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Update Loading chapter of Emacs manual.

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* doc/emacs/loading.texi (Loading): Don't emphasize "library" terminology.
(Library Search): load-path is not a user option.  Mention role of
-L option and packages.  Improve examples.
(Loading Non-ASCII): Don't mention unibyte Emacs, which is
obsolete.
(Autoload): Minor clarifications.
This commit is contained in:
Chong Yidong 2012-02-10 15:57:21 +08:00
parent 104dc9c622
commit 6c1e4b4642
4 changed files with 92 additions and 111 deletions
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2
admin/FOR-RELEASE
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@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ internals.texi
intro.texi cyd
keymaps.texi
lists.texi cyd
loading.texi
loading.texi cyd
locals.texi
macros.texi cyd
maps.texi

9
doc/lispref/ChangeLog
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@ -1,3 +1,12 @@
2012-02-10 Chong Yidong <cyd@gnu.org>
* loading.texi (Loading): Don't emphasize "library" terminology.
(Library Search): load-path is not a user option. Mention role of
-L option and packages. Improve examples.
(Loading Non-ASCII): Don't mention unibyte Emacs, which is
obsolete.
(Autoload): Minor clarifications.
2012-02-10 Glenn Morris <rgm@gnu.org>
* modes.texi (Basic Major Modes): Mention tabulated-list-mode.

173
doc/lispref/loading.texi
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@ -10,9 +10,10 @@
@cindex library
@cindex Lisp library
Loading a file of Lisp code means bringing its contents into the Lisp
environment in the form of Lisp objects. Emacs finds and opens the
file, reads the text, evaluates each form, and then closes the file.
Loading a file of Lisp code means bringing its contents into the
Lisp environment in the form of Lisp objects. Emacs finds and opens
the file, reads the text, evaluates each form, and then closes the
file. Such a file is also called a @dfn{Lisp library}.
The load functions evaluate all the expressions in a file just
as the @code{eval-buffer} function evaluates all the
@ -29,11 +30,6 @@ into a buffer and evaluated there. (Indeed, most code is tested this
way.) Most often, the forms are function definitions and variable
definitions.
A file containing Lisp code is often called a @dfn{library}. Thus,
the ``Rmail library'' is a file containing code for Rmail mode.
Similarly, a ``Lisp library directory'' is a directory of files
containing Lisp code.
@menu
* How Programs Do Loading:: The @code{load} function and others.
* Load Suffixes:: Details about the suffixes that @code{load} tries.
@ -88,8 +84,8 @@ this case, you must specify the precise file name you want, except
that, if Auto Compression mode is enabled, @code{load} will still use
@code{jka-compr-load-suffixes} to find compressed versions. By
specifying the precise file name and using @code{t} for
@var{nosuffix}, you can prevent perverse file names such as
@file{foo.el.el} from being tried.
@var{nosuffix}, you can prevent file names like @file{foo.el.el} from
being tried.
If the optional argument @var{must-suffix} is non-@code{nil}, then
@code{load} insists that the file name used must end in either
@ -238,73 +234,37 @@ it skips the latter group.
When Emacs loads a Lisp library, it searches for the library
in a list of directories specified by the variable @code{load-path}.
@defopt load-path
@defvar load-path
@cindex @code{EMACSLOADPATH} environment variable
The value of this variable is a list of directories to search when
loading files with @code{load}. Each element is a string (which must be
a directory name) or @code{nil} (which stands for the current working
directory).
@end defopt
@end defvar
The value of @code{load-path} is initialized from the environment
variable @code{EMACSLOADPATH}, if that exists; otherwise its default
value is specified in @file{emacs/src/epaths.h} when Emacs is built.
Then the list is expanded by adding subdirectories of the directories
in the list.
The syntax of @code{EMACSLOADPATH} is the same as used for @code{PATH};
@samp{:} (or @samp{;}, according to the operating system) separates
directory names, and @samp{.} is used for the current default directory.
