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This file documents the end user interface to the GNU command line

editing features.  It is to be an appendix to manuals for programs which

use these features.  There is a document entitled "readline.texinfo"

which contains both end-user and programmer documentation for the GNU

Readline Library.

Copyright (C) 1988, 1991, 1993, 1996 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

Authored by Brian Fox and Chet Ramey.

Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the

results, provided the printed document carries copying permission notice

identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph (this

paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).

Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this manual

provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved on

all copies.

Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this

manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the

GNU Copyright statement is available to the distributee, and provided that

the entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a

permission notice identical to this one.

Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual

into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.

@end ignore

@comment If you are including this manual as an appendix, then set the

@comment variable readline-appendix.

@node Command Line Editing

@chapter Command Line Editing

This chapter describes the basic features of the @sc{GNU}

command line editing interface.

@menu

* Introduction and Notation::   Notation used in this text.

* Readline Interaction::        The minimum set of commands for editing a line.

* Readline Init File::          Customizing Readline from a user's view.

* Bindable Readline Commands::  A description of most of the Readline commands

                                available for binding

* Readline vi Mode::            A short description of how to make Readline

                                behave like the vi editor.

@end menu

@node Introduction and Notation

@section Introduction to Line Editing

The following paragraphs describe the notation used to represent

keystrokes.

The text @key{C-k} is read as `Control-K' and describes the character

produced when the @key{k} key is pressed while the Control key

is depressed.

The text @key{M-k} is read as `Meta-K' and describes the character

produced when the meta key (if you have one) is depressed, and the @key{k}

key is pressed.  If you do not have a meta key, the identical keystroke

can be generated by typing @key{ESC} @i{first}, and then typing @key{k}.

Either process is known as @dfn{metafying} the @key{k} key.

The text @key{M-C-k} is read as `Meta-Control-k' and describes the

character produced by @dfn{metafying} @key{C-k}.

In addition, several keys have their own names.  Specifically,

@key{DEL}, @key{ESC}, @key{LFD}, @key{SPC}, @key{RET}, and @key{TAB} all

stand for themselves when seen in this text, or in an init file

(@pxref{Readline Init File}).

@node Readline Interaction

@section Readline Interaction

@cindex interaction, readline

Often during an interactive session you type in a long line of text,

only to notice that the first word on the line is misspelled.  The

Readline library gives you a set of commands for manipulating the text

as you type it in, allowing you to just fix your typo, and not forcing

you to retype the majority of the line.  Using these editing commands,

you move the cursor to the place that needs correction, and delete or

insert the text of the corrections.  Then, when you are satisfied with

the line, you simply press @key{RETURN}.  You do not have to be at the

end of the line to press @key{RETURN}; the entire line is accepted

regardless of the location of the cursor within the line.

@menu

* Readline Bare Essentials::    The least you need to know about Readline.

* Readline Movement Commands::  Moving about the input line.

* Readline Killing Commands::   How to delete text, and how to get it back!

* Readline Arguments::          Giving numeric arguments to commands.

* Searching::                   Searching through previous lines.

@end menu

@node Readline Bare Essentials

@subsection Readline Bare Essentials

@cindex notation, readline

@cindex command editing

@cindex editing command lines

In order to enter characters into the line, simply type them.  The typed

character appears where the cursor was, and then the cursor moves one

space to the right.  If you mistype a character, you can use your

erase character to back up and delete the mistyped character.

Sometimes you may miss typing a character that you wanted to type, and

not notice your error until you have typed several other characters.  In

that case, you can type @key{C-b} to move the cursor to the left, and then

correct your mistake.  Afterwards, you can move the cursor to the right

with @key{C-f}.

When you add text in the middle of a line, you will notice that characters

to the right of the cursor are `pushed over' to make room for the text

that you have inserted.  Likewise, when you delete text behind the cursor,

characters to the right of the cursor are `pulled back' to fill in the

blank space created by the removal of the text.  A list of the basic bare

essentials for editing the text of an input line follows.

@table @asis

@item @key{C-b}

Move back one character.

