diff options
author | Kjell Wooding <kjell@cvs.openbsd.org> | 2008-07-30 17:39:32 +0000 |
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committer | Kjell Wooding <kjell@cvs.openbsd.org> | 2008-07-30 17:39:32 +0000 |
commit | 71420a41ccd15226fc1a6b9d004b6d58465feb3e (patch) | |
tree | d0ece31acc140614b1150f637ac7eecb64910d73 /usr.bin | |
parent | d6192dbba5166ba60dba6f8c7c3352b029104a12 (diff) |
Replace GNU tutorial with public domain one, written from scratch by
Mayukh Bose. Minor additions from me. Thanks!
Diffstat (limited to 'usr.bin')
-rw-r--r-- | usr.bin/mg/tutorial | 837 |
1 files changed, 299 insertions, 538 deletions
diff --git a/usr.bin/mg/tutorial b/usr.bin/mg/tutorial index ba070c702e2..8a06d35612d 100644 --- a/usr.bin/mg/tutorial +++ b/usr.bin/mg/tutorial @@ -1,608 +1,369 @@ -Copyright (c) 1985 Richard M. Stallman. See end for copying conditions. +$Id: tutorial,v 1.5 2008/07/30 17:39:31 kjell Exp $ -You are looking at the Emacs tutorial. +The mg Tutorial +--------------- -Emacs commands generally involve the CONTROL key or the META (ESC) -key. Rather than write out META or CONTROL each time we want you to -prefix a character, we'll use the following abbreviations: +The mg editor is a public domain editor intended to loosely resemble GNU Emacs, +while still retaining fast speed and a small memory footprint. - C-<chr> means hold the CONTROL key while typing the character <chr> - Thus, C-f would be: hold the CONTROL key and type f. - M-<chr> means type <ESC>, release it, then type the character <chr>. +Most mg commands involve using the Control (sometimes labelled "Ctrl") or the +Meta (sometimes labelled "Alt") key. We will use the following conventions in +this tutorial: -The characters ">>" at the left margin indicate directions for you to -try using a command. For instance: + C-<chr> means hold down the Control key while typing the character <chr>. + M-<chr> means hold down the Meta key while typing the character <chr>. ->> Now type C-v (View next screen) to move to the next screen. - (go ahead, do it by depressing the control key and v together). - From now on, you'll be expected to do this whenever you finish - reading the screen. +If you don't have a Meta key, you can use Esc instead. Press and release the +Esc key and type <chr>. This is equivalent to M-<chr>. -Note that there is an overlap when going from screen to screen; this -provides some continuity when moving through the file. +The first thing to learn is how to move up and down a document. To move your +cursor down, use the down-arrow cursor key or C-n (Control and n) -The first thing that you need to know is how to move around from -place to place in the file. You already know how to move forward a -screen, with C-v. To move backwards a screen, type M-v (type <ESC>v). +>> Now type C-n multiple times and move your cursor past this line. ->> Try typing M-v and then C-v to move back and forth a few times. +Congratulations. You have now learned how to move your cursor down. Note how +mg has redrawn your screen so that the cursor is now in the middle of the +screen. This is a feature of mg, which allows you to see the lines before and +after the current cursor position. +To move your cursor up, you can use the up-arrow cursor key or C-p (Control and +p). -SUMMARY -------- - -The following commands are useful for viewing screenfuls: - - C-v Move forward one screenful - M-v Move backward one screenful - C-l Clear screen and redisplay everything - putting the text near the cursor at the center. - (That's control-L, not control-1. - There is no such character as control-1.) - ->> Find the cursor and remember what text is near it. - Then type a C-l. - Find the cursor again and see what text is near it now. - - -BASIC CURSOR CONTROL --------------------- - -Getting from screenful to screenful is useful, but how do you -reposition yourself within a given screen to a specific place? There -are several ways you can do this. One way (not the best, but the most -basic) is to use the commands previous, backward, forward and next. -As you can imagine these commands (which are given to Emacs as C-p, -C-b, C-f, and C-n respectively) move the cursor from where it -currently is to a new place in the given direction. It is also -possible to move the cursor with the arrow keys, but this requires you -move your hand from the keyboard, it is also not supported on other -machines that do support Emacs. Emacs runs on everything from a CP/M -machine to large mainframes. Here then, in a more graphical form are -the commands: - - Previous line, C-p - : - : - Backward, C-b .... Current cursor position .... Forward, C-f - : - : - Next line, C-n - ->> Move the cursor to the line in the middle of that diagram - and type C-l to see the whole diagram centered in the screen. - -You'll probably find it easy to think of these by letter. P for -previous, N for next, B for backward and F for forward. These are -the basic cursor positioning commands and you'll be using them ALL -the time so it would be of great benefit if you learn them now. - ->> Do a few C-n's to bring the cursor down to this line. - ->> Move into the line with C-f's and then up with C-p's. - See what C-p does when the cursor is in the middle of the