Return to emacs CVS log

Up to [CSRG BSD Unix] / 43BSDTahoe / new / help / src

Annotation of 43BSDTahoe/new/help/src/emacs, revision 1.1

1.1     ! root        1: .TI EMACS
        !             2: Introduction to the GNU Emacs Text Editor
        !             3: 
        !             4: .I Emacs
        !             5: is a general-purpose, full-screen text editor that Academic
        !             6: Computing Services provides with neither consulting
        !             7: nor bug-fixing support.
        !             8: The 
        !             9: .I emacs
        !            10: command resides in the directory
        !            11: .I /usr/xtra ,
        !            12: so you must either include it in your search path (type
        !            13: .E "help searchpath"
        !            14: for more information) or invoke it with its full name,
        !            15: .E /usr/xtra/emacs .
        !            16: We chose the GNU version \*- GNU stands for Gnu's Not Unix,
        !            17: the name of a Unix-compatible software system intended
        !            18: for free distribution \*- because it appears to be the most
        !            19: popular and best-documented, not to mention cheapest,
        !            20: of the various versions available.
        !            21: .SH Key Features and Cautions
        !            22: Here are some important factors to consider when using
        !            23: .I emacs .
        !            24: First of all, when there are system crashes, terminal disconnections,
        !            25: or other problems that cause an editing session to be aborted,
        !            26: .I emacs ,
        !            27: like
        !            28: .I vi ,
        !            29: does its best to save your editor buffers before giving up, but unlike
        !            30: .I vi ,
        !            31: you have no recourse if you lose the results of your editing session.
        !            32: In such a case
        !            33: .I
        !            34: you will not be eligible for any refund
        !            35: .R
        !            36: nor can you be assured that the problem will be fixed.
        !            37: Second,
        !            38: .I emacs
        !            39: is perhaps the most powerful editor in existence, but it is also complex
        !            40: and slow, especially on starting up (although it has screen updating
        !            41: and typeahead facilities that make it seem faster than
        !            42: .I vi
        !            43: on a slow terminal).
        !            44: On the other hand, it has an extensive built-in help mechanism
        !            45: and a style that some people say is more natural than
        !            46: .I vi 's.
        !            47: The manual for this version of 
        !            48: .I emacs
        !            49: is currently available from the ACS Library in 218 Evans Hall.
        !            50: .SH Other Advantages
        !            51: .I Emacs
        !            52: can easily be customized and extended with your own commands,
        !            53: it can display two or more files at once (in different
        !            54: regions of the screen called windows), and can do horizontal scrolling.
        !            55: In support of text processing it can do automatic filling of text,
        !            56: detection and correction of spelling mistakes, and textual transposition.
        !            57: In support of program development it accomodates indentation and
        !            58: comment styles for different programming languages, tag tables, and
        !            59: Lisp expression evaluation.
        !            60: Miscellaneous extra features include mechanisms for editing pictures,
        !            61: editing directories, and handling mail.
        !            62: One of the most unusual advantages of this version of
        !            63: .I emacs ,
        !            64: the GNU version, is that it is probably the most celebrated
        !            65: program in the GNU free-software movement, which holds that good
        !            66: programs should be shared without cost among people who want to use them.
        !            67: See the manual section entitled ``The GNU Manifesto'' for more details.
        !            68: .SH Local Differences
        !            69: This version contains support for X Windows, a general-purpose
        !            70: window package running on Micro-Vax and Sun workstations.
        !            71: We will try to keep current with latest releases of
        !            72: .I emacs
        !            73: running on the campus, but once again, we cannot promise to
        !            74: respond to specific new releases or bug reports.
        !            75: .SH Getting Started
        !            76: There are a few points to keep in mind when you first begin to use
        !            77: .I emacs .
        !            78: First, your TERM environment variable setting must be consistent
        !            79: with your terminal or terminal emulator (just as for
        !            80: .I vi ).
        !            81: Second, the terminal or terminal emulator must be set up to send
        !            82: full 8-bit bytes.
        !            83: In a regular login session full 8-bit transmission can be enabled
        !            84: by setting NO PARITY before entering
        !            85: .I emacs ;
        !            86: in an
        !            87: .I rlogin
        !            88: session you have to have invoked
        !            89: .I rlogin
        !            90: with the
        !            91: .E \-8
        !            92: option.
        !            93: If the terminal type is wrong or 8-bit transmission is not set
        !            94: (for example, if your terminal or terminal emulator is set up
        !            95: for IBM CMS connections), you may get parity error messages
        !            96: or garbage on the screen.
        !            97: 
        !            98: Another less crucial point is to turn off flow-control (xon/xoff)
        !            99: in your terminal or terminal emulator, that is, to set it so
        !           100: that it does not transmit Control-S and Control-Q characters
        !           101: during your login session.
        !           102: A symptom of this problem is the spontaneous occurrence of
        !           103: the message ``I-search'' at the bottom of the screen.
        !           104: 
        !           105: To start up the editor, type
        !           106: .E emacs ,
        !           107: and to get out of it type the two-character sequence
        !           108: .E "Control-X Control-C" .
        !           109: Although the help mechanism is very powerful, we recommend
        !           110: reading the first few chapters of the manual before starting up
        !           111: .I emacs .
        !           112: If you want to go ahead anyway, you may find it hard to get rid
        !           113: rid of the help text displayed on your screen
        !           114: when you have finished reading it:  use the two-character sequence
        !           115: .E "Control-X 1"
        !           116: (one) to restore your display to normal.
        !           117: To get a tutorial type the sequence
        !           118: .E "Control-H t" ;
        !           119: if you select it
        !           120: .I emacs
        !           121: simply switches your editing session to a copy of a file which
        !           122: is the tutorial; perhaps the easiest way to get out of the tutorial
        !           123: is to type the sequence
        !           124: .E "Control-X Control-C" .
        !           125: There is also a very informative ``info'' facility; type
        !           126: .E "ESC info"
        !           127: to get into it.
        !           128: 
        !           129: After using the editor you may notice some new files in your
        !           130: directory having the same name as the one you were editing but with
        !           131: a `~' appended or a `#' prepended to the name.
        !           132: These are special backup and auto-save files, respectively,
        !           133: and are no cause for concern unless you want to save space,
        !           134: in which case it is safe to remove them.
        !           135: 
        !           136: 
        !           137: jak

This archive runs on limited infrastructure. Preserving old code on modern bandwidth. Automated agents are requested to crawl responsibly.