@item @key{C-f}

Move forward one character.

@item @key{DEL}

Delete the character to the left of the cursor.

@item @key{C-d}

Delete the character underneath the cursor.

@item @w{Printing characters}

Insert the character into the line at the cursor.

@item @key{C-_}

Undo the last editing command.  You can undo all the way back to an

empty line.

@end table

@node Readline Movement Commands

@subsection Readline Movement Commands

The above table describes the most basic possible keystrokes that you need

in order to do editing of the input line.  For your convenience, many

other commands have been added in addition to @key{C-b}, @key{C-f},

@key{C-d}, and @key{DEL}.  Here are some commands for moving more rapidly

about the line.

@table @key

@item C-a

Move to the start of the line.

@item C-e

Move to the end of the line.

@item M-f

Move forward a word, where a word is composed of letters and digits.

@item M-b

Move backward a word.

@item C-l

Clear the screen, reprinting the current line at the top.

@end table

Notice how @key{C-f} moves forward a character, while @key{M-f} moves

forward a word.  It is a loose convention that control keystrokes

operate on characters while meta keystrokes operate on words.

@node Readline Killing Commands

@subsection Readline Killing Commands

@cindex killing text

@cindex yanking text

@dfn{Killing} text means to delete the text from the line, but to save

it away for later use, usually by @dfn{yanking} (re-inserting)

it back into the line.

If the description for a command says that it `kills' text, then you can

be sure that you can get the text back in a different (or the same)

place later.

When you use a kill command, the text is saved in a @dfn{kill-ring}.

Any number of consecutive kills save all of the killed text together, so

that when you yank it back, you get it all.  The kill

ring is not line specific; the text that you killed on a previously

typed line is available to be yanked back later, when you are typing

another line.

@cindex kill ring

Here is the list of commands for killing text.

@table @key

@item C-k

Kill the text from the current cursor position to the end of the line.

@item M-d

Kill from the cursor to the end of the current word, or if between

words, to the end of the next word.

@item M-DEL

Kill from the cursor the start of the previous word, or if between

words, to the start of the previous word.

@item C-w

Kill from the cursor to the previous whitespace.  This is different than

@key{M-DEL} because the word boundaries differ.

@end table

Here is how to @dfn{yank} the text back into the line.  Yanking

means to copy the most-recently-killed text from the kill buffer.

@table @key

@item C-y

Yank the most recently killed text back into the buffer at the cursor.

@item M-y

Rotate the kill-ring, and yank the new top.  You can only do this if

the prior command is @key{C-y} or @key{M-y}.

@end table

@node Readline Arguments

@subsection Readline Arguments

You can pass numeric arguments to Readline commands.  Sometimes the

argument acts as a repeat count, other times it is the @i{sign} of the

argument that is significant.  If you pass a negative argument to a

command which normally acts in a forward direction, that command will

act in a backward direction.  For example, to kill text back to the

start of the line, you might type @samp{M-- C-k}.

The general way to pass numeric arguments to a command is to type meta

digits before the command.  If the first `digit' typed is a minus

sign (@key{-}), then the sign of the argument will be negative.  Once

you have typed one meta digit to get the argument started, you can type

the remainder of the digits, and then the command.  For example, to give

the @key{C-d} command an argument of 10, you could type @samp{M-1 0 C-d}.

@node Searching

@subsection Searching for Commands in the History

Readline provides commands for searching through the command history

@ifset BashFeatures

(@pxref{Bash History Facilities})

@end ifset

for lines containing a specified string.

There are two search modes:  @var{incremental} and @var{non-incremental}.

Incremental searches begin before the user has finished typing the

search string.

As each character of the search string is typed, Readline displays

the next entry from the history matching the string typed so far.

An incremental search requires only as many characters as needed to

find the desired history entry.

The characters present in the value of the @var{isearch-terminators} variable

are used to terminate an incremental search.

If that variable has not been assigned a value, the @key{ESC} and

@key{C-J} characters will terminate an incremental search.

