Elisp: Conditionally change keybinding - emacs

I'm trying to write a custom tab completion implementation which tries a bunch of different completions depending on where the point is. However, if none of the conditions for completions are met I would like tab to do what ever the current mode originally intended it to do.
Something like this:
(defun my-custom-tab-completion ()
(interactive)
(cond
(some-condition
(do-something))
(some-other-condition
(do-something-else))
(t
(do-whatever-tab-is-supposed-to-do-in-the-current-mode))) ;; How do I do this?
Currently I'm checking for specific modes and doing the right thing for that mode, but I really would like a solution that just does the right thing without me having to explicitly add a condition for that specific mode.
Any ideas of how to do this?
Thanks! /Erik

BTW, here is another solution:
(define-key <map> <key>
`(menu-item "" <my-cmd> :filter ,(lambda (cmd) (if <my-predicate> cmd))))

Here is a macro I wrote based on Emacs key binding fallback to define a keybinding conditionally. It adds the keybinding to the specified minor mode but if the condition is not true, the previously assigned action is executed:
(defmacro define-key-with-fallback (keymap key def condition &optional mode)
"Define key with fallback. Binds KEY to definition DEF in keymap KEYMAP,
the binding is active when the CONDITION is true. Otherwise turns MODE off
and re-enables previous definition for KEY. If MODE is nil, tries to recover
it by stripping off \"-map\" from KEYMAP name."
`(define-key ,keymap ,key
(lambda () (interactive)
(if ,condition ,def
(let* ((,(if mode mode
(let* ((keymap-str (symbol-name keymap))
(mode-name-end (- (string-width keymap-str) 4)))
(if (string= "-map" (substring keymap-str mode-name-end))
(intern (substring keymap-str 0 mode-name-end))
(error "Could not deduce mode name from keymap name (\"-map\" missing?)"))))
nil)
(original-func (key-binding ,key)))
(call-interactively original-func))))))
Then I can do things like the following to use the special binding for TAB only when I am on a header in outline-minor-mode. Otherwise my default action (I have both indent and yasnippets) is executed:
(define-key-with-fallback outline-minor-mode-map (kbd "TAB")
(outline-cycle 1) (outline-on-heading-p))

You could use functions such as key-binding (or its more specific variants global-key-binding, minor-mode-key-binding and local-key-binding) to probe active keymaps for bindings.
For example:
(call-interactively (key-binding (kbd "TAB")))
;; in an emacs-lisp-mode buffer:
;; --> indent-for-tab-command
;;
;; in a c++-mode buffer with yas/minor-mode:
;; --> yas/expand
One way to avoid infinite loops if your command is bound to TAB could be to put your binding in a minor mode, and temporarily disable its keymap while looking for the TAB binding:
(define-minor-mode my-complete-mode
"Smart completion"
:keymap (let ((map (make-sparse-keymap)))
(define-key map (kbd "TAB") 'my-complete)
map))
(defun my-complete ()
(interactive)
(if (my-condition)
(message "my-complete")
(let ((my-complete-mode nil))
(call-interactively (key-binding (kbd "TAB"))))))

It's possible that you could achieve this without any special workarounds at all. In most modes TAB just does indentation by default, but if you set the global variable tab-always-indent to 'complete it will try to do completion first, and indent if no completion is possible. This usually works really well, although if TAB is bound to another command in one of your major modes you might be out of luck.
If that works in the modes you need, you'll just need to add your custom completion function to the front of the list completion-at-point-functions in all applicable buffers (maybe using a mode hook). The completion-at-point command calls each function listed in completion-at-point-functions until one of them returns non-nil, so all you need to do to have your custom completion function "fall through" to the existing behavior is return nil from it.
This isn't a 100% answer to the question, but if the major modes you're working with are written according to the normal guidelines it might be the cleanest way.

