Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!nbires!ico!cadnetix.UUCP!pem From: pem@cadnetix.UUCP (Paul Meyer) Newsgroups: comp.emacs Subject: Re: emacs-lisp function-results - can it be sent to a buffer Message-ID: <710@cadnetix.UUCP> Date: Thu, 9-Jul-87 14:55:36 EDT Article-I.D.: cadnetix.710 Posted: Thu Jul 9 14:55:36 1987 Date-Received: Sun, 12-Jul-87 10:04:59 EDT References: <2190@hplabsc.UUCP> Reply-To: pem@cadnetix.UUCP (Paul Meyer) Organization: Cadnetix Corp., Boulder, CO Lines: 36 [] I have succesfully used (with-output-to-temp-buffer) to send output to a buffer. You also need to make your output come out to the lisp stdout to do this, using prin1/princ/whatever. You can also create a buffer and pop up a window on it, then use (insert (prin1 (your-func))) or some such. Here are some examples that should work. (Disclaimer--I don't have the time (company time) to test these): (defun bletch (buffername) "Write a string to BUFFER." (with-output-to-temp-buffer buffername (prin1 (+ 3 4)))) (defun squat (buffername) "Pop up a buffer named BUFFER, and write to its end." (pop-to-buffer buffername) (save-excursion (goto-char (point-max)) (insert (prin1-to-string (+ 3 4))))) Something I have found invaluable in lieu of a real elisp manual is to do M-x apropos "." then save the help buffer. In my case, I dumped it to the laser printer. I also did a command-apropos of "." and saved that one, then did a bunch of manipulation to get two files, one just the interactive commands (the straight command-apropos output) and one just the noninteractive ones (the apropos output not in the command- apropos output). If I remember correctly, I used emacs or sed to put the one-line descriptions (when they existed) on the end of the name lines, merged the files using sort, used uniq to discard all repetitions of re- peated lines, then undid the joining. When I see an interesting function for something I'm trying to do, I do help F to get the full description. Because I am working without an elisp manual, I have learned most things by trial and error and looking at the standard code, so I may be missing a much easier way to do this. pem@cadnetix.uucp