36 KiB
Emacs init
About this file
Inspired by such other projects as the literal Emacs init from Sacha Chua and also from Grant Rettke, here is my Emacs initialization file.
Note: This is not my entire Emacs initialization file. It's a work-in-progress. To keep on top of any changes to this file, or any other part of my Emacs init, I recommend you follow This project (Atom feed), which is where I keep my configuration.
Preparation
I could use org-babel to load this file, but I don't like my initialization file being dependent on too many things, especially big things, and org is a big thing. It may be strange for you to read this, as I have placed my entire Emacs configuration in an org-mode file, but here are the make targets I use to tangle and subsequently byte-compile my init file:
%.elc: %.el
emacs -Q -batch -eval "(byte-compile-file \"$<\")"
init.el: init.org
emacs -Q -batch -l "ob-tangle" -eval "(org-babel-tangle-file \"init.org\")
Executing the second target (either through make, or manually) will get you my Emacs initialization file in plain Emacs Lisp.
Note: If you look at this file in it's org-mode form you will
notice that I actually tangle init.org into init2.el. This is a
temporary measure so that I can gradually move my configuration
from my existing init.el file into init.org without much trouble.
Once I've emptied out my init.el I will instruct babel to tangle
into init.el, this code already reflects that.
The oni: prefix
To keep my functions and variables from ever accidentally
interfering with other packages or Emacs internal variables I
prefix all the functions I write and variables I declare with oni:.
You don't have to copy it if you copy anything from this file, as
long as you do it consistently.
Use lexical binding
For some of these functions, and general coolness, lexical binding is a must. Without it, closures cannot be made.
;; -*- lexical-binding: t -*-Set some personal information
This information is used by some emacs commands and modules to make your life easier.
(setq user-full-name "Tom Willemse"
user-mail-address "tom@ryuslash.org")Clean up some UI elements
Some elements are only really useful if you use the mouse. Which I don't, not if I can help it. Only when browsing the web or using the odd graphical application do I touch the mouse, and even then as little as I can.
Menu bar
The menu bar is one of the UI elements which work best with mouses. Sure you can change your toolkit's key bindings to allow you to more easily navigate, but 1 are easier if you don't use the mouse. Long story short: It has got to go.
(menu-bar-mode -1)Tool bar
The toolbar is another such thing, and it takes up quite a bit more space too. Icons can look pretty cool, but in the end if you're not going to click them they don't really server much of a purpose. Again: It has got to go.
(tool-bar-mode -1)Blinking cursor
I suppose a blinking cursor doesn't get lost very easily. But on the other hand, it can induce quite a few more headaches.
I've noticed that I don't really lose my cursor position all that much, really, so there doesn't seem to be any point in making it blink. Here we go again: It has got to go.
(blink-cursor-mode -1)Line numbers
As I'm currently using svg-mode-line-themes2 for my mode-line I
don't need to show these. Also I didn't really use them much, I
don't often need to know what line I'm on.
(line-number-mode -1)Tooltips
Tooltips are another one of those UI elements that aren't quite keyboard-friendly. As usually this information is shown just as well in the echo area, this is not necessary.
(tooltip-mode -1)Cursor type
I prefer using a bar as a cursor, as opposed to a box. Using a bar is a better way of representing the location of the cursor, in my opinion.
(setq-default cursor-type 'bar)Cursors in inactive windows
I use a bar cursor that's already pretty thin, so having an even thinner one in inactive windows is not very clear. Even when I was using a box cursor I didn't like seeing a hollow box everywhere my focus wasn't.
(setq-default cursor-in-non-selected-windows nil)Long lines
Sometimes, very long lines can't help but show up in code. The default of wrapping lines around to the next line and showing an image in the fringe is very visually disturbing to me when looking at code3. So I prefer to have it just run off the screen.