line. - ->> Try to C-b at the beginning of a line. Do a few more C-b's. - Then do C-f's back to the end of the line and beyond. - -When you go off the top or bottom of the screen, the text beyond -the edge is shifted onto the screen so that your instructions can -be carried out while keeping the cursor on the screen. - ->> Try to move the cursor off the bottom of the screen with C-n and - see what happens. - -If moving by characters is too slow, you can move by words. M-f -(ESC-f) moves forward a word and M-b moves back a word. - ->> Type a few M-f's and M-b's. Intersperse them with C-f's and C-b's. - -Notice the parallel between C-f and C-b on the one hand, and M-f and -M-b on the other hand. Very often Meta characters are used for -operations related to English text whereas Control characters operate -on the basic textual units that are independent of what you are -editing (characters, lines, etc). C-a and C-e move to the beginning or -end of a line. - ->> Try a couple of C-a's, and then a couple of C-e's. - See how repeated C-a's do nothing. - -Two other simple cursor motion commands are M-< (Meta Less-than), -which moves to the beginning of the file, and M-> (Meta Greater-than), -which moves to the end of the file. You probably don't need to try -them, since finding this spot again will be boring. On most terminals -the "<" is above the comma and you must use the shift key to type it. -On these terminals you must use the shift key to type M-< also; -without the shift key, you would be typing M-comma. - -The location of the cursor in the text is also called "point". To -paraphrase, the cursor shows on the screen where point is located in -the text. +>> Try using C-p and C-n to move up and down and then move past this line. -Here is a summary of simple moving operations including the word and -sentence moving commands: +The next commands to learn are how to move your cursor left and right. To do +this, you can use the left-arrow and right-arrow cursor keys. Alternatively, +you can use C-b and C-f to do this. - C-f Move forward a character - C-b Move backward a character +>> Practise using the arrow keys or C-b and C-f on this line. - M-f Move forward a word - M-b Move backward a word +To make it easy to remember these commands, it helps to remember by letter: +P - Previous line, N - Next line, B - Backwards and F - Forward. - c-n Move to next line - C-p Move to previous line +Now that you've learned how to move single characters at a time, next we learn +how to move one word at a time. To do this, you can use M-f (Meta and f) or +M-b (Meta and b) to move forwards and backwards, one word at a time. - C-a Move to beginning of line - C-e Move to end of line +>> Try moving one word at a time by using M-f and M-b on this line. - M-< Go to beginning of file - M-> Go to end of file +Notice how the Ctrl and Meta key combinations perform related functions. C-f +moves one letter forward, whereas M-f moves one word forward. There are many +key combinations in mg, where C-<chr> will perform one function and M-<chr> +will perform a similar related function. ->> Try all of these commands now a few times for practice. - Since the last two will take you away from this screen, - you can come back here with M-v's and C-v's. These are - the most often used commands. +Next, we will learn how to refresh and redraw the screen. -Like all other commands in Emacs, these commands can be given -arguments which cause them to be executed repeatedly. The way you -give a command a repeat count is by typing C-u and then the digits -before you type the command. +>> Now move the cursor down to this line and then type C-l (that's Control and + lowercase L) to refresh the screen. -For instance, C-u 8 C-f moves forward eight characters. +Note that C-l refreshes the screen and centers it on the line you typed it on. ->> Try giving a suitable argument to C-n or C-p to come as close - as you can to this line in one jump. +To move to the beginning or end of a line, you can use the Home and End keys, +or you can use C-a and C-e to move to the beginning and end. -The only apparent exception to this is the screen moving commands, -C-v and M-v. When given an argument, they scroll the screen up or -down by that many lines, rather than screenfuls. This proves to be -much more useful. +>> Use C-a and C-e to move to the beginning and end of this line. ->> Try typing C-u 8 C-v now. +The next commands we will learn is how to move up and down, one page at a time. +To do this, you can use the Page Up (sometimes labelled PgUp) and Page Down +(sometimes labelled PgDn) keys. You can also use C-v and M-v to do this. C-v +moves the cursor down one page and M-v moves it up one page. -Did it scroll the screen up by 8 lines? If you would like to -scroll it down you can give an argument to M-v. +>> Try using M-v and C-v to move up and down, one page at a time. +The final two motion commands we will learn are M-< (Meta-Less than) and +M-> (Meta-Greater than) which move you to the beginning and end of this file. +You may not want to try that now as you will probably lose your place in this +tutorial. Note that on most terminals, < is above the , key, so you'll need +to press the Shift key to type <. -WHEN EMACS IS