renamed to Insert Page Directory.
* Trying to move to a nonexistent page will get an error, but
will leave you in the first or last page with the correct page
number in the mode line.
Date: 23 NOV 1979 0416-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: Reap File and Clean Directory
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
Giving a nonzero precomma argument to these
will make them ignore the don't-reap bit.
Date: 23 NOV 1979 0239-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: Reap File and Clean Directory
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
These ITS-only functions will now never delete any file whose
don't-reap bit is set.
Date: 15 Nov 1979 1744-PST
From: NYBERG at USC-ISIE (Karl A. Nyberg)
Subject: EMACS at ISIE
To: info-emacs at MIT-AI
Can anyone tell me who has put EMACS on ISIE, and how I
could get them to get a newer version out here? I would
even be glad to help if there is any way that I could.
Thanks. Karl
-------
Date: 15 Nov 1979 1920-EST
Sender: ADOWEN at BBN-TENEXD
Subject: Re: the change to M-K
From: Buz Owen <ADOwen at BBN>
To: DDM at MIT-AI
Cc: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
Message-ID: <[BBN-TENEXD]15-Nov-79 19:20:20.ADOWEN>
In-Reply-To: Your message of 15 NOV 1979 1711-EST
The logical symmetry of M- and C- A, E and K seems to me much
more important than left-right hand symmetry which is not part of
the rest of the key assignments. The fact that ^R delete
sentence doesn't work analogously to C-K is a second order issue
which ought to be fixed someday. buz
Date: 15 NOV 1979 1731-EST
From: PONDY at MIT-AI (Peter Andreae)
Subject: the change to M-K
To: DDM at MIT-AI
CC: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
personally, I reckon that you should change that in your init file -
having two keys doing the same thing just for left and righthandedness
seems a bit wasteful of keys. PONDY.
Date: 15 NOV 1979 1711-EST
From: DDM at MIT-AI (David D. McDonald)
Subject: the change to M-K
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
My appologies for not using NE and finding this problem earlier, but
I've just had my first experience with the new assignment of M-K to
^R delete sentence and I don't like it. Deleting single words is
something I do extremely often and having a symetric set of keys assigned
to it was very convenient (i.e. M-D and M-K allowed you to delete
words while holding down your choice of meta keys ...very useful
to us lefties). Is there anyone out there who agrees and would like
the default changed back to ^R delete word ??
Date: 14 NOV 1979 1620-EST
From: rms at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Sent-by: ___021 at MIT-AI
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
By "read only" I mean that it would be impossible to modify the buffer.
I suppose that an alternative might be that M-X Save All Files would
not offer to save the buffer and C-X C-S would ask for confirmation
before saving it. Sorry for not having explained this before.
In fact, I'm sorry I asked, because all I found out is that nobody
understands how things work now. Most of the reasons people gave
for doing things the way they do are based on factual errors about
how things work. So the main need seems to be to stop having C-X C-R
and C-X C-V as nearly identical commands so that people will not be:
confused about the difference.
Date: 14 NOV 1979 0154-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
It seems some people don't know what C-X C-V is and how it differs
from C-X C-R, and therefore don't understand what the actual consequences
of making C-X C-R mean "read only" would be.
Right now C-X C-V and C-X C-R are identical except that when you visit a file
with C-X C-V, change it, and then visit another file in that buffer,
EMACS will offer to save the original file. If you had visited the
original file with C-X C-R, EMACS would not offer to save the changes.
Aside from an effect on auto saving, this is the ONLY difference.
When a file is visited in a separate buffer with C-X C-F, it does a
C-X C-V type of visit rather than a C-X C-R type of visit, unless you
change a flag (Find File Inhibit Write).
Date: 14 NOV 1979 0102-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: C-X C-R
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
People have suggested that C-X C-R make the file read-only.
What do you think of this, and why?
If you are one of the people who thinks that C-X C-V is "dangerous",
do you ever use C-X C-F? If so, do you set QFind File Inhibit Write
in your init file? If not, you are effectively using C-X C-V whenever
you use C-X C-F. Do you still think it is dangerous?
EJS@MIT-MC 11/11/79 01:04:38
To: INFO-E at MIT-MC
hello
EULER@MIT-MC 11/10/79 10:32:56
To: INFO-E at MIT-MC
If anyone iss interested, I have written a screen
editor for BASIC programs. The editor sits in memory
from 0 to 137 hexadecimal, and it can be initialized by
PRINT USR(0) from BASIC. The editor has the standard
cursor moving commands plus ^d (delete) and ^i (insert).
If you are interessted, send mail to EULER@MC.
Date: 10 NOV 1979 0302-EST
From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
Subject: EMACS 140
To: INFO-EMACS at MIT-AI
EMACS 140 now exists.
C-X C-S does a real save now even in auto save mode.
C-U C-X C-S is the way to ask for an "auto" save.
C-M-X (^R Instant Extended Command) won't actually start
the command until you type a CR. Before, it was unpredictable
whether a Space or Altmode would actually start the command.
A library can now contain a macro & Kill <libname> Library to be
run when that library is killed (by Kill Libraries).
Twenex users: if the system doesn't know a terminal type for
your terminal, you can use the Set Terminal Type command
to specify it to EMACS.
RMS@AI Here is what has changed in version 139 since version 135:
* Tab Stop Definitions works differently now.
The value of this variable is now just a string, not a buffer,
so you can set it more easily in an init file or with a local modes list.
Also, the two lines it is supposed to contain have been interchanged.
This means that now it is the second line which can usually just be blank.
When that happens, you are allowed to omit the CRLFs, which is an
additional convenience in setting the variable.
You can still set it with Edit Tab Stops.
* C-X C-T now runs ^R Exchange Lines.
* The variable Lisp ) Hack has been renamed to Display Matching Paren.
It is now -1 by default. Text and TECO modes turn it off locally, but
you can have a Text Mode Hook or TECO Mode Hook to turn it back on if
you like. Whenever the feature is on, it will now apply automatically
to all characters which have the syntax of ")" in ..D. This uses the
new FS ^R PAREN feature of TECO.
* There is now a new standard way to get out of subsystems and
recursive editing modes: the character C-]. All recursive editing
modes (except minibuffers) will automatically support C-], and all
subsystems ought to support C-]. For example, C-] while editing a
message to send will exit and not send the message. If there is some
way to resume the command you aborted, C-] will tell you. For
example, after aborting a message, it will tell you how to resume
editing it so that you do not lose what you had typed in.
* The new Undo command will undo many sorts of gross changes to the
buffer. You do not have to give it immediately after the change
occurs. However, only the last gross change can be undone in this
way. Not all changes can be undone. However, Undo always tells you
what sort of change it plans to undo, and asks for confirmation.
Also, Undo can be undone by a second Undo, so it is safe to try it out.
* The C-X C-E command has been deleted. To get auto-save to save as
the visited filename, set QAuto Save Visited File nonzero and use
C-X C-V. A zero setting of QInhibit Write now means that C-X C-V
was used.
* Auto save can now be used when you are not visiting any file, but it
will never be on by default at such times. You must use M-X Auto Save
to turn it on. If you do C-X C-S when you are not visiting a file, it
will ask you for filenames to save under.
* Using Rubout or C-D with an argument now saves on the kill ring.
* A CRLF will now appear to be a single character when you move over
it with C-F or C-B.
* M-K is now ^R Kill Sentence. It kills the sentence containing
point, or the one following point if point is between sentences.
* C-M-X is now an alternative ver