Emacs Introduction

<BODY LANG="EN"> <HR><center> <table border=1> <td><img height=36 width=36 alt="" src="http://www.cs.utah.edu/icons/latex2html/previous_fade.gif"></td> <td><A NAME="tex2html7" HREF="../../../classes/Unix/contents.shtml"><img height=36 width=36 alt="UP" src="http://www.cs.utah.edu/icons/latex2html/up.gif"></A></td> <td><A NAME="tex2html9" HREF="node1.shtml"><img height=36 width=36 alt="NEXT" src="http://www.cs.utah.edu/icons/latex2html/next.gif"></A></td> <td><a href="contents-unix07.shtml"><img height=36 width=36 alt="CONTENTS" src="http://www.cs.utah.edu/icons/latex2html/toc.gif"></a></td> <td>     </td> </table> </center> <HR> <P> <H1>Emacs Introduction</H1> <P> This tutorial describes how to use Emacs, which is a text editor. On personal computers, many applications come packaged with their own editor. In contrast, you will use Emacs on this workstation for almost all of your editing needs. You can write programs and create documents, to name a few examples. <P> In this lesson, we'll cover many of the capabilities of Emacs. If you already have an open Emacs window, you can use it for this lesson. If you don't have one, you can create one by selecting the ``Emacs'' icon from the toolbar on the left side of the display. If that doesn't work, enter the command <P> <PRE>emacs &</PRE> <P> in your xterm window. <P> You need some files copied into your directory to use for this lesson. They will be put in a directory called ``emacsdemo'' in your home directory. <P> <A NAME="tex2html1" HREF="copytar0.hamlet"><img height=24 width=24 alt="EXECUTE" src="http://www.cs.utah.edu/icons/latex2html/execute.gif"></A> Click to copy files. <P> You may be used to starting, using, and exiting a text editor many times during a single session with a computer. On a workstation, the usual practice is to create an Emacs window at the beginning of a session and to leave it in place until the end of the session. When you need to create an Emacs window during a session, you can do so as explained above. <P> While going through this lesson, you will be prompted with commands to enter in the Emacs window. Some of these commands are ``control'' or ``meta'' commands. You will see control commands described like ``<tt>C-x</tt>'' or ``<tt><ctrl>x</tt>'', and meta commands like ``<tt>M-x</tt>'' or ``<tt><meta>x</tt>''. To type these commands press and hold the control or meta key (the meta key is usually the key next to the space bar labeled ``alt'' or labeled with a diamond) and then press the other key in the sequence. <P> The advanced features of Emacs make it a powerful aid to programmers. It is a gloriously complicated contraption of which many serious programmers are quite fond. Fortunately, it is not hard to learn a useful subset of the full range of commands. We will concentrate here on the basic ways of using Emacs to create text files. Other tutorials will cover the use of Emacs in program development. <P> <HR><center> <table border=1> <td><img height=36 width=36 alt="" src="http://www.cs.utah.edu/icons/latex2html/previous_fade.gif"></td> <td><A NAME="tex2html7" HREF="../../../classes/Unix/contents.shtml"><img height=36 width=36 alt="UP" src="http://www.cs.utah.edu/icons/latex2html/up.gif"></A></td> <td><A NAME="tex2html9" HREF="node1.shtml"><img height=36 width=36 alt="NEXT" src="http://www.cs.utah.edu/icons/latex2html/next.gif"></A></td> <td><a href="contents-unix07.shtml"><img height=36 width=36 alt="CONTENTS" src="http://www.cs.utah.edu/icons/latex2html/toc.gif"></a></td> <td>     </td> </table> </center> <HR> </BODY>