@key{C-g} will abort an incremental search and restore the original line.

When the search is terminated, the history entry containing the

search string becomes the current line.

To find other matching entries in the history list, type @key{C-s} or

@key{C-r} as appropriate.

This will search backward or forward in the history for the next

entry matching the search string typed so far.

Any other key sequence bound to a Readline command will terminate

the search and execute that command.

For instance, a @key{RET} will terminate the search and accept

the line, thereby executing the command from the history list.

Non-incremental searches read the entire search string before starting

to search for matching history lines.  The search string may be

typed by the user or be part of the contents of the current line.

@node Readline Init File

@section Readline Init File

@cindex initialization file, readline

Although the Readline library comes with a set of @code{emacs}-like

keybindings installed by default, it is possible to use a different set

of keybindings.

Any user can customize programs that use Readline by putting

commands in an @dfn{inputrc} file in his home directory.

The name of this

@ifset BashFeatures

file is taken from the value of the shell variable @code{INPUTRC}.  If

@end ifset

@ifclear BashFeatures

file is taken from the value of the environment variable @code{INPUTRC}.  If

@end ifclear

that variable is unset, the default is @file{~/.inputrc}.

When a program which uses the Readline library starts up, the

init file is read, and the key bindings are set.

In addition, the @code{C-x C-r} command re-reads this init file, thus

incorporating any changes that you might have made to it.

@menu

* Readline Init File Syntax::   Syntax for the commands in the inputrc file.

* Conditional Init Constructs:: Conditional key bindings in the inputrc file.

* Sample Init File::            An example inputrc file.

@end menu

@node Readline Init File Syntax

@subsection Readline Init File Syntax

There are only a few basic constructs allowed in the

Readline init file.  Blank lines are ignored.

Lines beginning with a @samp{#} are comments.

Lines beginning with a @samp{$} indicate conditional

constructs (@pxref{Conditional Init Constructs}).  Other lines

denote variable settings and key bindings.

@table @asis

@item Variable Settings

You can modify the run-time behavior of Readline by

altering the values of variables in Readline

using the @code{set} command within the init file.  Here is how to

change from the default Emacs-like key binding to use

@code{vi} line editing commands:

@example

set editing-mode vi

@end example

A great deal of run-time behavior is changeable with the following

variables.

@table @code

@item bell-style

@vindex bell-style

Controls what happens when Readline wants to ring the terminal bell.

If set to @samp{none}, Readline never rings the bell.  If set to

@samp{visible}, Readline uses a visible bell if one is available.

If set to @samp{audible} (the default), Readline attempts to ring

the terminal's bell.

@item comment-begin

@vindex comment-begin

The string to insert at the beginning of the line when the

@code{insert-comment} command is executed.  The default value

is @code{"#"}.

@item completion-ignore-case

If set to @samp{on}, Readline performs filename matching and completion

in a case-insensitive fashion.

The default value is @samp{off}.

@item completion-query-items

@vindex completion-query-items

The number of possible completions that determines when the user is

asked whether he wants to see the list of possibilities.  If the

number of possible completions is greater than this value,

Readline will ask the user whether or not he wishes to view

them; otherwise, they are simply listed.  The default limit is

@code{100}.

@item convert-meta

@vindex convert-meta

If set to @samp{on}, Readline will convert characters with the

eighth bit set to an ASCII key sequence by stripping the eighth

bit and prepending an @key{ESC} character, converting them to a

meta-prefixed key sequence.  The default value is @samp{on}.

@item disable-completion

@vindex disable-completion

If set to @samp{On}, Readline will inhibit word completion.

Completion  characters will be inserted into the line as if they had

been mapped to @code{self-insert}.  The default is @samp{off}.

@item editing-mode

@vindex editing-mode

The @code{editing-mode} variable controls which default set of

key bindings is used.  By default, Readline starts up in Emacs editing

mode, where the keystrokes are most similar to Emacs.  This variable can be

set to either @samp{emacs} or @samp{vi}.