(setq-default truncate-lines t)The default frame
Usually, most of these settings would be done with functions like
set-frame-font or scroll-bar-mode, but working with the Emacs
Daemon sometimes creates extra complications, because you might
start a graphical environment at some point (I usually do
immediately), but the startup process isn't.
Internal border
Set the internal border width to 0. This makes a small difference, with my current setup it causes my window's width to increase from 120 to 121. Small, I know, but I'm very greedy when it comes to screen space.
(internal-border-width . 0)A fantastic font
I've tried several fonts, and all of them were nice, but came up
short on some way. Some didn't have italic variants, some had
dotted zeroes instead of dashed zeroes, some even had entirely
clear zeroes which make them look like O's, others had
boring-looking parentheses4. Not Fantasque Sans
Mono56, it is awesome. If your web browser supports web
fonts you should also see it used in the code blocks here.
For normal Emacs setups you might use the set-frame-font function
like so:
(set-frame-font "Fantasque Sans Mono 13" nil t)
However, this doesn't work when running Emacs as a Daemon. You
could (especially with lexical binding) add an
after-make-frame-functions hook or something similar, but I find
it easier to just specify the font in the default-frame-alist.
(font . "Fantasque Sans Mono:pixelsize=17")Scroll bar
The scroll-bar is almost just as informative as the current line number and buffer position information shown in the (my) mode line. As I don't usually need to know where I am, other than the current line number occasionally, and I don't use the mouse, the scroll bar doesn't add anything and only takes up space. Once more: It has got to go.
Normally you would use something along the lines of:
(scroll-bar-mode -1)
However, this doesn't work when running Emacs as a Daemon. So
instead I specify it in the default-frame-alist.
(vertical-scroll-bars . nil)Setting the option
So I've explained the reasons for each individual setting, but to
get them to work they have to be put in the default-frame-alist.
Here is the final setting:
(setq default-frame-alist
`(<<default-frame-internal-border>>
<<default-frame-font>>
<<default-frame-scroll-bar>>))Frame title
Show the buffer name in the frame title to make multiple frames identifiable by the buffer they're showing.
(setq frame-title-format '(:eval (concat "GNU Emacs: " (buffer-name))))Don't show dialog boxes
Unfortunately this doesn't remove all dialog boxes, but at least it keeps some of them from popping up. According to the docstring it should only change anything for when the mouse is used, which I don't ever do, but I still feel safer keeping this in my configuration.
(setq use-dialog-box nil)Split windows equally
When splitting windows, give them all an equal amount of space. For those very few time that I have more than two windows in my Emacs frame it is much nicer to have each of them get ~33% space instead of 50%, 25% and 25%. The way I have my desktop set-up I don't ever split my windows horizontally.
(setq window-combination-resize t)Keep the cursor steady when scrolling
When scrolling through the buffer with, for example, or , I find it much more intuitive to have the cursor stay in the relative screen position from before. Otherwise I get confused every time.
(setq scroll-preserve-screen-position t)Don't show a mode line for completions
One of the things I dislike about Emacs is its rigidity concerning windows and other UI elements. One very simple way to make it feel less so is to show less of it where possible. A mode line for completion buffers creates more separation than necessary, and I can't recall a single time where I've used the completion's mode line for anything.
(add-hook 'completion-list-mode-hook
(lambda () (setq mode-line-format nil)))Add org-mode appointments to the diary
Diary offers reminders, which can be useful when scheduling appointments.
(defadvice org-agenda-redo (after ext:org-agenda-redo-add-appts)
"Pressing `r' on the agenda will also add appointments."
(setq appt-time-msg-list nil)
(org-agenda-to-appt))Close ansi-term buffer after exit
After the ansi-term process ends it leaves a buffer. I don't use ansi term in such a way that this has ever been useful, so just kill the ansi-term buffer after the process quits, no matter the exit status. Usually this comes about when I press at the command prompt.
(defadvice term-handle-exit (after oni:kill-buffer-after-exit activate)
"Kill the term buffer if the process finished."
