Re: Advice on writing packages please

[Burton Samograd <kruhft@hotmail.com>]

marcuirl <marcuirl@imap.no2this.cc> writes:

> Hey all,
> 
> I am just about ready to start writing an emacs package of my
> own. Some of the ones I have to use just don't do it for me anymore!
> So at least I have a source to work from.
> 
> I have reasonable programming skills, though little in lisp ;-) so I
> gain two skills from this! The questions I have:
> 
> Is there a source of info on the web that I can use to help in writing
> major modes for emacs?

Check out the elisp programming guide/reference and the source
code that comes with your emacs distribution (usually under
/usr/share/emacs/<version>/lisp).

> What advice would you guys/gals give an enthusiastic newbie to this
> field?

Learn lisp, read the reference and code and learn how things are done in
the emacs world. 

> Then also some ideas on really basic stuff like:
> 
> When editing an xx.el file for mode xx do you need to keep starting a
> new emacs session for the changes to take effect? Is there an easier
> way to do this?

You can reload a file into emacs using M-x load-file.  A very useful
command when editing emacs lisp is M-C-x (hold down alt and control
and press x) which will evaluate the expression that the cursor is
over, saving you from having to reload the file with every change.
For more help, do C-h m to show the available commands in your emacs
lisp mode.

> This latter question is to help me get a foot in the door, I have
> nobody here to help with the really really basic stuff like that,
> getting over this hurdle would be a huge progress for me. Remember
> those days long ago when you had no idea what to do with an 'hello.c'
> file and your nerdy friend showed you how? Stuff like that!

(print "Hello World!" (get-buffer "*scratch*"))

if you know how to use emacs the commands in the elisp manual are
quite straightforward.  And if you don't, you'll really learn how to
use emacs after seeing what functions are available.  For learning
lisp, there are a number of sites available.  See www.lisp.org or
www.cliki.org or do some google searches on lisp programming.

> Any help much appreciated!

No problem.

-- 
burton samograd
kruhft@kruhft.dyndns.org
http://kruhftwerk.dyndns.org