Interfacing(2)

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INTERFACING

This sections describes how MicroEmacs 2025 may be interfaced to external components.

Shells

A shell window may be opened within the context of the editor using the command ishell(3), whereby an interactive command shell is presented within a buffer.

In the Microsoft Windows environment a cygwin UNIX style BASH shell may be realised with the cygwin(3) command.

Debugger

Within the UNIX environment the GNU gdb(1) or native UNIX dbx(1) debuggers may be invoked from the editor using gdb(3) or dbx(3). respectively This invokes the debugger and follows the debugging process in the editor window, automatically opening the source files as the debugger calls for them.

File Searching

File searching is performed using grep(1) using the grep(3) command. For Windows then the GNU grep utility is recommended, for MS-DOS then the DJGPP version of GNU grep is recommended.

File Differencing

Differencing files, or directories is performed using the diff(1) utility using the diff(3) command. For all platforms the GNU diff utility is recommended as this provides a comprehensive differencing that is not typically available with native UNIX diff utilities.

Tag Files

A tag capability exists (see find-tag(2)) such that source functions and alike may be located quickly using a tags file. The standard ctags(1) format is used by MicroEmacs. The tags file itself may be generated by MicroEmacs from the menu (Tools->XX Tools->Create Tags File). Alternatively a tags file may be generated by the ctags(1) utility. This is typically standard on UNIX platforms. For Windows and DOS platforms then the Exuberant Ctags is recommended, this is available from:-

https://ctags.sourceforge.net/

A MicroEmacs compatible tags file may be generated using the command line "ctags -N --format=1 ." cataloging the current directory. To generate tags for a directory tree then use "ctags -NR --format=1 .". Refer to the Exuberant Ctags documentation for a more detailed description of the utility.

Compilation

Compilation is performed using the compile(3) command. This invokes a command shell, typically using make(1) to initiate a build sequence.

Client-Server

The Client-Server interface allows other client applications to inject commands into an already existing MicroEmacs session (the server), thereby controlling the editor remotely. This is typically used to inject new files into the editor to be presented to the user.

The Client-Server interface is available in both the UNIX and Microsoft Windows environments.

Command Line Filer

MicroEmacs may be invoked as a command filter in it's own right, macro scripts have been developed to perform a dos2unix(1) conversion operation, generate tags files etc. See Command Line Filters.