(kill-buffer (current-buffer)))Stumpwm integration
This variable, macro and function help with integrating Emacs and Stumpwm. They are used by some other functions to make the two seem extra connected.
(defvar oni:stumpish-program
(expand-file-name
"~/.local/share/quicklisp/local-projects/stumpwm/contrib/util/stumpish/stumpish")
"The location of the stumpish executable.")
(defmacro oni:stumpwm (&rest body)
"Execute BODY in stumpwm."
(declare (indent 0))
`(call-process oni:stumpish-program nil nil nil
,(format "eval '%S'" `(progn ,@body))))
(defun oni:stumpwm-command (cmd)
"Execute CMD in stumpwm."
(call-process oni:stumpish-program nil nil nil cmd))
(defun oni:stumpwm-echo (message)
(call-process oni:stumpish-program nil nil nil (format "echo %s" message)))Fall back on stumpwm when moving around
Using the function specified in /ryuslash/legacy-dotfiles/src/commit/48238686d99676b93bcdfa124f499eb13b0edca6/emacs/.emacs.d/Stumpwm%20integration wrap the
windmove-do-window-select function and catch any error produced,
hoping it's the error that there's no more window to move to and
then request that stumpwm move the focus in the same direction as
windmove would have.
(defadvice windmove-do-window-select
(around oni:windmove-stumpwm activate)
"If no window can be moved to, move stumpwm."
(condition-case err
ad-do-it
(error (oni:stumpwm-command
(format "move-focus %s" (ad-get-arg 0))))))Don't just quit Emacs with in the daemon
When working with Emacs as a daemon, which I do almost all of the time, I prefer using to close the current frame instead of the entire session. Before this change I would occasionally close my session by mistake.
(defun oni:close-client-window ()
"Close a client's frames."
(interactive)
(server-save-buffers-kill-terminal nil))
(when (daemonp)
(global-set-key (kbd "C-x C-c") 'oni:close-client-window))Don't minimize the frame with
One of the more annoying things that can happen is accidentally minimizing the frame you're working with. This doesn't really matter if you're working on a normal stacking window manager, but with a tiling window manager and no task bar this just causes the Emacs frame to hang until it is refocused or disappear with no way to get it back.
(when (or window-system (daemonp))
(global-unset-key (kbd "C-z")))Use the right dictionary
One of the caveats of using two (or more) languages in a single installation of Gnus is that ispell sometimes gets confused. Having come across a stackoverflow question7 about just this subject it was easy to modify the source code posted there to come up with this.
Note: See my note on function declarations about the use of
declare-function.
(declare-function message-narrow-to-headers-or-head "message")
(declare-function message-fetch-field "message")
(defun oni:switch-ispell-dictionary ()
(save-excursion
(message-narrow-to-headers-or-head)
(when (string-match (rx (and "@" (or "aethon" "picturefix") ".nl>") eol)
(message-fetch-field "From"))
(ispell-change-dictionary "nl"))))
(add-hook 'message-setup-hook 'oni:switch-ispell-dictionary)Don't let shr use background color
Reading mail in Gnus is very nice, but shr has become a little too good at its job. Add to this the many occasions when a background is specified without specifying a foreground, plus a color theme that is the inverse of what is usually expected, and you can get hard-to-read HTML messages, gray foreground and gray background.
I've looked at the other possible renderers, but they don't look very nice compared to shr. So just remove its ability to add background colors.
Note: See my note on function declarations about the use of
declare-function.
(declare-function shr-colorize-region "shr")
(defun oni:shr-colorize-remove-last-arg (args)
"If ARGS has more than 3 items, remove the last one."
(if (> (length args) 3)
(butlast args)
args))
(with-eval-after-load 'shr
(advice-add #'shr-colorize-region :filter-args
#'oni:shr-colorize-remove-last-arg))
Optimized with-eval-after-load
First offered here and then later updated here (when
with-eval-after-load was added). Makes for very nice on-demand
settings loading.
