Info Catalog elisp: Editing Types elisp: Marker Type

elisp: Buffer Type

 
 2.4.1 Buffer Type
 -----------------
 
DONTPRINTYET  A “buffer” is an object that holds text that can be edited (
 Buffers).  Most buffers hold the contents of a disk file (*noteDONTPRINTYET  A “buffer” is an object that holds text that can be edited (
 Buffers).  Most buffers hold the contents of a disk file (
 Files) so they can be edited, but some are used for other purposes.
 Most buffers are also meant to be seen by the user, and therefore
 displayed, at some time, in a window (Windows).  But a buffer
 need not be displayed in any window.  Each buffer has a designated
 position called “point” (Positions); most editing commands act
 on the contents of the current buffer in the neighborhood of point.  At
 any time, one buffer is the “current buffer”.
 
    The contents of a buffer are much like a string, but buffers are not
 used like strings in Emacs Lisp, and the available operations are
 different.  For example, you can insert text efficiently into an
 existing buffer, altering the buffer’s contents, whereas inserting text
 into a string requires concatenating substrings, and the result is an
 entirely new string object.
 
    Many of the standard Emacs functions manipulate or test the
 characters in the current buffer; a whole chapter in this manual is
 devoted to describing these functions (Text).
 
    Several other data structures are associated with each buffer:
 
    • a local syntax table (Syntax Tables);
 
    • a local keymap (Keymaps); and,
 
    • a list of buffer-local variable bindings (Buffer-Local
      Variables).
 
    • overlays (Overlays).
 
    • text properties for the text in the buffer (Text
      Properties).
 
 The local keymap and variable list contain entries that individually
 override global bindings or values.  These are used to customize the
 behavior of programs in different buffers, without actually changing the
 programs.
 
    A buffer may be “indirect”, which means it shares the text of another
 buffer, but presents it differently.  Indirect Buffers.
 
    Buffers have no read syntax.  They print in hash notation, showing
 the buffer name.
 
      (current-buffer)
           ⇒ #<buffer objects.texi>
 

Info Catalog elisp: Editing Types elisp: Marker Type