Learning GNU Emacs, 3rd Edition

Appendix B. Emacs Lisp Packages

The tables in this appendix list the most useful Lisp packages that come with Emacs. All Lisp packages are typically located in the directory emacs-source/lisp, where emacs-source is the directory in which you placed the Emacs source distribution. We have omitted all of the packages that provide "basic" Emacs support; likewise, we have omitted many packages whose functionality is obsolete or unspeakably obscure.

While some of these packages are described in some detail in this book, most aren't; you will have to rely on GNU Emacs' help for precise descriptions of what the package does. See Chapter 14 for details about help; the most important help commands you will need for finding out about the functionality of Lisp packages are C-h p (for finder-by-keyword), C-h f (for describe-function), and C-h m (for describe-mode).

C-h p is especially helpful. It lets you navigate through a hierarchy of information about all packages available on your system, from general areas of functionality, like those in the tables in this appendix, to the C-h m information about each individual mode. Unfortunately, the detailed information is sometimes incomplete and also lists many packages that could not possibly be interesting to anyone other than hard-core Emacs customizers.

Wherever it is reasonable, the tables in this appendix give commands that "start" the package. This startup information has the following meanings:

• If the package implements a major mode, the startup ...