@item enable-keypad

@vindex enable-keypad

When set to @samp{on}, Readline will try to enable the application

keypad when it is called.  Some systems need this to enable the

arrow keys.  The default is @samp{off}.

@item expand-tilde

@vindex expand-tilde

If set to @samp{on}, tilde expansion is performed when Readline

attempts word completion.  The default is @samp{off}.

@item horizontal-scroll-mode

@vindex horizontal-scroll-mode

This variable can be set to either @samp{on} or @samp{off}.  Setting it

to @samp{on} means that the text of the lines being edited will scroll

horizontally on a single screen line when they are longer than the width

of the screen, instead of wrapping onto a new screen line.  By default,

this variable is set to @samp{off}.

@item input-meta

@vindex input-meta

@vindex meta-flag

If set to @samp{on}, Readline will enable eight-bit input (it

will not strip the eighth bit from the characters it reads),

regardless of what the terminal claims it can support.  The

default value is @samp{off}.  The name @code{meta-flag} is a

synonym for this variable.

@item isearch-terminators

@vindex isearch-terminators

The string of characters that should terminate an incremental search without

subsequently executing the character as a command (@pxref{Searching}).

If this variable has not been given a value, the characters @key{ESC} and

@key{C-J} will terminate an incremental search.

@item keymap

@vindex keymap

Sets Readline's idea of the current keymap for key binding commands.

Acceptable @code{keymap} names are

@code{emacs},

@code{emacs-standard},

@code{emacs-meta},

@code{emacs-ctlx},

@code{vi},

@code{vi-command}, and

@code{vi-insert}.

@code{vi} is equivalent to @code{vi-command}; @code{emacs} is

equivalent to @code{emacs-standard}.  The default value is @code{emacs}.

The value of the @code{editing-mode} variable also affects the

default keymap.

@item mark-directories

If set to @samp{on}, completed directory names have a slash

appended.  The default is @samp{on}.

@item mark-modified-lines

@vindex mark-modified-lines

This variable, when set to @samp{on}, causes Readline to display an

asterisk (@samp{*}) at the start of history lines which have been modified.

This variable is @samp{off} by default.

@item output-meta

@vindex output-meta

If set to @samp{on}, Readline will display characters with the

eighth bit set directly rather than as a meta-prefixed escape

sequence.  The default is @samp{off}.

@item print-completions-horizontally

If set to @samp{on}, Readline will display completions with matches

sorted horizontally in alphabetical order, rather than down the screen.

The default is @samp{off}.

@item show-all-if-ambiguous

@vindex show-all-if-ambiguous

This alters the default behavior of the completion functions.  If

set to @samp{on},

words which have more than one possible completion cause the

matches to be listed immediately instead of ringing the bell.

The default value is @samp{off}.

@item visible-stats

@vindex visible-stats

If set to @samp{on}, a character denoting a file's type

is appended to the filename when listing possible

completions.  The default is @samp{off}.

@end table

@item Key Bindings

The syntax for controlling key bindings in the init file is

simple.  First you have to know the name of the command that you

want to change.  The following sections contain tables of the command

name, the default keybinding, if any, and a short description of what

the command does.

Once you know the name of the command, simply place the name of the key

you wish to bind the command to, a colon, and then the name of the

command on a line in the init file.  The name of the key

can be expressed in different ways, depending on which is most

comfortable for you.

@table @asis

@item @w{@var{keyname}: @var{function-name} or @var{macro}}

@var{keyname} is the name of a key spelled out in English.  For example:

@example

Control-u: universal-argument

Meta-Rubout: backward-kill-word

Control-o: "> output"

@end example

In the above example, @key{C-u} is bound to the function

@code{universal-argument}, and @key{C-o} is bound to run the macro

expressed on the right hand side (that is, to insert the text

@samp{> output} into the line).

@item @w{"@var{keyseq}": @var{function-name} or @var{macro}}

@var{keyseq} differs from @var{keyname} above in that strings

denoting an entire key sequence can be specified, by placing

the key sequence in double quotes.  Some GNU Emacs style key

escapes can be used, as in the following example, but the

special character names are not recognized.