;; http://www.lunaryorn.com/2013/06/25/introducing-with-eval-after-load/
(defmacro stante-after (feature &rest forms)
"After FEATURE is loaded, evaluate FORMS.
FEATURE may be an unquoted feature symbol or a file name, see
`eval-after-load'."
(declare (indent 1) (debug t))
`(,(if (or (not byte-compile-current-file)
(if (symbolp feature)
(require feature nil :noerror)
(load feature :no-message :no-error)))
`progn
(message "stante-after: cannot find %s" feature)
'with-no-warnings)
(with-eval-after-load ',feature ,@forms)))Remember SQL input
Remembering input between sessions is a good thing.
(stante-after sql
(setf sql-input-ring-file-name
(expand-file-name "~/.emacs.d/sqliinput")))Lazily load some buffers
Don't load all buffers right away. Having a lot of buffers and switching between projects a lot can take up quite a bit of time.
Note: See my note on vacuous defvar for this use of defvar.
(defvar desktop-restore-eager)
(setq desktop-restore-eager 5)Fix some term keybindings
ansi-term passes along a lot of characters correctly, but things
like forward-delete-word are not, by default. This is confusing when
you see one thing and another is sent. Passing the correct keys
directly to the terminal fixes this problem.
Note: See my note on vacuous defvar for this use of defvar.
Note: See my note on function declarations about the use of
declare-function.
(defvar term-raw-map)
(declare-function term-send-raw-string "term")
(defun oni:set-term-keys ()
(cl-flet ((zcommand (key)
(lambda ()
(interactive) (term-send-raw-string key))))
(define-key term-raw-map
(kbd "C-<backspace>") (zcommand "\C-H"))))
(add-hook 'term-mode-hook #'oni:set-term-keys)
Ask for a y or n, not yes or no.
Emacs starts out asking for you to type yes or no with most
important questions. It is possible that this is used for such
important questions where accidentally saying yes when you meant no
would be catastrophic (or at least could be). However, I've never
(so far) had this problem, and I find it quite tedious to have to
write out yes or no and then press , give me a simple
y or n with no required and I'm quite happy.
(defalias 'yes-or-no-p 'y-or-n-p)
Use hippie-expand, not dabbrev-expand
I've never actually used dabbrev-expand, and only rarely use
hippie-expand really, but since hippie-expand also includes a
dabbrev expander and a lot more than just that, it seems alright to
do this.
(defalias 'dabbrev-expand 'hippie-expand)
Setting up load-path
First, to help, I create a function that takes a path, adds it to
load-path and then checks to see if there is a file named
loaddefs.el in the given path. If there is, it loads it. This
loaddefs.el file is something that is created from autoload cookies
in the files in some of these paths.
Since the load-path is also important during byte-compilation, this
function should be defined both at run-time and compile-time.
(eval-and-compile
(defun oni:loadpath-add-and-autoload (path)
"Add PATH to `load-path' and load a `loaddefs.el' if it exists."
(add-to-list 'load-path path)
(let ((loaddefs (concat path "/loaddefs.el")))
(when (file-exists-p loaddefs)
(load loaddefs)))))
After that I add some directories to my load-path so I can use these
libraries when wanted. One of these is the site-lisp directory in my
.emacs.d directory, which is where I keep most of my personal
non-ELPA modules (like module-specific initialization files). There
are also some directories I include in vendor-lisp, which is where I
keep modules that I didn't write myself and, for some reason, can't
or don't want to use ELPA for. Again it is important to realize that
this information is relevant both at run-time and compile-time, so
we wrap it with an eval-and-compile.
(eval-and-compile
(mapc #'oni:loadpath-add-and-autoload
'("~/.emacs.d/site-lisp"
"~/.emacs.d/vendor-lisp/mozrepl"
"~/.emacs.d/vendor-lisp/eap" "/usr/share/emacs/site-lisp"
"/usr/lib/node_modules/tern/emacs/"
"~/.emacs.d/vendor-lisp/habitrpg.el")))Some unconditional settings
Here are some settings that either need to be changed before certain modules load, or that don't belong in any specific module.
