Slackware Linux Essentials
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Chapter 17 Emacs

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Table of Contents
17.1 Starting emacs
17.2 Buffers
17.3 Modes
17.4 Basic Editing
17.5 Saving Files

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While vi (with its clones) is without a doubt the most -ubiquitous editor on Unix-like systems, Emacs comes in a good second. Instead of using -different “modes”, like vi does, it uses Control and Alt key combinations to enter -commands, in much the same way that you can use Control and Alt key combinations in a word processor and indeed in many other -applications to execute certain functions. (Though it should be noted that the commands -rarely correspond; so while many modern applications use Ctrl-C/ X/ V for copying, -cutting and pasting, Emacs uses different keys and actually a somewhat different -mechanism for this.)

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Also unlike vi, which is an (excellent) editor and nothing -more, Emacs is a program with near endless capabilities. Emacs is (for the most part) -written in Lisp, which is a very powerful programming language that has the peculiar -property that every program written in it is automatically a Lisp compiler of its own. -This means that the user can extend Emacs, and in fact write completely new programs -“in Emacs”.

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As a result, Emacs is not just an editor anymore. There are many add-on packages for -Emacs available (many come with the program's source) that provide all sorts of -functionality. Many of these are related to text editing, which is after all Emacs' basic -task, but it doesn't stop there. There are for example several spreadsheet programs for -Emacs, there are databases, games, mail and news clients (the top one being Gnus), -etc.

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There are two main versions of Emacs: GNU Emacs (which is the version that comes with -Slackware) and XEmacs. The latter is not a version for Emacs running under X. In fact, both Emacs -and XEmacs run on the console as well as under X. XEmacs was once started as a project to -tidy up the Emacs code. Currently, both versions are being actively developed, and there -is in fact much interaction between the two development teams. For the present chapter, -it is immaterial whether you use Emacs or XEmacs, the differences between them are not -relevant to the normal user.

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17.1 Starting -emacs

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Emacs can be started from the shell by simply typing emacs. -When you are running X, Emacs will (normally) come up with its own X window, usually with -a menu bar at the top, where you can find the most important functions. On startup, Emacs -will first show a welcome message, and then after a few seconds will drop you in the -*scratch* buffer. (See Section 17.2.)

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You can also start Emacs on an existing file by typing

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-% emacs /etc/resolv.conf
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This will cause Emacs to load the specified file when it starts up, skipping the -welcome message.

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17.1.1 Command -Keys

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As mentioned above, Emacs uses Control and Alt combinations for commands. The usual convention is to write these -with C-letter and M-letter, respectively. So C-x means Control+x, and M-x means Alt+x. (The letter M is used instead of A because -originally the key was not the Alt key but the Meta key. The Meta key has all but disappeared -from computer keyboards, and in Emacs the Alt key has taken over -its function.)

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Many Emacs commands consist of sequences of keys and key combinations. For example, C-x C-c (that is Control-x -followed by Control-c ) quits Emacs, C-x C-s saves the current file. Keep in mind that C-x C-b is not the same as C-x b. The former means Control-x followed by Control-b, while the latter means Control-x followed by just 'b'.

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