HUNG +Movement Summary ----------------- -If Emacs gets into an infinite (or simply very long) computation which -you don't want to finish, you can stop it safely by typing C-g. -You can also use C-g to discard a numeric argument or the beginning of -a command that you don't want to finish. - ->> Type C-u 100 to make a numeric arg of 100, then type C-g. - Now type C-f. How many characters does it move? - If you have typed an <ESC> by mistake, you can get rid of it - with a C-g. - -WINDOWS -------- - -Emacs can have several windows, each displaying its own text. -At this stage it is better not to go into the techniques of -using multiple windows. But you do need to know how to get -rid of extra windows that may appear to display help or -output from certain commands. It is simple: - - C-x 1 One window (i.e., kill all other windows). - -That is Control-x followed by the digit 1. -C-x 1 makes the window which the cursor is in become -the full screen, by getting rid of any other windows. - ->> Move the cursor to this line and type C-l (Control-L). ->> Type M-x. The cursor will move to the bottom of the screen. ->> Type the words "describe-bindings" and hit return. - See how this window shrinks, while a new one appears - to display which functions are connected to which keys. - ->> Type C-x 1 and see the documentation listing window disappear. - - -INSERTING AND DELETING +The following is a summary of the movement commands we've learned so far: + + C-f Move forward one character (can also use right arrow key) + C-b Move backward one character (can also use left arrow key) + C-p Move up one line (can also use up arrow key) + C-n Move down one line (can also use down arrow key) + M-f Move forward one word + M-b Move backward one word + C-a Move to beginning of line (can also use Home key) + C-e Move to end of line (can also use End key) + C-v Move forward one page (can also use PgDn/Page Down key) + M-v Move backward one page (can also use PgUp/Page Up key) + M-< Move to beginning of file + M-> Move to end of file. + +Now that you've mastered the basics of moving around in mg, you can cause mg +to execute these commands multiple times. The way to do this is to type +C-u followed by some digits followed by a movement command. + +>> Type C-u 5 C-f to move forward 5 characters. + +In general, C-u allows you to execute any command multiple times, not just +cursor motion commands. The only exception to this rule are C-v and M-v. +When using these two commands with an argument, they move the cursor by that +many lines instead of pages. + +Cancelling mg commands ---------------------- -If you want to insert text, just type it. Characters which you can -see, such as A, 7, *, etc. are taken by Emacs as text and inserted -immediately. Type <Return> (the carriage-return key) to insert a -Newline character. - -You can delete the last character you typed by typing <DEL>. More -generally, <DEL> deletes the character immediately before the current -cursor position. - ->> Do this now, type a few characters and then delete them - by typing <DEL> a few times. Don't worry about this file - being changed; you won't affect the master tutorial. This is just - a copy of it. - ->> Now start typing text until you reach the right margin, and keep - typing. When a line of text gets too big for one line on the - screen, the line of text is "continued" off the edge of the screen. - The dollar sign at the right margin indicates a line which has - been continued. ->> Use <DEL>s to delete the text until the line fits on one screen - line again. The continuation mark goes away. - ->> Move the cursor to the beginning of a line and type <DEL>. This - deletes the newline before the line and merges the line onto - the previous line. The resulting line may be too long to fit, in - which case it has a continuation mark. ->> Type <Return> to reinsert the Newline you deleted. - -Remember that most Emacs commands can be given a repeat count; -this includes characters which insert themselves. - ->> Try that now -- type C-u 8 * and see what happens. - -You've now learned the most basic way of typing something in -Emacs and correcting errors. You can delete by words or lines -as well. Here is a summary of the delete operations: - - <DEL> delete the character just before the cursor - C-d delete the next character after the cursor - - M-<DEL> kill the word immediately before the cursor - M-d kill the next word after the cursor - - C-k kill from the cursor position to end of line - -Notice that <DEL> and C-d vs M-<DEL> and M-d extend the parallel -started by C-f and M-f (well, <DEL> isn't really a control -character, but let's not worry about that). - -Now suppose you kill something, and then you decide that you want to -get it back? Well, whenever you kill something bigger than a -character, Emacs saves it for you. To yank it back, use C-y. You -can kill text in one place, move elsewhere, and then do C-y; this is -a good way to move text around. Note that the difference -between "Killing" and "Deleting" something is that "Killed" things -can be yanked back, and "Deleted" things cannot. Generally, the -commands that can destroy a lot of text save it, while the ones that -attack only one character, or nothing but