ELLE (ELLE Looks Like Emacs) is an Emacs clone for ELLE is not
full Emacs but it has about 80 commands and is quite fast. Mined
only has a small number of commands. All of them are either of
the form CTRL-x or are on the numeric keypad. Emacs, in con-
trast, has so many commands, that not only are all the CTRL-x
commands used up, but so are all the ESC x (escape followed by x;
escape is not a shift character, like CTRL). Even this is not
enough, so CTRL-X is used as a prefix for additional commands.
Thus CTRL-X CTRL-L is a command, and so is CTRL-X K. Note that
what is conventionally written as CTRL-X K really means CTRL-X k.
In some contexts it is traditional to write CTRL-X as ^X. Please
note that they mean the same thing. As a result, many Emacs com-
mands need three or four key strokes to execute. Some people
think 3-4 key strokes is too many. For this reason, Emacs and
ELLE allow users to assign their own key bindings. In ELLE this
is done with user profiles. A user profile is a file listing
which function is invoked by which key stroke. The user profile
is then compiled by a program called ellec into binary form.
When ELLE starts up it checks to see if a file .ellepro.b1 exists
in $HOME. If it does, this file is read in and overrides the de-
fault bindings. A user profile that simulates the mined commands
fairly well is provided. Its installation is described later.
If you have never used Emacs, it is suggested that you use the
mined profile. If you normally use Emacs, then do not install
the mined profile. You can also make your own using ellec.
There is no Mock Lisp. ELLE has a character-oriented view of the
world, not a line oriented view, like ed. It does not have magic
characters for searching. However, you can use line feed in
search patterns. For example, to find a line consisting of the
three characters foo all by themselves on a line, using the mined
bindings (see below), use the pattern: CTRL- CTRL-J f o o CTRL-
CTRL-J. The CTRL- means to interpret the next character literal-
ly, in this case it is CTRL-J, which is line feed. You can also
search for patterns involving multiple lines. For example, to
find a line ending in an x followed by a line beginning with a y,
use as pattern: x CTRL- CTRL-J y. These are the key bindings if
the binary user profile, .ellepro.b1, is installed in $HOME. The
ESCAPE key followed by a number followed by a command causes that
command to be executed number times. This applies both to con-
trol characters and insertable characters. CTRL-X refers to a
control character. ESC x refers to an escape character followed
by x. In other words, ^X is a synonym for CTRL-X. ^X Y refers
to CTRL-X followed by y. To abort the current command and go
back to the main loop of the editor, type CTRL-G, rather than
CTRL-. Only a few commands are of the form CTRL-X Y. All of
these are also bound to CTRL-X CTRL-Y, so you can hold down CTRL
and then hit X Y, or release control after the X, as you prefer.
The key bindings that are not listed should not be used. Some of
them actually do things. For example, the ANSI escape codes ESC
[ x are bound to ^X Y for a variety of y. Some commands work on
regions. A region is defined as the text between the most re-
cently set mark and the cursor. If the mined profile, is in-
stalled in your home directory, the following commands will work.