Here is an example of how to set your @code{EMACSLOADPATH} variable from
a @code{csh} @file{.login} file:
@smallexample
setenv EMACSLOADPATH .:/user/bil/emacs:/usr/local/share/emacs/20.3/lisp
@end smallexample
Here is how to set it using @code{sh}:
Each time Emacs starts up, it sets up the value of @code{load-path}
in several steps. First, it initializes @code{load-path} to the
directories specified by the environment variable @env{EMACSLOADPATH},
if that exists. The syntax of @env{EMACSLOADPATH} is the same as used
for @code{PATH}; directory names are separated by @samp{:} (or
@samp{;}, on some operating systems), and @samp{.} stands for the
current default directory. Here is an example of how to set
@env{EMACSLOADPATH} variable from @command{sh}:
@smallexample
export EMACSLOADPATH
EMACSLOADPATH=.:/user/bil/emacs:/usr/local/share/emacs/20.3/lisp
EMACSLOADPATH=/home/foo/.emacs.d/lisp:/opt/emacs/lisp
@end smallexample
Here is an example of code you can place in your init file (@pxref{Init
File}) to add several directories to the front of your default
@code{load-path}:
@noindent
Here is how to set it from @code{csh}:
@smallexample
@group
(setq load-path
(append (list nil "/user/bil/emacs"
"/usr/local/lisplib"
"~/emacs")
load-path))
@end group
setenv EMACSLOADPATH /home/foo/.emacs.d/lisp:/opt/emacs/lisp
@end smallexample
@c Wordy to rid us of an overfull hbox. --rjc 15mar92
@noindent
In this example, the path searches the current working directory first,
followed then by the @file{/user/bil/emacs} directory, the
@file{/usr/local/lisplib} directory, and the @file{~/emacs} directory,
which are then followed by the standard directories for Lisp code.
Dumping Emacs uses a special value of @code{load-path}. If the value of
@code{load-path} at the end of dumping is unchanged (that is, still the
same special value), the dumped Emacs switches to the ordinary
@code{load-path} value when it starts up, as described above. But if
@code{load-path} has any other value at the end of dumping, that value
is used for execution of the dumped Emacs also.
Therefore, if you want to change @code{load-path} temporarily for
loading a few libraries in @file{site-init.el} or @file{site-load.el},
you should bind @code{load-path} locally with @code{let} around the
calls to @code{load}.
The default value of @code{load-path}, when running an Emacs which has
been installed on the system, includes two special directories (and
their subdirectories as well):
If @env{EMACSLOADPATH} is not set (which is usually the case), Emacs
initializes @code{load-path} with the following two directories:
@smallexample
"/usr/local/share/emacs/@var{version}/site-lisp"
@ -319,33 +279,42 @@ and
@noindent
The first one is for locally installed packages for a particular Emacs
version; the second is for locally installed packages meant for use with
all installed Emacs versions.
There are several reasons why a Lisp package that works well in one
Emacs version can cause trouble in another. Sometimes packages need
updating for incompatible changes in Emacs; sometimes they depend on
undocumented internal Emacs data that can change without notice;
sometimes a newer Emacs version incorporates a version of the package,
and should be used only with that version.
Emacs finds these directories' subdirectories and adds them to
@code{load-path} when it starts up. Both immediate subdirectories and
subdirectories multiple levels down are added to @code{load-path}.
Not all subdirectories are included, though. Subdirectories whose
names do not start with a letter or digit are excluded. Subdirectories
named @file{RCS} or @file{CVS} are excluded. Also, a subdirectory which
contains a file named @file{.nosearch} is excluded. You can use these
methods to prevent certain subdirectories of the @file{site-lisp}
directories from being searched.
version; the second is for locally installed packages meant for use
with all installed Emacs versions.
If you run Emacs from the directory where it was built---that is, an
executable that has not been formally installed---then @code{load-path}
normally contains two additional directories. These are the @code{lisp}
and @code{site-lisp} subdirectories of the main build directory. (Both
executable that has not been formally installed---Emacs puts two more
directories in @code{load-path}. These are the @code{lisp} and
@code{site-lisp} subdirectories of the main build directory. (Both
are represented as absolute file names.)
Next, Emacs ``expands'' the initial list of directories in
@code{load-path} by adding the subdirectories of those directories.
