An Introduction to Programming in Emacs Lisp [Paperback]

Robert J. Chassell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2004

This tutorial an elementary introduction to teach non-programmers how to customize their work environment; it can also be used as an introduction to programming basics. It includes numerous exercises and sample programs; the author also walks you through the actual source code of several GNU Emacs commands. A handy reference appendix is included.

Emacs Lisp is a simple, complete, and powerful programming language. It is the building block of GNU Emacs, which is an integrated development environment with special features for scanning and parsing text as well as for handling multiple files, buffers, displays, windows, and sub-processors. This book will show you:

* how to set variables and write function definitions
* How to use "if" and "let"
* How to write "while" loops and recursive loops
* how to search for a word or expression
* how to customize GNU Emacs for yourself, even when it is shared on a network.
* how to debug programs
* and much more.

This revised second edition covers new features included in GNU Emacs version 21, while remaining compatible with earlier versions.

Editorial Reviews

Review

... contains a really fine tutorial as well as the new features included in GNU Emacs v21. It's definitely worthwhile. -- ;login: The Magazine of USENIX & SAGE, June 2002

The author ... unleashes its power, describing step by step the secrets behind ELisp and how to think in ELisp. -- Free Software Magazine, March 2002 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Robert J. Chassell has worked with GNU Emacs since 1985. He writes and edits, teaches GNU Emacs and Emacs Lisp, and speaks throughout the world on software freedom. He has an abiding interest in social and economic history and flies his own airplane.

Product Details

• Paperback: 289 pages
• Publisher: Free Software Foundation; 2 Revised edition (January 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1882114566
• ISBN-13: 978-1882114566
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,806,364 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #47 in Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > Languages & Tools > Lisp

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Intro to Programming, November 5, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: An Introduction to Programming in Emacs Lisp (Paperback)

I originally got this book to learn a few "tricks" to help me use Emacs. I am not a programmer, and thought programming was mysterious and difficult. However, Robert Chassell is an incredible teacher. I never thought programming could be explained so well to such as rank beginner as myself. And he makes it all seem very easy and logical. Not at all scary. I wish he taught at my college.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This book is a good start to being an emacs power user, January 29, 2003

By 

Patrick Eyler "pate" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: An Introduction to Programming in Emacs Lisp (Paperback)

I was really excited to grab a copy of this book, and it didn't let me down. It's a gentle but thorough introduction to using elisp. I do a bit of programming in other languages, but had never tried elisp. Now I'm excited to dive in and start making emacs do (even more) work for me.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous Introduction, November 24, 2007

By 

B. C Ladd "programming pedant" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: An Introduction to Programming in Emacs Lisp (Paperback)

A very good introduction to using elisp. I have about a decade of experience programming and extending Emacs; I picked this up to consider giving it to my computer science students. I finally decided against it only because Successful Lisp is such an amazing book. No, really, I cannot recommend Successful Lisp highly enough.

This book is very good and focuses on the specifics of Emacs Lisp. If you are interested in extending that venerable editor, this is a good place to start. If you are interested in learning programming in Lisp (specifically Common Lisp), take a look at Successful Lisp.