@example

"\C-u": universal-argument

"\C-x\C-r": re-read-init-file

"\e[11~": "Function Key 1"

@end example

In the above example, @key{C-u} is bound to the function

@code{universal-argument} (just as it was in the first example),

@samp{@key{C-x} @key{C-r}} is bound to the function @code{re-read-init-file},

and @samp{@key{ESC} @key{[} @key{1} @key{1} @key{~}} is bound to insert

the text @samp{Function Key 1}.

@end table

The following GNU Emacs style escape sequences are available when

specifying key sequences:

@table @code

@item @kbd{\C-}

control prefix

@item @kbd{\M-}

meta prefix

@item @kbd{\e}

an escape character

@item @kbd{\\}

backslash

@item @kbd{\"}

@key{"}

@item @kbd{\'}

@key{'}

@end table

In addition to the GNU Emacs style escape sequences, a second

set of backslash escapes is available:

@table @code

@item \a

alert (bell)

@item \b

backspace

@item \d

delete

@item \f

form feed

@item \n

newline

@item \r

carriage return

@item \t

horizontal tab

@item \v

vertical tab

@item \@var{nnn}

the character whose ASCII code is the octal value @var{nnn}

(one to three digits)

@item \x@var{nnn}

the character whose ASCII code is the hexadecimal value @var{nnn}

(one to three digits)

@end table

When entering the text of a macro, single or double quotes must

be used to indicate a macro definition.

Unquoted text is assumed to be a function name.

In the macro body, the backslash escapes described above are expanded.

Backslash will quote any other character in the macro text,

including @samp{"} and @samp{'}.

For example, the following binding will make @samp{C-x \}

insert a single @samp{\} into the line:

@example

"\C-x\\": "\\"

@end example

@end table

@node Conditional Init Constructs

@subsection Conditional Init Constructs

Readline implements a facility similar in spirit to the conditional

compilation features of the C preprocessor which allows key

bindings and variable settings to be performed as the result

of tests.  There are four parser directives used.

@table @code

@item $if

The @code{$if} construct allows bindings to be made based on the

editing mode, the terminal being used, or the application using

Readline.  The text of the test extends to the end of the line;

no characters are required to isolate it.

@table @code

@item mode

The @code{mode=} form of the @code{$if} directive is used to test

whether Readline is in @code{emacs} or @code{vi} mode.

This may be used in conjunction

with the @samp{set keymap} command, for instance, to set bindings in

the @code{emacs-standard} and @code{emacs-ctlx} keymaps only if

Readline is starting out in @code{emacs} mode.

@item term

The @code{term=} form may be used to include terminal-specific

key bindings, perhaps to bind the key sequences output by the

terminal's function keys.  The word on the right side of the

@samp{=} is tested against both the full name of the terminal and

the portion of the terminal name before the first @samp{-}.  This

allows @code{sun} to match both @code{sun} and @code{sun-cmd},

for instance.

@item application

The @var{application} construct is used to include

application-specific settings.  Each program using the Readline

library sets the @var{application name}, and you can test for it.

This could be used to bind key sequences to functions useful for

a specific program.  For instance, the following command adds a

key sequence that quotes the current or previous word in Bash:

@example

$if Bash

# Quote the current or previous word

"\C-xq": "\eb\"\ef\""

$endif

@end example

@end table

@item $endif

This command, as seen in the previous example, terminates an

@code{$if} command.

@item $else

Commands in this branch of the @code{$if} directive are executed if

the test fails.

@item $include

This directive takes a single filename as an argument and reads commands

and bindings from that file.

@example

$include /etc/inputrc

@end example

@end table

@node Sample Init File

@subsection Sample Init File

Here is an example of an inputrc file.  This illustrates key

binding, variable assignment, and conditional syntax.