define-key can accept quoted string or interactive lambdas like in this example.
;Static
(define-key evil-normal-state-mapr "m" 'evil-motion-state)
;Conditional
(define-key evil-normal-state-map "m"
(lambda () (interactive) (message "%s" major-mode)))
Lambda's can be replaced with named functions like my-tab-completion and used more effectively.
From define-key's docstring (Emacs 25)
DEF is anything that can be a key's definition:
nil (means key is undefined in this keymap),
a command (a Lisp function suitable for interactive calling),
a string (treated as a keyboard macro),
a keymap (to define a prefix key),
a symbol (when the key is looked up, the symbol will stand for its
function definition, which should at that time be one of the above,
or another symbol whose function definition is used, etc.),
a cons (STRING . DEFN), meaning that DEFN is the definition
(DEFN should be a valid definition in its own right),
or a cons (MAP . CHAR), meaning use definition of CHAR in keymap MAP,
or an extended menu item definition.
(See info node `(elisp)Extended Menu Items'.)

Related

Run function before keymap commands

Is there a way to advise a keymap or otherwise run a function after a keymap prefix, but before commands in the keymap?
Say I have a keymap with bindings for hideshow, but these bindings are only useful after hs-minor-mode is activated. How can I run (hs-minor-mode) after the prefix is entered, but before the functions in the map are called?
I thought making a prefix command and advising it might work, but that is an error (below).
Example:
(let ((map (define-prefix-command 'my-activate-fold 'my-fold-map)))
(define-key map "a" #'hs-hide-all)
(define-key map "s" #'hs-show-all)
(define-key map "l" #'hs-hide-level)
(global-set-key (kbd "<f6>") 'my-activate-fold))
;; error: wrong-type-argument commandp my-activate-fold
(define-advice my-activate-fold (:before (fn &rest r) "activate-hideshow")
(hs-minor-mode)
(apply fn r))
If I understand correctly, I think you may be approaching this incorrectly. For your specific question, no, there is no way to define a function which will run after a prefix key is called but before the command (an interactive function) which is bound to the key is run. However, I'm not sure that is really what your after. You can of course define commands which can wrap another command and do whatever you want. However, I'm not sure that is what you want either. You might want to state exactly what you want rather than part of what you believe is the solution to what you want.
Normal practice is for a minor mode to define a keymap and you add your mode specific key bindings to that map in a mode initialisation hook. In the case of hs-minor-mode, that is called hs-minor-mode-map. This map only exists inside buffers running hs-minro-mode and it takes precedence over the global map. So this is where you want to place your mode specific bindings. To do this, create a function which adds the bindings to the map and attach that to the hs-minor-mode-hook, which is run when hs-minor-mode is loaded.
(add-hook 'hs-minor-mode-hook (lambda ()
(define-key 'hs-minor-mode-map "a" #'hs-hide-all)
...))
The key bindings defined above will only exist if hs-minor-mode is active in the buffer. If it is not active, the keys used in the binding will either be bound to whatever the next highest map in the mode is or the global map or nothing (see the section on keymaps in the elsip manual for full details).
If what you want is to have specific hs-minor-mode bindings only exist in specific modes, then you can define those bindings in the keymap for that mode. For example, if you wanted hs-minor-mode bindings that only exist when you run hs-minor-mode in js2-mode, but not when you run hs-minor-mode in c-mode, then you can add the bindings to the js2-mode-map and load hs-minor-mode as part of the js2-mode-hook
If it is something else you are after, you need to clarify.
FWIW, you could simply advise the commands themselves:
(defun my-ensure-hs-minor-mode (&rest _args)
"Ensure `hs-minor-mode' is active."
(unless (bound-and-true-p hs-minor-mode)
(hs-minor-mode 1)))
(advice-add 'hs-hide-all :before #'my-ensure-hs-minor-mode)
(advice-add 'hs-show-all :before #'my-ensure-hs-minor-mode)
(advice-add 'hs-hide-level :before #'my-ensure-hs-minor-mode)
Your keymap then just works:
(require 'hideshow)
(let ((map (define-prefix-command 'my-activate-fold 'my-fold-map)))
(define-key map "a" #'hs-hide-all)
(define-key map "s" #'hs-show-all)
(define-key map "l" #'hs-hide-level))
(global-set-key (kbd "<f6>") 'my-activate-fold)

How can I jump to a definition without being queried in Emacs?