blank lines and spaces, do -not save. +If you have started typing out a command that you didn't mean to finish, you +can use the C-g command to cancel the command immediately. -For instance, type C-n a couple times to position the cursor -at some line on this screen. +>> For example, type C-u 50 and then type C-g to cancel the C-u command. +>> Type Esc and then C-g to cancel the Esc key. ->> Do this now, move the cursor and kill that line with C-k. +In general, you can use C-g to stop any mg commands. You may type it multiple +times if you wish. You should see the word "Quit" appear in the bottom of the +screen when you type C-g indicating that a command was cancelled. -Note that a single C-k kills the contents of the line, and a second -C-k kills the line itself, and make all the other lines move up. If -you give C-k a repeat count, it kills that many lines AND their -contents. +In general, when in doubt, use C-g to get out of trouble. -The text that has just disappeared is saved so that you can -retrieve it. To retrieve the last killed text and put it where -the cursor currently is, type C-y. - ->> Try it; type C-y to yank the text back. - -Think of C-y as if you were yanking something back that someone -took away from you. Notice that if you do several C-k's in a row -the text that is killed is all saved together so that one C-y will -yank all of the lines. - ->> Do this now, type C-k several times. - -Now to retrieve that killed text: - ->> Type C-y. Then move the cursor down a few lines and type C-y - again. You now see how to copy some text. - - -FILES ------ - -In order to make the text you edit permanent, you must put it in a -file. Otherwise, it will go away when your invocation of Emacs goes -away. You put your editing in a file by "finding" the file. What -finding means is that you see the contents of the file in your Emacs; -and, loosely speaking, what you are editing is the file itself. -However, the changes still don't become permanent until you "save" the -file. This is so you can have control to avoid leaving a half-changed -file around when you don't want to. - -If you look near the bottom of the screen you will see a line that -begins and ends with dashes, and contains the string: - "Mg: TUTORIAL" -Your copy of the Emacs tutorial is called "TUTORIAL". Whatever -file you find, that file's name will appear in that precise -spot. - -The commands for finding and saving files are unlike the other -commands you have learned in that they consist of two characters. -They both start with the character Control-x. There is a whole series -of commands that start with Control-x; many of them have to do with -files, buffers, and related things, and all of them consist of -Control-x followed by some other character. - -Another thing about the command for finding a file is that you have -to say what file name you want. We say the command "reads an argument -from the terminal" (in this case, the argument is the name of the -file). After you type the command - - C-x C-f Find a file - -Emacs asks you to type the file name. It echoes on the bottom line of -the screen. When you type <Return> to end the file name it disappears. - ->> Type C-x C-f, then type C-g. This cancels the C-x C-f command - that was using the minibuffer. So you do not find any file. - -In a little while the file contents appear on the screen. You can -edit the contents. When you wish to make the changes permanent, -issue the command - - C-x C-s Save the file - -The contents of Emacs are written into the file. - -When saving is finished, Emacs prints the name of the file written. -You should save fairly often, so that you will not lose very much -work if the system should crash. - ->> Type C-x C-s, saving your copy of the tutorial. - This should print "Wrote TUTORIAL" at the bottom of the screen. - -To make a new file, just find it "as if" it already existed. Then -start typing in the text. When you ask to "save" the file, Emacs -will really create the file with the text that you have inserted. ->From then on, you can consider yourself to be editing an already -existing file. - - -BUFFERS +Windows ------- -If you find a second file with C-x C-f, the first file remains inside -Emacs. This way you can get quite a number of files inside Emacs. - -The object inside Emacs which holds the text read from one file -is called a "buffer." Finding a file makes a new buffer inside Emacs. -To see a list of the buffers that exist in Emacs, type +The mg editor can support several windows at the same time, each one displaying +different text. To split a screen into two horizontal windows use C-x 2 to do +this. To return to one window, use C-x 1 to close the other windows and only +keep the current window. - C-x C-b List buffers +>> Use C-x 2 to split the screen into two windows. ->> Try C-x C-b now. +>> Use C-x o to move from one window to the other. You can scroll up and down + in each window using the cursor keys or C-n and C-p keys. -See how each buffer has a name, and it may also have a file name -for the file whose contents it holds. Some buffers do not correspond -to files. For example, the buffer named "*Buffer List*" does -not have any file. It is the buffer which contains the buffer -list that was