Gnus init file
I put my gnus initialization file right where I put all my
module-specific initialization files. Gnus is special, though: It
loads the file every time you start it. That keeps it from using a
simple (eval-after-load 'gnus '(load "gnus-init")).
Note: See my note on vacuous defvar for this use of defvar.
(defvar gnus-init-file)
(setq gnus-init-file "~/.emacs.d/site-lisp/gnus-init")Turn off bidirectional text
To speed things up a little, and because I have no contacts at all (so far) who use right-to-left text, there is no reason for me to use bidirectional text. For this reason I tell Emacs to always use left-to-right by default, instead of checking each paragraph.
(setq-default bidi-paragraph-direction 'left-to-right)Don't use tabs
There is a war going on out there. Actually there are several, but
the one I'm talking about here is the one about tabs vs. spaces. I
have been deeply entrenched in the spaces camp for quite a while.
Indentation always gets screwy for me if I don't use the exact same
tab-width everyone else uses. I just like the consistency of using
spaces.
(setq-default indent-tabs-mode nil)Use four spaces for indentation
I once, long ago, started out with using eight spaces for each level of indentation. Although I think, technically, I was using tabs. This means that even just 3 levels of indentation take up a huge amount of space that can't be used for anything else. Since I also try to limit the length of the lines in my code, this can make for very little code per line.
I also tried (and enjoyed) two spaces, but after a while, looking at bigger files, I noticed that it all becomes a blur. Two spaces is not a big-enough visual difference to make code read nicely, in my opinion.
So far, I have quite enjoyed four spaces for most code8.
(setq-default tab-width 4)Keep the message buffer from growing too large
Keep at most one-thousand messages in the *Messages* buffer. I can
leave my Emacs session running for quite long times, sometimes
days, at a time. If there are a lot of messages it can get a little
tricky to manage/search.
(setq message-log-max 1000)
Don't start elnode when Emacs starts
Elnode is an awesome project and I'm still looking for a moment where I have the inspiration and time to actually do something with it. I started at some point, but then I couldn't get the cookies to work and I switched over to using Common Lisp, only to eventually stop developing the project because there was not chance of it seeing any use in the foreseeable future.
There is one little annoyance, though, and that is the fact that elnode will start itself up when Emacs starts. I don't want that.
This bit of code can't be put in an eval-after-load or anything
like that because by the time it would be evaluated, elnode would
already have started.
Note: See my note on vacuous defvar for this use of defvar.
(defvar elnode-do-init)
(setq elnode-do-init nil)Show python package name instead of file name
When working with python, knowing which package I'm in usually tells
me more about what I'm doing than the file name, especially when
working with django where almost every app will have a tests.py and
a models.py. Of course uniquify fixes this pretty well too, though
in this case, it's less cool (imo).
First we define two functions that help us determine the package name of the current file and the parent package name of the current file. Finally we define a third function which determines the full package name of the current buffer.
(defun oni:python--get-current-module-name ()
"Get the name of the current python module.
This is very simply just the filename of the current buffer with
the extension and pyath removed."
(file-name-sans-extension
(file-name-nondirectory (buffer-file-name))))
(defun oni:python--get-parent-module-name (&optional dir)
"This gets the currend file's parent module.
This function recursively gathers the parent package name of
either DIR or the current buffer's file name. Any directory where
an `__init__.py' file is found is considered to be a package.
This function returns either the parent package, with its
parents, or nil if the current directory isn't a python
package.."