I have a problem when using Etags in Emacs. Everytime I tap \M+. to jump to a difinition point, a query is always popping up, like:
Find tag (default function_name):
And I have to tap 'Enter' to make sure of it.
But in most cases, I find I can choose the default one. So is there any method with which I can surpress this message?
I found the reason is because:
(defun find-tag (tagname &optional next-p regexp-p)
(interactive (find-tag-interactive "Find tag: "))
...
)
Why do I have to choose a tag? Why can not the default one just be the word under the point? Can I just remove this line? (interactive), or is there a good solution?
Going shortly through a couple of defuns in the etags sources via Emacs's awesome C-h f, one can find that the default tag to search is determined via a function named find-tag-default.
This means you could just define the following function:
(defun find-tag-under-point ()
(interactive)
(find-tag (find-tag-default)))
Then you can bind this to whatever key you want via define-key or global-set-key or local-set-key.
(The interactive form is always necessary if you want a function to be a "command" which can be called with M-x or bound to a key.)
You can write your own functionality over the find-tag (or any interactive function likewise)
(defun find-tag-under-point (&optional arg)
(interactive "P")
(cond ((eq arg 9)
(let ((current-prefix-arg nil))
(call-interactively 'find-tag)))
(arg
(call-interactively 'find-tag))
(t
(find-tag (find-tag-default)))))
(global-set-key (kbd "M-.") 'find-tag-under-point)
Then hotkey C-9M-. calls find-tag (old function) as usual, but the behaviour of find-tag-under-point (new-function) by default is what you want.

Predicate-based dynamic key binding with default fallback [duplicate]