Both immediate subdirectories and subdirectories multiple levels down
are added. But it excludes subdirectories whose names do not start
with a letter or digit, and subdirectories named @file{RCS} or
@file{CVS}, and subdirectories containing a file named
@file{.nosearch}.
Next, Emacs adds any extra load directory that you specify using the
@samp{-L} command-line option (@pxref{Action Arguments,,,emacs, The
GNU Emacs Manual}). It also adds the directories where optional
packages are installed, if any (@pxref{Packaging Basics}).
It is common to add code to one's init file (@pxref{Init File}) to
add one or more directories to @code{load-path}. For example:
@smallexample
(push "~/.emacs.d/lisp" load-path)
@end smallexample
Dumping Emacs uses a special value of @code{load-path}. If the
value of @code{load-path} at the end of dumping is unchanged (that is,
still the same special value), the dumped Emacs switches to the
ordinary @code{load-path} value when it starts up, as described above.
But if @code{load-path} has any other value at the end of dumping,
that value is used for execution of the dumped Emacs also.
@deffn Command locate-library library &optional nosuffix path interactive-call
This command finds the precise file name for library @var{library}. It
searches for the library in the same way @code{load} does, and the
@ -401,30 +370,26 @@ example) is read without decoding, the text of the program will be
unibyte text, and its string constants will be unibyte strings.
@xref{Coding Systems}.
The reason Emacs is designed this way is so that Lisp programs give
predictable results, regardless of how Emacs was started. In addition,
this enables programs that depend on using multibyte text to work even
in a unibyte Emacs.
In most Emacs Lisp programs, the fact that non-@acronym{ASCII} strings are
multibyte strings should not be noticeable, since inserting them in
unibyte buffers converts them to unibyte automatically. However, if
this does make a difference, you can force a particular Lisp file to be
interpreted as unibyte by writing @samp{-*-unibyte: t;-*-} in a
comment on the file's first line. With that designator, the file will
unconditionally be interpreted as unibyte, even in an ordinary
multibyte Emacs session. This can matter when making keybindings to
non-@acronym{ASCII} characters written as @code{?v@var{literal}}.
In most Emacs Lisp programs, the fact that non-@acronym{ASCII}
strings are multibyte strings should not be noticeable, since
inserting them in unibyte buffers converts them to unibyte
automatically. However, if this does make a difference, you can force
a particular Lisp file to be interpreted as unibyte by writing
@samp{-*-unibyte: t;-*-} in a comment on the file's first line. With
that designator, the file will unconditionally be interpreted as
unibyte, even in an ordinary multibyte Emacs session. This can matter
when making keybindings to non-@acronym{ASCII} characters written as
@code{?v@var{literal}}.
@node Autoload
@section Autoload
@cindex autoload
The @dfn{autoload} facility allows you to make a function or macro
known in Lisp, but put off loading the file that defines it. The first
call to the function automatically reads the proper file to install the
real definition and other associated code, then runs the real definition
as if it had been loaded all along.
The @dfn{autoload} facility allows you to register the existence of
a function or macro, but put off loading the file that defines it.
The first call to the function automatically reads the proper file, in
order to install the real definition and other associated code, then
runs the real definition as if it had been loaded all along.
There are two ways to set up an autoloaded function: by calling
@code{autoload}, and by writing a special ``magic'' comment in the

19
lisp/help-fns.el
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@ -707,12 +707,19 @@ it is displayed along with the global value."
(with-current-buffer standard-output
(setq val-start-pos (point))
(princ "value is ")
(let ((from (point)))
(terpri)
(pp val)
(if (< (point) (+ 68 (line-beginning-position 0)))
(delete-region from (1+ from))
(delete-region (1- from) from))
(let ((from (point))
(line-beg (line-beginning-position))
;;
(print-rep
(let ((print-quoted t))
(prin1-to-string val))))
(if (< (+ (length print-rep) (point) (- line-beg)) 68)
(insert print-rep)
(terpri)
(pp val)
(if (< (point) (+ 68 (line-beginning-position 0)))
(delete-region from (1+ from))
(delete-region (1- from) from)))
(let* ((sv (get variable 'standard-value))
(origval (and (consp sv)
(condition-case nil