(let* ((base (directory-file-name
(file-name-directory (or dir (buffer-file-name)))))
(package (file-name-nondirectory base)))
(if (file-exists-p (concat base "/__init__.py"))
(let ((parent (oni:python--get-parent-module-name base)))
(if parent
(concat parent "." package)
package))
nil)))
(defun oni:python-package-name ()
(let ((current-module (oni:python--get-current-module-name)))
(if (file-exists-p "__init__.py")
(concat (oni:python--get-parent-module-name)
"." current-module)
current-module)))After all this we make Emacs show the package name rather than the file name in the mode-line.
(defun oni:python-package-buffer-identification ()
"Have `mode-line-buffer-identification' show the python package name."
(setq mode-line-buffer-identification
'(:eval (oni:python-package-name))))
(add-hook 'python-mode-hook #'oni:python-package-buffer-identification)Add some known symbols for .conkerorrc/init.js to js2-mode
Conkeror has a lot of functions, and I don't like seeing them all as unknowns. So add them to known symbols.
Note: See my note on vacuous defvar for this use of defvar.
(defvar js2-additional-externs)
(defun oni:js2-add-conkeror-symbols ()
"Add known/used conkeror symbols to additional externs."
(when (string-suffix-p ".conkerorrc/init.js" (buffer-file-name))
(setq js2-additional-externs
'( ;; Functions
"add_hook" "check_buffer" "co_return" "content_buffer"
"define_browser_object_class" "define_key" "define_webjump"
"dumpln" "get_current_profile" "get_home_directory"
"get_recent_conkeror_window"
"hints_minibuffer_annotation_mode" "interactive" "load_spec"
"load_spec_uri_string" "load_url_in_new_buffer" "make_file"
"make_uri" "mode_line_adder"
"open_download_buffer_automatically" "prefix_completer"
"read_browser_object" "register_user_stylesheet"
"remove_hook" "require" "send_http_request" "session_pref"
"shell_command_blind" "theme_load"
;; Variables
"Cc" "Ci" "browser_object_history_url" "browser_object_links"
"buffer_count_widget" "buffer_icon_widget" "content_buffer"
"content_buffer_form_keymap" "content_buffer_normal_keymap"
"content_buffer_text_keymap" "content_policy_accept"
"content_policy_bytype" "content_policy_reject" "cwd"
"default_base_keymap" "default_global_keymap"
"downloads_status_widget" "external_content_handlers"
"hint_digits" "load_paths" "read_buffer_show_icons"
"read_url_handler_list" "session_auto_save_auto_load"
"theme_load_paths" "title_format_fn" "url_remoting_fn"
;; Keyword argument
"$alternative" "$browser_object" "$completer" "$completions"
"$initial_value" "$options" "$prompt" "$sort_order"
"$use_bookmarks" "$use_history" "$use_webjumps"))))
(add-hook 'js2-init-hook #'oni:js2-add-conkeror-symbols)Teach eww about <code> tags
Strangely enough, eww doesn't seem to be aware of <code> HTML tags.
Luckily it's trivial to teach it. It does know about <pre> HTML
tags, and basically I just want <code> tags to be treated almost as
<pre> tags, so to do that we just have to define a shr-tag-code
function. I've copied the shr-tag-pre function and removed the calls
to ensure-newline, because <code> tags are inline tags.
In order to remain a little future-proof, it should only be done if it doesn't already exist.
Note: See my note on vacuous defvar for this use of defvar.
Note: See my note on function declarations about the use of
declare-function.
(defvar shr-folding-mode)
(declare-function shr-indent "shr")
(declare-function shr-generic "shr")
(with-eval-after-load 'shr
(unless (fboundp 'shr-tag-code)
(defun shr-tag-code (cont)
(let ((shr-folding-mode 'none))
(shr-indent)
(shr-generic cont)))))Use scheme-mode for scsh interpreted files
Set the major mode for files interpreted by scsh (for example, by
having #!/usr/local/bin/scsh at the top) to use scheme-mode.
(add-to-list 'interpreter-mode-alist '("scsh" . scheme-mode))Set default scheme implementation
Set the default implementation for geiser to guile so it doesn't ask which implementation to use every time.