I'm trying to write a custom tab completion implementation which tries a bunch of different completions depending on where the point is. However, if none of the conditions for completions are met I would like tab to do what ever the current mode originally intended it to do.
Something like this:
(defun my-custom-tab-completion ()
(interactive)
(cond
(some-condition
(do-something))
(some-other-condition
(do-something-else))
(t
(do-whatever-tab-is-supposed-to-do-in-the-current-mode))) ;; How do I do this?
Currently I'm checking for specific modes and doing the right thing for that mode, but I really would like a solution that just does the right thing without me having to explicitly add a condition for that specific mode.
Any ideas of how to do this?
Thanks! /Erik
BTW, here is another solution:
(define-key <map> <key>
`(menu-item "" <my-cmd> :filter ,(lambda (cmd) (if <my-predicate> cmd))))
Here is a macro I wrote based on Emacs key binding fallback to define a keybinding conditionally. It adds the keybinding to the specified minor mode but if the condition is not true, the previously assigned action is executed:
(defmacro define-key-with-fallback (keymap key def condition &optional mode)
"Define key with fallback. Binds KEY to definition DEF in keymap KEYMAP,
the binding is active when the CONDITION is true. Otherwise turns MODE off
and re-enables previous definition for KEY. If MODE is nil, tries to recover
it by stripping off \"-map\" from KEYMAP name."
`(define-key ,keymap ,key
(lambda () (interactive)
(if ,condition ,def
(let* ((,(if mode mode
(let* ((keymap-str (symbol-name keymap))
(mode-name-end (- (string-width keymap-str) 4)))
(if (string= "-map" (substring keymap-str mode-name-end))
(intern (substring keymap-str 0 mode-name-end))
(error "Could not deduce mode name from keymap name (\"-map\" missing?)"))))
nil)
(original-func (key-binding ,key)))
(call-interactively original-func))))))
Then I can do things like the following to use the special binding for TAB only when I am on a header in outline-minor-mode. Otherwise my default action (I have both indent and yasnippets) is executed:
(define-key-with-fallback outline-minor-mode-map (kbd "TAB")
(outline-cycle 1) (outline-on-heading-p))
You could use functions such as key-binding (or its more specific variants global-key-binding, minor-mode-key-binding and local-key-binding) to probe active keymaps for bindings.
For example:
(call-interactively (key-binding (kbd "TAB")))
;; in an emacs-lisp-mode buffer:
;; --> indent-for-tab-command
;;
;; in a c++-mode buffer with yas/minor-mode:
;; --> yas/expand
One way to avoid infinite loops if your command is bound to TAB could be to put your binding in a minor mode, and temporarily disable its keymap while looking for the TAB binding:
(define-minor-mode my-complete-mode
"Smart completion"
:keymap (let ((map (make-sparse-keymap)))
(define-key map (kbd "TAB") 'my-complete)
map))
(defun my-complete ()
(interactive)
(if (my-condition)
(message "my-complete")
(let ((my-complete-mode nil))
(call-interactively (key-binding (kbd "TAB"))))))
It's possible that you could achieve this without any special workarounds at all. In most modes TAB just does indentation by default, but if you set the global variable tab-always-indent to 'complete it will try to do completion first, and indent if no completion is possible. This usually works really well, although if TAB is bound to another command in one of your major modes you might be out of luck.
If that works in the modes you need, you'll just need to add your custom completion function to the front of the list completion-at-point-functions in all applicable buffers (maybe using a mode hook). The completion-at-point command calls each function listed in completion-at-point-functions until one of them returns non-nil, so all you need to do to have your custom completion function "fall through" to the existing behavior is return nil from it.
This isn't a 100% answer to the question, but if the major modes you're working with are written according to the normal guidelines it might be the cleanest way.
define-key can accept quoted string or interactive lambdas like in this example.
;Static
(define-key evil-normal-state-mapr "m" 'evil-motion-state)
;Conditional
(define-key evil-normal-state-map "m"
(lambda () (interactive) (message "%s" major-mode)))
Lambda's can be replaced with named functions like my-tab-completion and used more effectively.
From define-key's docstring (Emacs 25)
DEF is anything that can be a key's definition:
nil (means key is undefined in this keymap),
a command (a Lisp function suitable for interactive calling),
a string (treated as a keyboard macro),
a keymap (to define a prefix key),
a symbol (when the key is looked up, the symbol will stand for its
function definition, which should at that time be one of the above,
or another symbol whose function definition is used, etc.),
a cons (STRING . DEFN), meaning that DEFN is the definition
(DEFN should be a valid definition in its own right),
or a cons (MAP . CHAR), meaning use definition of CHAR in keymap MAP,
or an extended menu item definition.
(See info node `(elisp)Extended Menu Items'.)