made by C-x C-b. ANY text you see in an Emacs window -has to be in some buffer. +>> Use C-x 1 to restore back to one window. ->> Type C-x 1 to get rid of the buffer list. +Inserting/Deleting Text +----------------------- -If you make changes to the text of one file, then find another file, -this does not save the first file. Its changes remain inside Emacs, -in that file's buffer. The creation or editing of the second file's -buffer has no effect on the first file's buffer. This is very useful, -but it also means that you need a convenient way to save the first -file's buffer. It would be a nuisance to have to switch back to -it with C-x C-f in order to save it with C-x C-s. So we have +To insert text anywhere, simply move your cursor to the appropriate position +and begin typing. To delete characters, use the backspace key. If you use +M-<backspace (Meta and backspace key), you will delete one word instead +of one character at a time. - C-x s Save some buffers +To delete characters to the right of the cursor, you can use C-d to delete +characters to the right of the current position. If you use M-d instead of +C-d, you can delete one word at a time instead of one character at a time. -C-x s goes through the list of all the buffers you have -and finds the ones that contain files you have changed. -For each such buffer, C-x s asks you whether to save it. +>> Try inserting and deleting characters and words on this line. +Note that if you type too many characters on a single line, the line will +scroll off the screen and you will see a $ on the line to indicate that the +line is too long to fit on the screen at one time. -EXTENDING THE COMMAND SET -------------------------- - -There are many, many more Emacs commands than could possibly be put -on all the control and meta characters. Emacs gets around this with -the X (eXtend) command. This comes in two flavors: +To delete a line at a time, you can use C-k to kill the line from the current +cursor position to the end of the line. You can type C-k multiple times to +kill many lines. + +You can issue insert or delete commands multiple times using C-u. For example, +C-u 10 e will type out eeeeeeeeee, C-u 4 M-d will delete four words to the +right of the cursor and so on. + +To undo any operation, you can use C-_ (That's control-underscore). + +Now if you kill something that you didn't mean to, you can yank it back from +the dead by using C-y. In general, when you kill something bigger than a single +character, mg saves it in a buffer somewhere and you can restore it by using +C-y. This is useful for moving text around. You can kill text in one place, +move your cursor to the new location and then use C-y to paste it there. + +Search for Text +--------------- + +To search for text, type C-s followed by the text you wish to search for. Note +that as you start typing the characters, mg automatically searches as you type +the characters. + +To continue searching the text you're looking for, type C-s to find the next +instance. To search in reverse, type C-r instead of C-s. If you type C-s or +C-r twice, it will simply search for the last text that you searched for. + +To stop searching for text, simply use the cursor keys (or C-f, C-b etc.) or +C-g to stop the search operation. + +>> Use C-s foo to search for "foo" in the text. You can use C-s again to + find other instances of foo in the file. + +Note that if a word cannot be found, it will say Failing I-search: at the +bottom of the screen. Typing C-s again will wrap the search around from the +top of the file and begin searching from there. + +Replace Text +------------ + +To replace text, use M-%. You will be prompted for the text to search for and +the text to replace it with. You will then be taken to the first instance of +text from the current position. At this point you can do one of the following: + + y - Replace the text at this instance and search for more items + n - Skip this instance and search for more items + . or Enter - Stop replacing text (You can also use C-g) + ! - Replace all the instances without prompting at each one. + +>> Try replacing "frobnitz" with "zutwalt" on this line. + +Cut/Copy/Paste Text +------------------- + +As explained above, you can cut regions using C-k to kill multiple lines. To +paste the text that you just cut, simply move your cursor to the point and +then type C-y to restore the text. You may type C-y multiple times to restore +the text. Hence, to copy text, you can use C-k to kill all the lines, use C-y +to restore it immediately, then move to the region you want to copy it to and +then type C-y again to restore the last cut text block again. + +Another way to cut or copy chunks of text is to first position your cursor at +the starting point of the chunk of text. Then type C-space to mark this as the +starting point to cut or copy. Then move the cursor to the end point of the +text chunk that you wish to manipulate. Then type C-w to cut the region, or +M-w to copy the region. If you wish to cancel marking a block of text, simply +type C-g to cancel the operation. + +To paste the region that you've cut or copied above, simply move your cursor +to the desired location and then type C-y to paste it. + +Status Line +----------- + +At the bottom of your screen is a reverse highlighted line. This is the status +line and lets you know some useful information about the file you're editing. + +On the status line, you should see "Mg: tutorial". This lets you know that +you're editing a file named "tutorial". If you've edited this file and not +saved it, it should have a "**" to the left of those words. If this file is +read-only, you should see a "%%" to the left of those words. + +To the right of the status line, you should see L followed by digits and C +followed by some more digits. These indicate the line number and column number +of the file that your cursor is currently on. If you move the cursor around, +you should see the line and column number change. + +In the middle of the screen, you should see the word "(fundamental)" which +indicates that the current editing mode is "fundamental-mode". The mg editor +also supports a c-mode that is more suited to editing C code. There are also +some other useful editing modes for different situations. See the man pages +for mg(1) to learn about the various editing modes. + +Opening and Saving Files +------------------------ + +To open a file, you can use C-x C-f. You will then be prompted for a file name. +If you type a file name that doesn't already exist, a new file will be opened +for you. If the file name already exists, then it will be opened for you and +you can begin editing it. Note that you do not need to type the whole file +name for an existing file. You can type part of the file name and then press +the TAB key. If there is only file name that matches, mg will fill in the rest +of the file name for you. If there are multiple files, mg will display that +the choice is ambiguous. If you type the TAB key again, mg will show you all +the available choices for file names. + +NOTE: If you type C-x f instead of C-x C-f, you can use C-g to cancel the +Set-Fill-Column command. You can also use C-g to cancel the C-x C-f command +if you don't wish to open a new file. + +To save the file once you've edited it, use C-x C-s to save the file. When +mg is done saving the file, you should see the words "Wrote /path/to/file" +in the bottom of your screen. In general, it is a good idea to save quite +often. When you save a file, mg saves a backup of the file with a tilde (~) +character at the end. + +Buffers +------- - C-x Character eXtend. Followed by one character. - M-x Named command eXtend. Followed by a long name. +The mg editor is capable of editing multiple files at the same time. When you +open a second file with C-x C-f, the first file is still being edited by mg. +You can list all the buffers that are opened by mg by typing C-x C-b. The +screen should divide into two and the top window will list the buffers that +are currently open. Use C-x o to switch to the top window (we already learned +this key combination above in the Windows section) and then use the arrow keys +to move to the buffer you wish to switch to and then type the Enter key to +select that buffer. Then use C-x 1 to switch back to only one window. -These are commands that are generally useful but used less than the -commands you have already learned about. You have already seen two -of them: the file commands C-x C-f to Find and C-x C-s to Save. -Another example is the command to tell Emacs that you'd like to stop -editing and get rid of Emacs. The command to do this is C-x C-c. -(Don't worry; it offers to save each changed file before it kills the -Emacs.) +You may also move back to the last opened buffer by using C-x b to toggle back +and forth between two buffers. Note the difference between C-x b and C-x C-b. -C-z is the usual way to exit Emacs, because it is always better not to -kill the Emacs if you are going to do any more editing. On systems -which allow it, C-z exits from Emacs to a CLI but does not destroy the -Emacs; you can resume editing by ending that CLI or depth arranging. +>> Use C-x C-f to open a new file +>> Use C-x b to switch back and forth between that buffer and this one. -You would use C-x C-c if you were running out of memory. You would -also use it to exit an Emacs invoked under mail handling programs and -other random utilities, since they may not believe you have really -finished using the Emacs if it continues to exist. +To edit files in multiple windows, use C-x 2 to split the screen into two +windows. Then use C-x C-f to open a new file in one of the two windows. You +can then switch between the two windows using C-x o. You can switch between +buffers in any window using C-x b. To go back to one window, use C-x 1. -There are many C-x commands. The ones you know are: +To kill any buffer, use C-x k. You will be prompted for the buffer to kill. +By default, the current buffer is selected as the one to kill. You may also +type another buffer name or use C-g to cancel the operation. - C-x C-f Find file. - C-x C-s Save file. - C-x C-b List buffers. - C-x C-c Quit Emacs. +Extended Commands +----------------- -Named eXtended commands are commands which are used even less -frequently, or commands which are used only in certain modes. These -commands are usually called "functions". An example is the function -replace-string, which globally