@example

@page

# This file controls the behaviour of line input editing for

# programs that use the Gnu Readline library.  Existing programs

# include FTP, Bash, and Gdb.

#

# You can re-read the inputrc file with C-x C-r.

# Lines beginning with '#' are comments.

#

# First, include any systemwide bindings and variable assignments from

# /etc/Inputrc

$include /etc/Inputrc

#

# Set various bindings for emacs mode.

set editing-mode emacs

$if mode=emacs

Meta-Control-h: backward-kill-word      Text after the function name is ignored

#

# Arrow keys in keypad mode

#

#"\M-OD":        backward-char

#"\M-OC":        forward-char

#"\M-OA":        previous-history

#"\M-OB":        next-history

#

# Arrow keys in ANSI mode

#

"\M-[D":        backward-char

"\M-[C":        forward-char

"\M-[A":        previous-history

"\M-[B":        next-history

#

# Arrow keys in 8 bit keypad mode

#

#"\M-\C-OD":       backward-char

#"\M-\C-OC":       forward-char

#"\M-\C-OA":       previous-history

#"\M-\C-OB":       next-history

#

# Arrow keys in 8 bit ANSI mode

#

#"\M-\C-[D":       backward-char

#"\M-\C-[C":       forward-char

#"\M-\C-[A":       previous-history

#"\M-\C-[B":       next-history

C-q: quoted-insert

$endif

# An old-style binding.  This happens to be the default.

TAB: complete

# Macros that are convenient for shell interaction

$if Bash

# edit the path

"\C-xp": "PATH=$@{PATH@}\e\C-e\C-a\ef\C-f"

# prepare to type a quoted word -- insert open and close double quotes

# and move to just after the open quote

"\C-x\"": "\"\"\C-b"

# insert a backslash (testing backslash escapes in sequences and macros)

"\C-x\\": "\\"

# Quote the current or previous word

"\C-xq": "\eb\"\ef\""

# Add a binding to refresh the line, which is unbound

"\C-xr": redraw-current-line

# Edit variable on current line.

"\M-\C-v": "\C-a\C-k$\C-y\M-\C-e\C-a\C-y="

$endif

# use a visible bell if one is available

set bell-style visible

# don't strip characters to 7 bits when reading

set input-meta on

# allow iso-latin1 characters to be inserted rather than converted to

# prefix-meta sequences

set convert-meta off

# display characters with the eighth bit set directly rather than

# as meta-prefixed characters

set output-meta on

# if there are more than 150 possible completions for a word, ask the

# user if he wants to see all of them

set completion-query-items 150

# For FTP

$if Ftp

"\C-xg": "get \M-?"

"\C-xt": "put \M-?"

"\M-.": yank-last-arg

$endif

@end example

@node Bindable Readline Commands

@section Bindable Readline Commands

@menu

* Commands For Moving::         Moving about the line.

* Commands For History::        Getting at previous lines.

* Commands For Text::           Commands for changing text.

* Commands For Killing::        Commands for killing and yanking.

* Numeric Arguments::           Specifying numeric arguments, repeat counts.

* Commands For Completion::     Getting Readline to do the typing for you.

* Keyboard Macros::             Saving and re-executing typed characters

* Miscellaneous Commands::      Other miscellaneous commands.

@end menu

This section describes Readline commands that may be bound to key

sequences.

@node Commands For Moving

@subsection Commands For Moving

@ftable @code

@item beginning-of-line (C-a)

Move to the start of the current line.

@item end-of-line (C-e)

Move to the end of the line.

@item forward-char (C-f)

Move forward a character.

@item backward-char (C-b)

Move back a character.

@item forward-word (M-f)

Move forward to the end of the next word.  Words are composed of

letters and digits.

@item backward-word (M-b)

Move back to the start of this, or the previous, word.  Words are

composed of letters and digits.

@item clear-screen (C-l)

Clear the screen and redraw the current line,

leaving the current line at the top of the screen.

@item redraw-current-line ()

Refresh the current line.  By default, this is unbound.

@end ftable

@node Commands For History

@subsection Commands For Manipulating The History

@ftable @code

@item accept-line (Newline, Return)

@ifset BashFeatures

Accept the line regardless of where the cursor is.  If this line is

non-empty, add it to the history list according to the setting of

the @code{HISTCONTROL} and @code{HISTIGNORE} variables.