how to emulate a specific key press in Emacs Lisp

Context: I want to make a minor mode where pressing f twice fast results in whatever the pressing of ( should do at that time. This doesn't always mean just insertion of (. For example, in buffers where paredit mode or autopair mode is enabled, pressing of ( usually results in insertion of (). In a paredit mode buffer, that sometimes results in wrapping the selected text: for example, if I select a b and press (, that should result in replacing the selection with (a b).
For detection of f being pressed twice, I just need to take the logic in the short code in http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/electric-dot-and-dash.el
So the only missing piece is a Lisp code snippet that tells Emacs "Trigger pressing of ( now!"
The first thing that came to my mind was that the snippet should do
find the command bound to the key (
and then call call-interactively on that command.
but that breaks down if the auto pairing package (autopair or paredit or other similar package) binds ( to a command that has a logic that looks up what key was used to call the command, or if the package simply relies on post-self-insert-hook or post-command-hook instead of binding (.
update
I've looked up Key Chord documentation and it turns out what I am trying to do with answers to this question has a simpler solution:
(require 'key-chord)
(key-chord-mode 1)
(defvar my-easy-open-paren-mode-map
(let ((map (make-sparse-keymap)))
(key-chord-define map ",." (kbd "("))
map))
(define-minor-mode my-easy-open-paren-mode
"In this mode, pressing . and , together is another way of pressing the open paren.")
(defvar my-easy-semicolon-mode-map
(let ((map (make-sparse-keymap)))
(key-chord-define map ";;" (kbd "C-e ;"))
map))
(define-minor-mode my-easy-semicolon-mode
"In this mode, pressing semicolon twice fast is another way of pressing C-e and semicolon.")
(add-hook 'prog-mode-hook 'my-easy-open-paren-mode)
(add-hook 'c-mode-common-hook 'my-easy-semicolon-mode)
Triggering key press may still be useful in other contexts though.
You might appreciate the Key Chord library for binding functions to a double key-press. (I wouldn't recommend using f if you'll be writing in English, mind you; but YMMV.)
post-self-insert-hook would still run if the binding was self-insert-command. post-command-hook will run in any case, but if you're worried about it seeing an incorrect function and/or input event, you can manipulate those...
After looking up the binding, your function can set this-command to the function you're about to call-interactively, and last-command-event to the required key. e.g.:
(defun my-fake-paren ()
(interactive)
(let ((command (key-binding "(")))
(setq last-command-event ?\()
(setq this-command command)
(call-interactively command)))
I use Key Chord for this sort of thing, although the page you link appears to do the same thing. The trick is getting the call to call-interactively to work correctly. I wrapped it in a let that reset the variable last-command-event, such that call-interactively thinks it was a "(". This works for me in paredit and fundamental modes.
(require 'key-chord)
(key-chord-mode 1)
(defun my-paren-call ()
(interactive)
(let ((last-command-event ?\())
(call-interactively (key-binding "("))))
(key-chord-define-global "ff" 'my-paren-call)

Overload a Keybinding in Emacs

I've looked through a number of other questions and el files looking for something i could modify to suit my needs but I'm having trouble so I came to the experts.
Is there anyway to have a key behave differently depending on where in the line the cursor is?
To be more specific I'd like to map the tab key to go to the end of the line if I'm in the middle of the line but work as a tab normally would if my cursor is positioned at the beginning of the line.
So far I have braces and quotes auto-pairing and re-positioning the cursor within them for C++/Java etc. I'd like to use the tab key to end-of-line if for example a function doesn't have any arguments.
Behaving differently depending on where point is in the line is the easy bit (see (if (looking-back "^") ...) in the code). "[Working] as a tab normally would" is the harder bit, as that's contextual.
Here's one approach, but I was thinking afterwards that a more robust method would be to define a minor mode with its own binding for TAB and let that function look up the fallback binding dynamically. I wasn't sure how to do that last bit, but there's a solution right here:
Emacs key binding fallback
(defvar my-major-mode-tab-function-alist nil)
(defmacro make-my-tab-function ()
"Return a major mode-specific function suitable for binding to TAB.
Performs the original TAB behaviour when point is at the beginning of
a line, and moves point to the end of the line otherwise."
;; If we have already defined a custom function for this mode,
;; return that (otherwise that would be our fall-back function).
(or (cdr (assq major-mode my-major-mode-tab-function-alist))
;; Otherwise find the current binding for this mode, and
;; specify it as the fall-back for our custom function.
(let ((original-tab-function (key-binding (kbd "TAB") t)))
`(let ((new-tab-function
(lambda ()
(interactive)
(if (looking-back "^") ;; point is at bol
(,original-tab-function)
(move-end-of-line nil)))))
(add-to-list 'my-major-mode-tab-function-alist
(cons ',major-mode new-tab-function))
new-tab-function))))
(add-hook
'java-mode-hook
(lambda () (local-set-key (kbd "TAB") (make-my-tab-function)))
t) ;; Append, so that we run after the other hooks.
This page of Emacs Wiki lists several packages (smarttab, etc.) which make TAB do different things depending on the context. You can probably modify one of them to do what you want.