replaces one string with another. When -you type M-x, Emacs prompts you at the bottom of the screen with -M-x and you should type the name of the function you wish to call; in -this case, "query-replace". Just type "que<TAB>" and Emacs will -complete the name. End the command name with <Return>. -Then type the two "arguments"--the string to be replaced, and the string -to replace it with--each one ended with a Return. +The mg editor has several extended commands, more than what can be covered +by the Control and Meta keys. The mg editor gets around this by using what is +called the X (eXtend) command. There are two forms of this: ->> Move the cursor to the blank line two lines below this one. - Then type M-x repl s<Return>changed<Return>altered<Return>. + C-x Character eXtension. Followed by one character. + M-x Named character eXtension. Followed by a long command. - Notice how this line has changed: you've replaced - the word c-h-a-n-g-e-d with "altered" wherever it occurred - after the cursor. +You've already seen C-x C-f and C-x C-s to open and save a file. There are +other longer commands. For instance, you can also open a file by typing +M-x open-file Enter. When you type a command using M-x, mg prompts you for +the command at the bottom of the screen. You can type out the whole command +if you wish, or you can type out part of the command and then use the TAB key +for autocompleting the command. +For instance, to replace text, you can type M-x repl TAB enter to execute +the replace-text command. To cancel this command, type C-g. -MODE LINE ---------- +To see a list of all available mg(1) commands, consult the man pages. -If Emacs sees that you are typing commands slowly it shows them to you -at the bottom of the screen in an area called the "echo area." The echo -area contains the bottom line of the screen. The line immediately above -it is called the MODE LINE. The mode line says something like +Exiting mg +---------- ---**-Mg: TUTORIAL (fundamental)------------------------ +To exit mg temporarily and return to the shell, use C-z. This will take you +back to the command shell. To return back to mg, type fg in the shell and you +will be returned to your mg session. -This is a very useful "information" line. +To exit mg permanently, type C-x C-c. If you have any unsaved buffers, you +will be asked if you wish to save them or not. -The stars near the front mean that you have made changes to the text. -Right after you visit or save a file, there are no stars, just dashes. +Conclusion +---------- -The part of the mode line inside the parentheses is to tell you what -modes you are in. The default mode is fundamental which is what you -are in now. It is an example of a "mode". There are several modes in -Emacs for editing different styles of text, such as indent, bsmap, -fill, etc. Each mode makes a few commands behave differently. +This tutorial is meant to get new users up and running with mg. There is more +information available via the mg(1) man pages. If you have any suggestions for +improvement, please don't hesitate to drop a message or (better still) submit +a diff listing. -One mode which is very useful, especially for editing English text, is -Auto Fill mode. When this mode is on, Emacs breaks the line in -between words automatically whenever the line gets too long. You can -turn this mode on by doing M-x auto-fill-mode<Return>. When the mode -is on, you can turn it off by doing M-x auto-fill-mode<Return>. +History +------- ->> Type M-x auto-fill-mode<Return> now. Then insert a line of "asdf " - over again until you see it divide into two lines. You must put in - spaces between them because Auto Fill breaks lines only at spaces. +mg is a public-domain text editor. It was originally based on +MicroEMACS, but has since moved to more closely resemble GNU Emacs while +still maintaining a small memory footprint and fast speed. -The margin is usually set at 70 characters, but you can change it -with the C-x f command. You should give the margin setting you want -as a numeric argument. +* Nov 16, 1986: First release to mod.sources +* Mar 3, 1987: First Release (mg1a) via comp.sources.unix +* May 26, 1988: Second release: (mg2a) via comp.sources.misc +* Jan 26, 1992: Linux port released by Charles Hedrick. This version + later makes its way onto tsx-11, Infomagic, and various other Linux + repositories. +* Feb 25, 2000: First import into the OpenBSD tree, where it is + currently maintained ->> Type C-x f with an argument of 20. (C-u 2 0 C-x f). - Then type in some text and see Emacs fill lines of 20 - characters with it. Then set the margin back to 70 using - C-x f again. +The mg editor was originally named MicroGNUEmacs. The name was changed +to "mg" at the request of Richard Stallman, as this software is +entirely unrelated to the GNU project. -If you make changes in the middle of a paragraph, Auto Fill mode -does not re-fill it for you. -To re-fill the paragraph, type M-q (Meta-q) with the cursor inside -that paragraph. +Author Info +----------- ->> Move the cursor into the previous paragraph and type M-q. +Original Author of this document: Mayukh Bose, +Date last updated: 2008-07-29 -SEARCHING +Copyright --------- -Emacs can do searches for strings (these