CURSOR MOTION
arrows Move the cursor in the indicated direction
CTRL-A Move cursor to start of current line
CTRL-Z Move cursor to end of current line
CTRL-F Move cursor forward word
CTRL-B Move cursor backward to start of previous word
SCREEN MOTION
Home key Move to first character of the file
End key Move to last character of the file
PgUp key Scroll window up 22 lines (closer to start of
the file)
PgDn key Scroll window down 22 lines (closer to end of
the file)
CTRL-U Scroll window up 1 line
CTRL-D Scroll window down 1 line
ESC , Move to top of screen
CTRL-_ Move to bottom of screen
MODIFYING TEXT
DEL key Delete the character under the cursor
Backsp Delete the character to left of the cursor
CTRL-N Delete the next word
CTRL-P Delete the previous word
CTRL-T Delete tail of line (all characters from cursor
to end of line)
CTRL-O Open up the line (insert line feed and back up)
ESC G Get and insert a file at the cursor position
(CTRL-G in mined)
REGIONS
CTRL-^ Set mark at current position for use with CTRL-C
and CTRL-K
CTRL-C Copy the text between the mark and the cursor
into the buffer
CTRL-K Delete text between mark and cursor; also copy
it to the buffer
CTRL-Y Yank contents of the buffer out and insert it at
the cursor
MISCELLANEOUS
numeric + Search forward (prompts for expression)
numeric - Search backward (prompts for expression)
CTRL-] ESC n CTRL-[ goes to line n (slightly different
syntax than mined)
CTRL-R Global replace pattern with string (from cursor
to end)
CTRL-L Replace pattern with string within the current
line only
CTRL-W Write the edited file back to the disk
CTRL-S Fork off a shell (use CTRL-D to get back to the
editor)
CTRL-G Abort whatever the editor was doing and wait for
command (CTRL-
CTRL-E Redraw screen with cursor line positioned in the
middle
CTRL-V Visit (edit) a new file
CTRL-Q Write buffer to a file
ESC X Exit the editor
CURSOR MOTION
ESC P Forward paragraph (a paragraph is a line begin-
ning with a dot)
ESC ] Backward paragraph
ESC . Indent this line as much as the previous one
MODIFYING TEXT
CTRL- Insert the next character (used for inserting
control characters)
ESC T Transpose characters
ESC W Transpose words
ESC = Delete white space (horizontal space)
ESC | Delete blank lines (vertical space)
REGIONS
ESC M Mark current paragraph
ESC ^ Exchange cursor and mark
ESC Y Yank back the next-to-the-last kill (CTRL-Y
yanks the last one)
ESC A Append next kill to kill buffer
KEYBOARD MACROS
ESC / Start Keyboard Macro
ESC End Keyboard Macro
ESC * View Keyboard Macro (the PrtSc key on the numer-
ic pad is also a *)
ESC E Execute Keyboard Macro
WINDOW MANAGEMENT
^X 1 Enter one window mode
^X 2 Enter two window mode
^X L Make the current window larger
^X P Make the window more petit/petite (Yes, Vir-
ginia, they are English)
^X N Next window
^X W New window
BUFFER MANAGEMENT
numeric 5 Display the list of current files and buffers
ESC B Select a buffer
ESC S Select an existing buffer
ESC N Mark a buffer as NOT modified (even if it really
is)
UPPER AND LOW CASE MANIPULATION
ESC I Set first character of word to upper case
ESC C Capitalize current word
ESC O Make current word ordinary (i.e., lower case)
ESC U Set entire region between mark and cursor to up-
per case
ESC L Set entire region between mark and cursor to
lower case
MISCELLANEOUS
ESC F Find file and read it into its own buffer
ESC Z Incremental search
ESC Q Like CTRL-R, but queries at each occurrence
(type ? for options)
ESC R Reset the user profile from a file
ESC H Help (ELLE prompts for the 1 or 2 character com-
mand to describe)
ESC ; Insert a comment in a C program (generates /* */
for you)
^X X Exit the editor (same as ESC X and CTRL-X CTRL-
X)
The major differences between ELLE with the mined profile and
mined itself are:
1. The definition of a word is different for forward and backward word
2. The mark is set with CTRL-^ instead of CTRL-@
3. Use CTRL-G to abort a command instead of CTRL-
4. Use CTRL- to literally insert the next character, instead of ALT
5. CTRL-E adjusts the window to put the cursor in the middle of it
6. To get and insert a file, use ESC G instead of CTRL-G
7. To go to line n, type ESC n CTRL-[ instead of CTRL-[ n
8. You exit with CTRL-X CTRL-X and then answer the question with y.
9. There are many new commands, windows, larger files, etc.
If you do not have the mined profile installed, you get the stan-
dard Emacs key bindings. These are listed below. Commands not
listed are not implemented.
CURSOR MOVEMENT
CTRL-F Forward one character.
CTRL-B Backward one character.
CTRL-H Same as CTRL-B: move backward one character.
ESC F Forward one word.
ESC B Backward one word.
CTRL-A Beginning of current line.
CTRL-E End of current line.
CTRL-N Next line (goes to the next line).
CTRL-P Previous line (goes to the previous line).
CTRL-V Beginning of next screenful.
ESC V Beginning of previous screenful.
ESC ]~ Forward Paragraph.
ESC [~ Backward Paragraph.
ESC < Beginning of whole buffer.
ESC > End of whole buffer.
DELETING
CTRL-D Deletes forward one character (the one the cur-
sor is under).
DELETE Deletes backward one character (the one to left
of cursor).
ESC D Kills forward one word.