(defvar geiser-default-implementation)
(with-eval-after-load 'geiser
(setq geiser-default-implementation 'guile))Setup eww-lnum
As recommended in the README, set the keys in the eww-mode-map.
(defvar eww-mode-map)
(with-eval-after-load 'eww
(define-key eww-mode-map "f" 'eww-lnum-follow)
(define-key eww-mode-map "F" 'eww-lnum-universal))Don't compile scss files
By default scss-mode tries compiling a file each time it's saved. I
don't have SCSS properly installed globally so this always fails,
highly annoying.
(defvar scss-compile-at-save)
(with-eval-after-load 'scss-mode
(setq scss-compile-at-save nil))Change listings in dired
The number of bytes a file is doesn't usually tell me much when it's
something like 292837. I prefer seeing just how many Kb or Mb a
certain file is. I also don't need to see the . and .. directories
when I insert directories into the current dired buffer, as there is
a great chance that the current and parent directory are already
shown in the buffer.
(defvar dired-subdir-switches)
(with-eval-after-load 'dired
(setq dired-listing-switches "-alh"
dired-subdir-switches "-Alh"))Useful functions
During your editing in Emacs you will undoubtedly find the need to define your own editing functions or macros. Here are mine.
Delete the contents of the string at point
First we define the function. It was inspired by Mickey's post on
swapping quote symbols, mostly copied even. First we check if we
are even in a string, and if not we throw an error, after that we
move back to the beginning of the string, store that point, go to
the end of the string (using forward-sexp) and then delete the
region between the two points (non-inclusive).
(defun oni:delete-string-contents ()
(interactive)
(unless (in-string-p)
(error "You must be in a string for this command to work"))
(save-excursion
(while (in-string-p) (forward-char -1))
(let ((bos (point)))
(forward-sexp)
(delete-region (1+ bos) (1- (point))))))Since for interactive functions it's kind of a pain to have to use a personal "namespace" I prefer naming them regularly as if they're just part of the environment. If ever Emacs comes up with a similar function with the same name, I'd prefer using the built-in version.
(unless (fboundp 'delete-string-contents)
(defalias 'delete-string-contents 'oni:delete-string-contents))Lastly, any function worth using often should probably be easily accessible with a keybinding. In my case the is inspired by the Vim keybindings like .
(global-set-key (kbd "C-c i s") 'delete-string-contents)Load custom file
I don't really use the Emacs customization interface much, but I
have used it as a kind-of persistent datastore, specifically for
desktop-registry9. I do very much like the idea of it, it's a
very cool thing to have. I also use custom.el for storing some
things that I really can't store in a public viewing location like
this file or the git repository it lives in.
(setq custom-file "~/.emacs.d/custom.el")
(load custom-file)Notes
Here are some random or somewhat general notes about things you may run into when looking through my Emacs init.
Vacuous defvar
A defvar without a value like (defvar some-variable) tells the
byte-compiler that the variable will appear, but doesn't give it a
value. It should only count for the file where it is used and once
the file with the actual defvar is loaded it will be populated with
its value, contrary to what would happen if you'd given it a value
before loading its original file.
Function declarations
The function declare-function tells the byte-compiler where to find
a certain function. This keeps the byte-compiler from complaining
about certain functions possibly not being defined at run-time.
Footnotes
This runs tmm-menubar, which lets you navigate the menubar in a
text-driven way. I don't ever use it because I know what all my
favorite functions are called, but it seems a great deal more
efficient than having to click on everything.
It works fine for me with something like jabber chats and the like.
I like to program in Lisp, parentheses are important to me! Parentheses should be nice and round, not almost like bars!
Used to be Cosmic Sans Neue Mono, the name changed because people misread it as "Comic" (me included, which was the original reason I checked it out, for laughs) and hate Comic Sans, and also because there was already a Cosmic Sans font as well, which could cause confusion.
I still use 2 spaces for some languages, like HTML.