Info Catalog elisp: List Motion elisp: Motion

elisp: Skipping Characters

 
 29.2.7 Skipping Characters
 --------------------------
 
 The following two functions move point over a specified set of
 characters.  For example, they are often used to skip whitespace.  For
 related functions, see Motion and Syntax.
 
    These functions convert the set string to multibyte if the buffer is
 multibyte, and they convert it to unibyte if the buffer is unibyte, as
 the search functions do (Searching and Matching).
 
  -- Function: skip-chars-forward character-set &optional limit
      This function moves point in the current buffer forward, skipping
      over a given set of characters.  It examines the character
      following point, then advances point if the character matches
      CHARACTER-SET.  This continues until it reaches a character that
      does not match.  The function returns the number of characters
      moved over.
 
      The argument CHARACTER-SET is a string, like the inside of a
      ‘[...]’ in a regular expression except that ‘]’ does not terminate
      it, and ‘\’ quotes ‘^’, ‘-’ or ‘\’.  Thus, ‘"a-zA-Z"’ skips over
      all letters, stopping before the first nonletter, and ‘"^a-zA-Z"’
      skips nonletters stopping before the first letter.  See 
      Regular Expressions.  Character classes can also be used, e.g.,
      ‘"[:alnum:]"’.  See Char Classes.
 
      If LIMIT is supplied (it must be a number or a marker), it
      specifies the maximum position in the buffer that point can be
      skipped to.  Point will stop at or before LIMIT.
 
      In the following example, point is initially located directly
      before the ‘T’.  After the form is evaluated, point is located at
      the end of that line (between the ‘t’ of ‘hat’ and the newline).
      The function skips all letters and spaces, but not newlines.
 
           ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
           I read "★The cat in the hat
           comes back" twice.
           ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
 
           (skip-chars-forward "a-zA-Z ")
                ⇒ 18
 
           ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
           I read "The cat in the hat★
           comes back" twice.
           ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
 
  -- Function: skip-chars-backward character-set &optional limit
      This function moves point backward, skipping characters that match
      CHARACTER-SET, until LIMIT.  It is just like ‘skip-chars-forward’
      except for the direction of motion.
 
      The return value indicates the distance traveled.  It is an integer
      that is zero or less.
 

Info Catalog elisp: List Motion elisp: Motion