ESC DEL Kills backward one word.
CTRL-K Kills the rest of the line (to the right of the
cursor).
ESC Deletes spaces around the cursor.
^X CTRL-O Deletes blank lines around the cursor.
CASE CHANGE
ESC C Capitalizes word : first letter becomes upper-
case; rest lower
ESC L Makes the whole next word lowercase.
ESC U Makes the whole next word uppercase.
^X CTRL-L Makes whole region lowercase.
^X CTRL-U Makes whole region uppercase.
SEARCHING (If no string is given, previous string is used)
CTRL-S Incremental Search forward; prompts I-search:
CTRL-R Reverse Incremental Search; prompts R-search:
During an incremental search, the following
characters have special effects:
normal - Begin searching immediately.
^G - Cancel I-search, return to start.
DEL - Erase last char, return to last
match.
^S, ^R - Repeat search (or change direction).
ESC or CR - Exit I-search at current point.
ESC % Query Replace. Interactive replace. Type ? to
see options.
^X % Replace String.Like Query Replace, but not in-
teractive
MARKING AREAS
CTRL-^ Set mark
^X CTRL-X Exchange cursor and mark.
ESC H Mark Paragraph. Sets mark and cursor to surround
a para.
CTRL-W Wipe-out -- kills a region:
ESC W Copy region. Like CTRL-W then CTRL-Y but modi-
fies buffer
CTRL-Y Yanks-back (un-kills) whatever you have most re-
cently killed.
ESC Y Yanks-back (un-kills) the next most recently
killed text.
ESC CTRL-W Append Next Kill. Accumulates stuff from several
kills
FILLING TEXT
ESC Q Fill the paragraph to the size of the Fill Col-
umn.
ESC G Fill the region.
^X F Set Fill Column. ESC Q will use this line size.
^X . Set Fill Prefix. Asks for prefix string
^X T Toggles Auto Fill Mode.
WINDOWS
^X 2 Make two windows (split screen).
^X 1 Make one window (delete window) (make one
screen).
^X O Go to Other window.
^X ^ Grow window: makes current window bigger.
BUFFERS
^X CTRL-F Find a file and make a buffer for it.
^X B Select Buffer: goes to specified buffer or makes
new one
^X CTRL-B Show the names of the buffers used in this edit-
ing session.
^X K Kill Buffer.
ESC tilde Say buffer is not modified.
^X CTRL-M Toggle EOL mode (per-buffer flag).
KEYBOARD MACRO
^X ( Start collecting a keyboard macro.
^X ) Stop collecting.
^X E Execute the collected macro.
^X * Display the collected macro.
FILES
^X CTRL-I Insert a file where cursor is.
^X CTRL-R Read a new file into current buffer.
^X CTRL-V Same as ^X ^R above (reads a file).
^X CTRL-W Write buffer out to new file name.
^X CTRL-S Save file: write out buffer to its file name.
^X CTRL-E Write region out to new file name.
MISCELLANEOUS
^X CTRL-Z Exit from ELLE.
^X ! Escape to shell (CTRL-D to return)
CTRL-O Open up line
LINEFEED Same as typing RETURN and TAB.
CTRL-T Transposes characters.
ESC T Transposes words.
CTRL-U Makes the next command happen four times.
CTRL-U numberMakes the next command happen number times.
ESC number Same as CTRL-U number.
CTRL-L Refreshes screen.
CTRL-U CTRL-LRefresh only the line cursor is on.
CTRL-U n CTRL-L Change window so the cursor is on line n
CTRL-Q Quote: insert the next character no matter what
it is.
CTRL-G Quit: use to avoid answering a question.
ESC ; Inserts comment (for writing C programs).
ESC I Inserts indentation equal to previous line.
ESC M Move to end of this line's indentation.
CTRL-_ Describe a command (if the command database is
online)
UNUSED CONTROLS
CTRL-C Not used.
CTRL-Z Not used.
CTRL-] Not used.
It is possible to create your own user profile. The mechanism is
different from Emacs, since ELLE does not have Mock Lisp. Pro-
ceed as follows. Modify .ellepro.e to suit your taste. Install
.ellepro.e in your home directory. Type: Check to see if
.ellepro.b1 has been created. If it has, you are ready to go.
ELLE was written by Ken Harrenstien of SRI (klh@sri.com).