are groups of contiguous -characters or words) either forward through the file or backward -through it. To search for the string means that you are trying to -locate it somewhere in the file and have Emacs show you where the -occurrences of the string exist. This type of search is somewhat -different from what you may be familiar with. It is a search that is -performed as you type in the thing to search for. The command to -initiate a search is C-s for forward search, and C-r for reverse -search. BUT WAIT! Don't do them now. When you type C-s you'll -notice that the string "I-search" appears as a prompt in the echo -area. This tells you that Emacs is in what is called an incremental -search waiting for you to type the thing that you want to search for. -<ESC> terminates a search. - ->> Now type C-s to start a search. SLOWLY, one letter at a time, - type the word 'cursor', pausing after you type each - character to notice what happens to the cursor. ->> Type C-s to find the next occurrence of "cursor". ->> Now type <DEL> four times and see how the cursor moves. ->> Type <ESC> to terminate the search. - -Did you see what happened? Emacs, in an incremental search, tries to -go to the occurrence of the string that you've typed out so far. To go -to the next occurrence of 'cursor' just type C-s again. If no such -occurrence exists Emacs beeps and tells you that it is a failing -search. C-g would also terminate the search. - -If you are in the middle of an incremental search and type <DEL>, -you'll notice that the last character in the search string is erased -and the search backs up to the last place of the search. For -instance, suppose you currently have typed 'cu' and you see that your -cursor is at the first occurrence of 'cu'. If you now type <DEL>, -the 'u' on the search line is erased and you'll be repositioned in the -text to the occurrence of 'c' where the search took you before you -typed the 'u'. This provides a useful means for backing up while you -are searching. - -If you are in the middle of a search and happen to type a control -character (other than a C-s or C-r, which tell Emacs to search for the -next occurrence of the string), the search is terminated. - -The C-s starts a search that looks for any occurrence of the search -string AFTER the current cursor position. But what if you want to -search for something earlier in the text? To do this, type C-r for -Reverse search. Everything that applies to C-s applies to C-r except -that the direction of the search is reversed. - -If your incremental search fails and you type C-s or C-r again -(without changing your search direction), Emacs will wrap the -search around to the beginning (or end, if searching backwards) of -the buffer and search from there. - -GETTING MORE HELP ------------------ - -In this tutorial we have tried to supply just enough information to -get you started using Emacs. There is so much available in Emacs that -it would be impossible to explain it all here. However, you may want -to learn more about Emacs since it has numerous desirable features -that you don't know about yet. - - -CONCLUSION ----------- - -Remember, to exit Emacs permanently use C-x C-c. To exit to a shell -temporarily, so that you can come back in, use C-z. - -This tutorial is meant to be understandable to all new users, so if -you found something unclear, don't sit and blame yourself - complain! - - -COPYING -------- +None. This document is in the public domain. -This tutorial, like all of GNU Emacs, is copyrighted, and comes with -permission to distribute copies on certain conditions: - -Copyright (c) 1985 Richard M. Stallman - - Permission is granted to anyone to make or distribute verbatim copies - of this document as received, in any medium, provided that the - copyright notice and permission notice are preserved, - and that the distributor grants the recipient permission - for further redistribution as permitted by this notice. - - Permission is granted to distribute modified versions - of this document, or of portions of it, - under the above conditions, provided also that they - carry prominent notices stating who last altered them. - -The conditions for copying Emacs itself are slightly different -but in the same spirit. Please read the file COPYING and then -do give copies of GNU Emacs to your friends. -Help stamp out ownership of software by using, writing, -and sharing free software! - -Mg itself is public domain, and may be given away freely. See the -README file about differences from GNU emacs, and why Mg exists. - -******************************************************************************* -*** This document heavily cut by Randy M. Spencer to apply to *** -*** Mg written my Mike Meyer and gang. It was released *** -*** at the AAA users group meeting in Lafayette CA, an Amiga Users *** -*** Group. My profound thanks to Richard Stallman for his work, I *** -*** am proud to carry his initials. *** -*** Additional modifications were done by Robert A. Larson for Mg *** -*** version 2a, mainly the name change from MicroGnuEmacs to Mg. *** -******************************************************************************* - -See other files accompanying this for more system specific information. |