If this line was a history line, then restore the history line to its

original state.

@end ifset

@ifclear BashFeatures

Accept the line regardless of where the cursor is.  If this line is

non-empty, add it to the history list.  If this line was a history

line, then restore the history line to its original state.

@end ifclear

@item previous-history (C-p)

Move `up' through the history list.

@item next-history (C-n)

Move `down' through the history list.

@item beginning-of-history (M-<)

Move to the first line in the history.

@item end-of-history (M->)

Move to the end of the input history, i.e., the line currently

being entered.

@item reverse-search-history (C-r)

Search backward starting at the current line and moving `up' through

the history as necessary.  This is an incremental search.

@item forward-search-history (C-s)

Search forward starting at the current line and moving `down' through

the the history as necessary.  This is an incremental search.

@item non-incremental-reverse-search-history (M-p)

Search backward starting at the current line and moving `up'

through the history as necessary using a non-incremental search

for a string supplied by the user.

@item non-incremental-forward-search-history (M-n)

Search forward starting at the current line and moving `down'

through the the history as necessary using a non-incremental search

for a string supplied by the user.

@item history-search-forward ()

Search forward through the history for the string of characters

between the start of the current line and the current cursor

position (the @var{point}).  This is a non-incremental search.  By

default, this command is unbound.

@item history-search-backward ()

Search backward through the history for the string of characters

between the start of the current line and the point.  This

is a non-incremental search.  By default, this command is unbound.

@item yank-nth-arg (M-C-y)

Insert the first argument to the previous command (usually

the second word on the previous line).  With an argument @var{n},

insert the @var{n}th word from the previous command (the words

in the previous command begin with word 0).  A negative argument

inserts the @var{n}th word from the end of the previous command.

@item yank-last-arg (M-., M-_)

Insert last argument to the previous command (the last word of the

previous history entry).  With an

argument, behave exactly like @code{yank-nth-arg}.

Successive calls to @code{yank-last-arg} move back through the history

list, inserting the last argument of each line in turn.

@end ftable

@node Commands For Text

@subsection Commands For Changing Text

@ftable @code

@item delete-char (C-d)

Delete the character under the cursor.  If the cursor is at the

beginning of the line, there are no characters in the line, and

the last character typed was not bound to @code{delete-char}, then

return @code{EOF}.

@item backward-delete-char (Rubout)

Delete the character behind the cursor.  A numeric argument means

to kill the characters instead of deleting them.

@item forward-backward-delete-char ()

Delete the character under the cursor, unless the cursor is at the

end of the line, in which case the character behind the cursor is

deleted.  By default, this is not bound to a key.

@item quoted-insert (C-q, C-v)

Add the next character typed to the line verbatim.  This is

how to insert key sequences like @key{C-q}, for example.

@ifclear BashFeatures

@item tab-insert (M-TAB)

Insert a tab character.

@end ifclear

@item self-insert (a, b, A, 1, !, ...)

Insert yourself.

@item transpose-chars (C-t)

Drag the character before the cursor forward over

the character at the cursor, moving the

cursor forward as well.  If the insertion point

is at the end of the line, then this

transposes the last two characters of the line.

Negative arguments don't work.

@item transpose-words (M-t)

Drag the word behind the cursor past the word in front of the cursor

moving the cursor over that word as well.

@item upcase-word (M-u)

Uppercase the current (or following) word.  With a negative argument,

uppercase the previous word, but do not move the cursor.

@item downcase-word (M-l)

Lowercase the current (or following) word.  With a negative argument,

lowercase the previous word, but do not move the cursor.

@item capitalize-word (M-c)

Capitalize the current (or following) word.  With a negative argument,

capitalize the previous word, but do not move the cursor.

@end ftable

@node Commands For Killing

@subsection Killing And Yanking

@ftable @code

@item kill-line (C-k)

Kill the text from the current cursor position to the end of the line.

@item backward-kill-line (C-x Rubout)